Emerita Professor of History & Gender Studies at The UWI, Consultant Director of the Centre for Reparation Research, The UWI, and Vice-Chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, Professor Verene Shepherd addressed the United Nations Assembly in New York, at an event commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21, 2024.

Professor Shepherd was invited by the President of the United Nations General Assembly and UWI alum, His Excellency Dennis Francis, in her capacity as Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, recognised annually on March 21, was proclaimed by the UN in 1966 in memory of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa during the anti-apartheid struggle. In her speech, Professor Shepherd emphasised that the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination provides an opportunity to take stock of the persistent gaps in the implementation of States’ shared commitment to protect hundreds of millions of people whose human rights continue to be violated due to racial discrimination.

Notably, the 2024 International Day of Remembrance also recognised the achievements of the International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD), whose programme of activities Professor Shepherd helped to draft. She reminded Member States of the unfulfilled Decade theme of “Recognition, Justice, Development” for Africans and people of African descent, especially in the area of reparatory justice. She urged them to support the call for a second IDPAD.