A/HRC/42/59/Add.1
(n)
Provide the Royal Museum for Central Africa with appropriate financial
and human resources so as to fully exercise the potential of this institution, improving
and enriching its narrative and thus contributing to a better awareness and
understanding of the tragic legacies of Belgian colonialism and of the past, and of the
contemporary human rights challenges of people of African descent. The Working
Group urges the relevant authorities to ensure that the museum is entrusted with
tasks and responsibilities in the context of the International Decade for People of
African Descent;
(o)
Remove all offensive racist exhibits from the Royal Museum for Central
Africa, in collaboration with historians from Africa and members of the diaspora, and
provide richly detailed explanations and context to educate visitors accurately about
the colonial history of Belgium and its exploitation of Africa. Given that the physical
institution of the museum strongly manifests the colonial lens, additional efforts are
required to achieve balance;
(p)
Provide specific, directed funding to the museum so that it may enrich its
postcolonial analysis. This funding should allow for innovations such as QR codes on
museum signs to provide more context and to enrich intersectional analysis, including
of the historical and current interplay of race, gender, sexuality, migration status,
religion and other relevant criteria;
(q)
Financially support a public education campaign, in partnership with
people of African descent, so that people may learn about and better understand the
legacies of Belgian colonialism;
(r)
Collect, compile, analyse, disseminate and publish reliable statistical
data, disaggregated by race and on the basis of voluntary self-identification, and take
all necessary measures to assess regularly the situation of individuals and groups of
individuals who are victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance;
(s)
Address racial profiling and institute a policy of documenting and
analysing stops and searches nationwide, including by race and skin colour, in order
to promote and ensure equality and fairness in policing; mitigate selective
enforcement of the law; and address enduring bias, stereotypes and beliefs about the
need to survey and monitor people of African descent;
(t)
Ensure that the robust framework set up for the prosecution of hate
crimes is used more in practice;
(u)
Review diversity initiatives within justice institutions and in other
sectors including education and the media in order to develop clear benchmarks, to
increase diversity measurably and to overcome structural discrimination and
unconscious bias through positive measures, in accordance with the provisions of the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;
(v)
Clarify and simplify the jurisdiction of the anti-discrimination
authorities, creating one point of entry to make reporting easier for victims, allowing
for more coordination and making perpetrators of racist harassment and violence
more accountable, including through accelerated judicial procedures;
(w) Review textbooks and educational materials and ensure that they
accurately reflect historical facts as they relate to past tragedies and atrocities such as
enslavement, the trade in enslaved Africans and colonialism. Belgium should use the
General History of Africa by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) to inform its educational curriculum, among similarly
oriented authoritative texts.16 The Working Group urges the Government to promote
greater knowledge and recognition of and respect for the culture, history and heritage
16
See, in particular, UNESCO, International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History
of Africa, “Africa under colonial domination 1880–1935”, General History of Africa, vol. VII (1985).
17
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