Date February, 24, 2025 House of the Pan African Parliament Johannesburg, South Africa

On behalf of the African Union African Diaspora 6th Region High Council, and the over 300 million members of the Diaspora spread across the Americas (Latin, South, North), the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, Australia, the Pacific, and returnees without recognition here on the African continent.
I also speak as a Princess of the Kingdom of Kush, tirelessly working to create a space where we can unite historical Africans diaspora and promote development in a spirit of unity and ubuntu.
I extend my deepest gratitude for this invitation to address this historic Pan African Sitting.
Your invitation is a profound honor, a powerful acknowledgment of the vital role the Global African Diaspora plays in the sustainable development of our continent and the advancement of the worldwide African community.
It speaks volumes about your recognition of our skills, capacities, and unwavering commitment to the struggle for justice, recognition, and development – the three inextricably linked pillars of the UN International Decade for People of African Descent, the roadmap toward reparatory justice.

This invitation is not just symbolic. It’s a demonstration to the Pan African Parliament’s commitment to implementing Article 3(q) of the African Union Constitutive Act, adopted in July 2003 in Maputo Mozambique. This Act, a cornerstone of our shared vision, calls for the integration of Africa and its Global Diaspora.
This journey, a journey we have embarked on together with various AU organs and bodies, has led us to this moment, to the establishment of the Diaspora High Council – a “Leave No Community Behind” governance structure born from over 125 years of struggle. I speak of the struggle that began after the First Pan-African Congress in London, where the integration of the Diaspora and the fight against colonialism were first articulated. I speak of the 140 years of struggle since the Berlin Conference, the “Scramble for Africa,” whose scars remain deeply engraved on our continent.

(A Moment of Reflection)
Mr. President, I ask you, and all of us, to close our eyes for a moment. Imagine the unimaginable. Imagine the terror, the dehumanization, the sheer brutality of being enslaved. Reflect on the devastating impact of enslavement, genocide, and ethnocide. Contemplate what might have been. What if our ancestors, my ancestors, had not been stolen from their homeland, reduced from proud Africans to mere commodities labeled “negro boy” or “negro girl”? Would we be gathered here today discussing reparatory justice? Perhaps the Pan- African Congress of 1900, and the subsequent eight congresses that followed, focusing on the scourge of colonialism, might never have been necessary. Think of the profound impact on both Africa and the Diaspora.
I stand before you as a living descendant of enslaved people. My ancestors were forcibly removed from this continent, their humanity criminalized, and transported across the ocean to Suriname in South America. I carry within me the stories of my ancestors, passed down through generations, stories of unimaginable suffering. And I, along with millions across the Diaspora, seek justice. Look at me. What do you see? You see a proud African woman, deeply connected to her roots, honored to be here, in this moment, with you. Proud to embrace you, to be who I am, who I was always meant to be. This is the profound significance of our presence here today, and for this, we thank you. My presence here today embodies the resilience of our people and serves as a testimony to the enduring connection between the diaspora and the African continent.

(The Legacy of Enslavement)
The manuals that dictated the treatment of enslaved Africans – the “Negroes” and “Negresses” – are filled with heartbreakingly cruel, pseudo-scientific, and utterly delusional ideas. They detailed methods of perpetual oppression. The infamous Code Noir of King Louis XIV, and similar codes enacted by slaveholders across the Americas, from the United States to the Caribbean, codified the power imbalance between “white” and “black.” These codes dictated every aspect of the lives of enslaved people, from curfews and restrictions on gatherings and cultural expression, to the denial of basic human rights, including family life. Love was criminalized, families were torn apart, and women were subjected to sexual racism, treated as property to be exploited. These measures, these prohibitions, were designed to perpetuate white supremacy and maintain the brutal system of enslavement. Their effects continue to reverberate across generations.