UN PFPAD | Black Canadians Civil Society Coalition

United nations permanent forum on people of African descent
Canadian Consultation
Black History Month 2026

Why This Matters

The Permanent Forum on People of African Descent is a global consultative mechanism established by the United Nations to improve the safety, quality of life, and human rights outcomes for people of African descent.(OHCHR)

This Canadian consultation is part of a nationwide civil-society-led process, bringing together leaders, advocates, scholars, and community stakeholders to contribute directly to the UN Declaration on Human Rights of People of African Descent and to help lay the groundwork for a Human Rights Recognition Framework for Black Canadians.(Black Canadians Civil Society Coalition)

How to Participate

Whether you are a community leader, advocate, scholar, youth representative, or human rights defender, your voice matters. Participation is open, inclusive, and designed to bring diverse perspectives together.

Register Online
Submit your experiences
Join in-person or virtually
Invite others to participate

All sessions will have interpretation available to support accessibility and inclusion.

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Key Objectives

Advance Human Rights: Gather community input to shape a declaration that protects the rights of people of African descent in Canada and globally.

Address Systemic Racism: Provide a platform to identify barriers, discrimination, and inequities faced by Black communities in Canada.

Promote Reparatory Justice: Explore pathways toward recognition, restitution, and healing in response to histories of colonialism, enslavement, and apartheid.

Center Community Voices: Create a civil-society space where lived experience, grassroots advocacy, and expert knowledge shape policy and frameworks.

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Consultation Dates & Locations

2026 Consultations

Together, we can build a framework that recognizes rights, confronts systemic racism, and advances equity for Black communities across Canada.

Who This Consultation Is For

We welcome participation from:

Black community leaders and grassroots organizers
Human rights advocates and policy practitioners
Scholars, researchers, and public intellectuals
Youth leaders and student organizers
Black women, gender-diverse people, and people with lived experience of systemic harm
Civil-society organizations and allied institutions

This is a space for lived experience, expertise, and collective action. Each city hosting a consultation will include a maximum of 25–40 participants, representing a wide range of expertise and lived experiences. Only registered participants can attend.

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PARTNERSHIP & ALIGNMENT

This initiative is convened by a coalition of Black Canadians Civil Society organizations in partnership with Amnesty International Canada, aligned with the UN International Decade for People of African Descent (2025–2034) and national equity strategies.

We work collaboratively with communities, policy makers, and global partners to ensure the consultation outcomes reflect justice, dignity, and equity.

our purpose

The Coalition exists to:

Advance accountability and justice for Black communities through credible, evidence-based advocacy.
Connect domestic community priorities with international human rights mechanisms, including UN processes.
Uplift Black expertise that is rooted in lived experience and professional leadership.
Support community-driven solutions anchored in dignity, equity, and human rights.

what comes next

Following the consultations:

Your inputs will be synthesized into substantive recommendations.
These recommendations will be forwarded to the UN PFPAD and relevant national policy bodies.
A public report will be released outlining community priorities, key findings, and suggested action pathways.

This consultation is a step toward meaningful recognition, rights advancement, and structural change for Black Canadians and people of African descent worldwide.

About
the Coalition

The Black Canadians Civil Society Coalition (BCCSC) is a national collective of Black civil society leaders — including advocates, scholars, practitioners, and community organizers — dedicated to advancing human rights, justice, equity, and systemic transformation in Canada and globally.

Our members bring deep expertise rooted in lived experience, professional practice, and long-standing accountability to Black communities across Canada and the African diaspora.

Together, we engage domestic and international human rights mechanisms, including the United Nations, to advance systemic change.

our guiding principles

Community Accountability
We are rooted in Black communities and responsible to their priorities.

Expert Rigor

Our contributions reflect high standards of analysis, evidence, and practice.

Collective Leadership

We operate collaboratively and transparently across sectors.

International Engagement

We engage global mechanisms with integrity and respect for sovereignty.

coalition pillars

Civil Society-Led
Independent, community-rooted, and structured around shared governance.

Expert with Courage
Members are recognized across sectors for field-tested expertise and principled advocacy.

Pan-Black, Place-Based
We centre both diaspora connections and local histories, including African Nova Scotian heritage.

UN-Engaged
We actively engage and contribute to international human rights processes.

Meet the Team

The People Behind the Mission

Founder & Chairwoman

Hodan

Hodan Ahmed is a senior UN Human Rights Fellow for UNDPAD and Founder of the Arawelo Institute for Leadership and Public Policy, with over 15 years of experience advancing public policy, gender and racial equity, youth justice, and community engagement. Recognized by the United Nations as one of the Global Top 100 under 40 Most Influential People of African Descent, she is also a published author whose work addresses anti-Black racism, Islamophobia, and systemic inequities, translating strategic vision into meaningful institutional change.

Co-Founder

Nicholas Marcus

Nicholas Marcus Thompson is a human rights advocate, executive leader, and international speaker focused on confronting systemic inequities and advancing meaningful outcomes for marginalized communities. As President and CEO of the Black Class Action Secretariat, he led a landmark $2.5 billion proposed class action addressing anti-Black discrimination across federal institutions, while also advancing global justice initiatives through the World House Project and the United Nations.

Co-Founder

Vanessa

Vanessa Fells is an African Nova Scotian equity advocate and Advisor of Equity and Access for the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, dedicated to advancing education, justice, and community empowerment. She has represented Canada at the United Nations, contributed to national Black justice initiatives, and played key leadership roles in major equity and policy efforts across Nova Scotia and Canada.

Co- Founder

Richard

Richard Sharpe is a human rights advocate with 30 years of experience advancing equity at both community and institutional levels, including senior leadership roles in the Canadian federal and Ontario public services. He co-founded the Federal Black Employee Caucus, has led major anti-racism and equity initiatives nationally, represented Canadian civil society at the UN, and is widely recognized as a sought-after speaker and educator on systemic and anti-Black racism.

Director

Robin

Robin Browne’s activism addressing systemic anti-Black racism began in the late 1980's in Montreal with the ANC Solidarity Committee organizing against South African apartheid and AKAX protesting the shooting of young Black men by the Montreal police. He continues his work reimagining community safety as coordinator of the 613-819 Black Hub, creating a vision for a world without police or prisons or the exploitative capitalism they support.

Director

Lerato

Lerato is the inaugural Associate Vice-President of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism at Acadia University, providing strategic leadership to advance equity, accessibility, and anti-racism across institutional policy, practice, and culture. Trained as an employment equity lawyer, her work is grounded in human rights, decolonial and intersectional frameworks, with a focus on transforming systems to address anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, informed by her legal practice in Lesotho and South Africa and her academic background from Rhodes University and Simon Fraser University.

Director

Bernadeth

Bernadeth Betchi is a mother, a sister, a friend, and a human rights activist deeply committed to collective care and social justice. Grounded in the philosophy of Ubuntu “I am because you are”, she believes in the power of community, solidarity, and shared responsibility. Through her work on a national and international scene, Bernadeth centres people, dignity, and connection, working to build spaces where individuals and communities can grow stronger together.

Director

Bernadette

Bernadette Hamilton-Reid is an 8th-generation Afrikan Nova Scotian community advocate and Executive Director of the Afrikan Nova Scotian Decade for People of Afrikan Descent Coalition (DPAD), leading transformative work to confront anti-Blak racism and advance systemic change. Deeply rooted in historic Afrikan Nova Scotian communities, her leadership focuses on education, equity, and empowerment to ensure present and future generations not only survive, but thrive.