Senator Dr. The Honourable Amery Browne, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs headed the Trinidad and Tobago Delegation to the Conference of the African Diaspora of the Americas, which was convened by the Government of Brazil in Salvador, Bahia, from 29th to 31st August, 2024. The Ministerial Session on 31st August, 2024 was chaired by His Excellency Mauro Vieira, Minister of External Relations of Brazil.
The conference programme included cultural presentations and discussion of key related topics by representatives of civil society, culture and other government representatives from Africa and the Americas, the main themes being Memory, Pan-Africanism, Restitution, Reconstruction and Reparation. Joint Declarations were issued at the end of the meetings, which included a Press Conference hosted by the Minister of External Relations of Brazil, the Minister of External Relations of Togo and the Vice Chair of the African Union.
In his statement to the Conference, Minister Browne heralded the founding roles of Trinidad and Tobago’s Henry Sylvester Williams and George Padmore in the establishment of Pan-Africanism, and noted the key role the movement played in the thrust for freedom and independence in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas.
Minister Browne also highlighted the current call for decisive action on reparations for the damage done to Africa and its descendants in the diaspora, which was the position of urgency echoed by all of the delegations at the Diaspora Conference. He noted CARICOM’s diplomatic strategy for advancing this issue, at the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, scheduled to take place in Samoa, from 21st to 26th October, 2024, and in other multilateral fora.
Minister Browne also announced Trinidad and Tobago’s move to remove the vestiges of colonialism and chattel slavery from our national symbols, with the replacement of Columbus’ three ships on our Coat of Arms with the Steelpan, our national musical instrument.
Minister Browne was accompanied at the Conference by Trinidad and Tobago’s Ambassador to Brazil, His Excellency Gerard Greene.
