United Nations forum pushes for extra funding into reparations progress: 'Back up your words with action'

Members of the United Nations forum on people of African descent called for extra funding to support its advancement towards reparations for descendants of African slaves who were captured and trafficked across Transatlantic countries.

A Howard University law professor who was hand-picked by the U.S. State Department to represent the U.S. at the forum urged the U.N. to pour more money into their reparations efforts, according to Reuters.

"Back up your words with action," Justin Hansford said.

The remarks were during a session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The U.S. Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice, Desiree Cormier Smith, said the United States needs to address its "profound racial injustice".

REPARATIONS EXPERT SAYS SAN FRANCISCO'S APOLOGY TO BLACK RESIDENTS 'DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING' WITHOUT ACTION

"Although my country has never fully lived up to the values of freedom and equality for all, we have also never walked away from them - and that's largely thanks to civil society."

Per Reuters, U.N. General Secretary António Guterres said in a video message that racism stems from past enslavement of African people and colonialism and that reparations must address that issue today.

"There can be no real discussion about development without a discussion about reparations," said one of the members of PFPAD.

The U.N. General Assembly established the PFPAD on August 2nd, 2021 to act as "a consultative mechanism for people of African descent and other relevant stakeholders as a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent," the U.N.’s website states.

The Transatlantic slave trade involved the kidnapping and trafficking