The Bahamas government has re-affirmed its commitment to eradicating racism, and protecting the civil, political, economic as well as social and cultural rights of all people.
Nassau made the pledge as it joined the international community, by way of consensus, in adopting a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), draft resolution to further promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and people of African descent.
In its statement to the UNHRC, the Bahamas said that as a nation of majority people of African descent, with a shared history of slavery, “we condemn all forms of racism and believe that equal treatment is a human right founded in natural justice. Therefore, The Bahamas joined consensus along with other members of the UNHCR, and indeed the international community, for the convening of an urgent debate on racism in light of recent events globally,” the release read.
Race relations became a major issue again following the recent death of American George Floyd at the hands of four white police officers that sparked protests not only in the United States, but in several cities around the globe.
The statement continued: “The Bahamas is also aligned with the statement made by the Non-Aligned Movement, which denounces racism in all its insidious forms. As a result, the Bahamas is of the view that its position on racism, wherever it finds itself in the world, has been made demonstrably clear,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The Bahamas looks forward to engaging with other member states on the question of racism and human rights, which is of grave concern and needs to be eradicated wherever it raises its intolerable head.”
Earlier this week, participants in a debate at the U.N. Human Rights Council on systemic racism called for an independent investigation into the death of Floyd.
