National African American Congress/Congress of African People

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A message to all members of National African American Congress/Congress of African People January 1, 2011 marked the beginning of the International Year for People of African Descent based on UN Resolution 64/169. Two of our newest NAAC members, Diane Urban, Chicago, and Roosevelt King, Barbados have allowed me to team with them to use this event as a mobilization and organizing tool on FACEBOOK, where we have IYPAD sites for all 50 states and working on all countries inhabited by People of African Descent. Please search for your state or country there and join our efforts as outlined below. We look forward to your participation. For example, we have learned that our people in the Caribbean Dutch Islands remain enslaved, and they are using their IYPAD site to tell their story to the rest of us, where the Dutch have cut off their radio programming to communicate to the outside world.

"Toward Our Radiant Future". - Thomas Sankara

2011: International Year For People of African Descent Rationale, Mission and Action Plan

Rationale

In this, the year of 2011, where the United Nations has declared it to be, International Year for People of African Descent, it remains evident that the rights of African Peoples globally are usurped. The Sons and Daughters of Africa, for the last 500 years, have endured the worst forms of domination, savagery, exploitation and toil of man by man, in the history of humankind.

Any progress that has been purportedly made seems to be in favor of those seeking more sophisticated and continued methods of domination and exploitation of African descendants. Our people have endured the Slave trade, Enslavement, de-humanization, de-culturalization, wars of liberation, lynchings, alienation, police abuse, denial of housing, jobs, education, health rights, mass incarceration, and genocide via wanton murder.

The African Centred Council of Elders affirms African People’s right to Self-determination as defined by the U.N. Charter. It asserts the right to serve as a coordinating body and advocate for our people everywhere and in every manner deemed necessary to advance and protect the interests of African People.

We reserve the right to promote industry, restore our cultural traditions in a progressive fashion and insure the general welfare of the masses of our people in accord with the dictates of basic human rights. We take lead in the redress of any grievances towards our people. We demand that our sovereign right to protect and provide for the well-being of our people be respected without reference to race, class, religion or national origin.

This, we do for ourselves and our children, for generations to come, as we take the bold and audacious path of stepping back on the stage of Human History as Free, Proud and Productive People, and recognize that we are the sole reason our ancestors endured so much, for so little. For Our Ancestors, we humbly grasp this opportunity to return our People to their traditional pride.

Mission Statement

The African centred Council of Elders seeks to become a coordinating body, providing leadership, advocacy, mediation and technical assistance towards building the institutions capable of advancing and protecting the Sovereign Interests of the People of African Descent, universally.

Establishment of the Council of Elders

We, the people of African Descent;

Hereby embrace the United Nations Declaration, Resolution 64/169 designating the year 2011 as the International Year for People of African Descent (IYPAD), with objectives to gain Recognition, Justice and Development for the People of African Descent;

And give unconditional commitment to participating in a structured manner, by way of the best known African governance structure which recognises the Council of Elders as the bastion of wisdom in the society, that shall function within the framework and spirit of the UN objectives for the IYPAD globally and locally in each state, country and nation where there are people of African Descent and work to implement the IYAD strategy for recognition, justice and development of People of African Descent in the year 2011 and beyond.

Under the programme of action, The Council of Elders shall:

1. promote principles of conduct in the communities of People of African Descent that are in keeping with good governance and respect for each other and encourage them to recognize a body of rules which will promote social and economic freedom, justice and prosperity for every single member of the communities of People of African Descent.

2. be the principle advocates of the People of African Descent and represent their interests in every quarter; national, regional and international.

3. make themselves available to the community to assist in settling disputes of a complex nature involving competing rights, where both parties agree to submit to the decision of the Elders.

4. help rationalise and bring their wisdom to bear on the affairs of the people of African descent, in a manner that will result in win-win situations to disputes, given that every person is entitled to live and work in their society.

5. encourage values and principles that promote African culture in a holisitc manner, that will lead to respect, harmony and growth in the communities of the People of African Descent, where the meaning of culture lies within the parameters of the definition contained in the Report from the UN Commission on Africa,.

6. be responsible for promoting harmony in the community and encouraging the population to maintain peace and reduce hostilities leading to the destruction of the communities of People of African Descent.

7. build direct and personal relationships that allow our young people to grow through close daily contact with positive adults.

8. encourage community networks, bringing people and communities together to assess their needs and through cooperative efforts, build economies of scale designed to flourish, create jobs for the unemployed, educate our people about the ways of the African Descendants and organize the youth in constructive activity that will allow them to realise their true potential and make a positive contribution to the society and the economy.

9. pledge to serve the people of African Descent and, to the best of their ability, root out the evils of the past, including corruption, deceit and other subtle, dishonest practices perpetrated in the name of capitalism, or any other dogma that tends to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few and victimise the majority of the population keeping them poor and at subsistence levels.

10. pledge not to replace one type of domination with another and to end the practice of domination of the People of African Descent and to agitate and mobilise to end this practice wherever it prevails.

11. further pledge to recognise the sovereignty of the People of African Descent as residing in “People” themselves and that this is based on the dignity of the human being and their rights to life, respect, liberty and prosperity.

12. stand as an example of good governance in the eyes of the People and shall propagate itself so that there is a Council of Elders of the same flavour in every community of People of African Descen

Visit National African American Congress/Congress of African People at: http://naacforum.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network