On August 31, 2026, the day internationally dedicated to people of African descent, African Union Commission chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf issued an official message placing African diasporas at the heart of Agenda 2063, the continent's fifty-year development blueprint.
"I pay tribute to the remarkable contributions of people of African descent to growth, culture and progress around the world," he said, echoing the theme attached to this day since the United Nations established it in 2020.
In his message, the African Union's top diplomat stressed the historic unity between the continent and its diasporas: "Africans and people of African descent belong to one family, united by a shared history and by the ambition to build a common future."
This commitment takes concrete form in the African Union's Decade of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations, an initiative running from 2026 to 2035. The pan-African organisation is also working on a Common African Position on reparations, a diplomatic effort closely followed by several states in the Caribbean and Latin America.
The African Union now presents its diasporas as an integral part of the African family and an essential partner in implementing Agenda 2063, whose ambition is inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development across the continent over fifty years. Strengthening partnerships with African communities in the Caribbean, Latin America and other continents is cited among the institution's priorities.
Established by the United Nations in 2020, the International Day for People of African Descent is marked every August 31. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf's message is part of a series of African Union statements on the ties between the continent and its diasporas.
