The 173rd Emancipation Day celebrations have ended and ACDA and the other African groups should be complimented for successfully implementing the many activities. However, we are still in the United Nations International Year of People of African Descent (IYPAD), and this is as good a time as any to assess where Guyana is in relation to the objectives of this Year.
It should be recalled that the IYPAD is the outcome of the perennial United Nations commitment to end racial and related discrimination, as articulated at, inter alia, the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Tolerance, held in Durban, South Africa in August 2001. The main objective of the Year is to elicit international and national action “to raise awareness of the challenges facing people of African descent. It is hoped that the Year will foster discussions that