The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, Mexican Foreign Secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, and Canadian Foreign Minister, Mélanie Joly have signed a declaration on the North American Partnership for Equity and Racial Justice.
According to the statement released from the office of the State Department Spokesman on Tuesday, adding that across the three nations, generations of leaders have fought to build democracies where people from richly diverse histories and cultures share the equal promise of freedom and inclusion.
He said, “Our diversity is North America’s greatest strength, as it boosts innovation, leads to economic growth, enriches our democracies, and advances our security.
“Building on efforts in our respective countries to advance equity and racial justice, at the previous North American Leaders’ Summit in 2021, the Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the United States President Joseph Biden, declared commitment to building just, inclusive, and equitable democracies that combat systemic racism and discrimination in all forms”.
While stated that in recognition of these past commitments, and our close ties and shared vision, the Participants in this Partnership will now work within the own countries to affirmatively advance equity and racial justice, to comprehensively root out the barriers to equal opportunity that marginalized communities continue to face.
“Establish a Trilateral Racial Equity and Inclusion Expert Network to facilitate exchange of information to share best practices and innovative strategies developed across the three countries for advancing equity and racial justice in our public policies and societies and to help identify further action areas for the Partnership.
“In establishing this expert exchange, we will seek opportunities to engage communities with lived experience of racism and discrimination on driving solutions to protect the rights of members of marginalized communities.
“Advance health equity and economic inclusion; address racial and other disparities in the justice system, access to the ballot, and educational opportunities; and reflect the diversity of our nations in our federal public services workforce.
He also said to collaborate together to advance equity and racial justice through the participation in regional and multilateral organizations, such as the United Nations and other fora.
“Which includes advancing the rights aspirations enshrined in multilateral commitments, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the International Decade for People of African Descent, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and other joint undertakings”.