[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 175 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.Con.Res.175
                                             Agreed to November 16, 2006

                       One Hundred Ninth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
             the third day of January, two thousand and six


                          Concurrent Resolution

Whereas during Black History Month it is important that we not forget 
  that African-Americans are not the only survivors of the 
  transatlantic slave trade;

Whereas like the United States, many European nations benefited greatly 
  from the colonization of Latin America and the Caribbean and their 
  participation in the slave trade;

Whereas the story of African descendants in all of the Americas remains 
  untold, leading them to be forgotten, made invisible, and allowed to 
  suffer unjustly;

Whereas it is important to acknowledge that as a result of the slave 
  trade and immigration, approximately 80,000,000 to 150,000,000 
  persons of African descent live in Latin America and the Caribbean, 
  making them the largest population of persons of African descent 
  outside of Africa;

Whereas Afro-descendants are present in most all Latin American 
  countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, 
  Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and 
  Venezuela;

Whereas the size of Afro-descendant populations vary in range from less 
  than 1 percent in some countries to as much as 30 percent in Colombia 
  and 46 percent in Brazil and make up the majority in some Spanish 
  speaking Caribbean nations, such as Cuba and the Dominican Republic;

Whereas Afro-descendant populations have made significant economic, 
  social, and cultural contributions to their countries and the Western 
  Hemisphere from their unfortunate involvement in the transatlantic 
  slave trade to their recent contributions to trade, tourism, and 
  other industries;

Whereas although persons of African descent have made significant 
  achievements in education, employment, economic, political, and 
  social spheres in some countries, the vast majority are 
  marginalized--living in impoverished communities where they are 
  excluded from centers of education, government, and basic human 
  rights based upon the color of their skin and ancestry;

Whereas Afro-descendants have shorter life expectancies, higher rates 
  of infant mortality, higher incidences of HIV/AIDS, higher rates of 
  illiteracy, and lower incomes than do other populations;

Whereas Afro-descendants encounter problems of access to healthcare, 
  basic education, potable water, housing, land titles, credit, equal 
  justice and representation under the law, political representation, 
  and other economic, political, health, and basic human rights; and

Whereas skin color and ancestry have led African-Americans in the 
  United States and African descendants in Latin America and the 
  Caribbean to share similar injustices, leading to economic, social, 
  health, and political inequalities: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
        (1) recognizes and honors African descendants in the Americas 
    for their contributions to the economic, social, and cultural 
    fabric of the countries in the Americas, particularly in Latin 
    American and Caribbean societies;
        (2) recognizes that as a result of their skin color and 
    ancestry, African descendants in the Americas have wrongfully 
    experienced economic, social, and political injustices;
        (3) urges the President to take appropriate measures to 
    encourage the celebration and remembrance of the achievements of 
    African descendants in the Americas and a resolution of injustices 
    suffered by African descendants in the Americas;
        (4) encourages the United States and the international 
    community to work to ensure that extreme poverty is eradicated, 
    universal education is achieved, quality healthcare is made 
    available, and equal access to justice and representation under the 
    law is granted in Afro-descendant communities in Latin America and 
    the Caribbean; and
        (5) encourages the United States and the international 
    community to achieve these goals in Latin America and the Caribbean 
    by--
            (A) promoting research that focuses on identifying and 
        eradicating racial disparities in economic, political, and 
        social spheres;
            (B) promoting programs that focus on Afro-descendant 
        communities;
            (C) providing technical support and training to Afro-
        descendant advocacy groups that work to uphold basic human 
        rights in the region;
            (D) promoting the creation of an international working 
        group that focuses on problems of communities of Afro-
        descendants in the Americas; and
            (E) promoting trade and other bilateral and multilateral 
        agreements that take into account the needs of Afro-descendant 
        communities.
Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.