Conference: “Biracial Children, African Mothers and Colonization: A Global Case for Reparations” - Geneva, April 17,2024

Far from being a relic of the past, colonization remains a contemporary issue as its consequences, such as systemic racism, are still visible and devastating. Colonisation also remains a contemporary issue because of the demands for reparations for the damage caused by the systematic violations of the rights of the formerly colonized populations on which the colonial systems of the time were based.

Among the systematic violations perpetrated by the former colonial powers that are the subject of demands for reparations is the fate reserved for biracial children born of African and European parents. Motivated by racism and the preservation of the colonial order and its racial categories, the colonial powers multiplied policies aimed at prohibiting relations between Africans and Europeans. Biracial children, the fruit of these relationships, were subjected to policies of abduction, forced placement in institutions and forced removal of these children to the metropolis.

The conference will address a range of demands for justice and reparations from biracial people across Europe and Central Africa. Drawing on various cases of biracial child abduction in Europe and Africa, speakers will look at the experiences of African mothers and biracial people who have sought justice and reparations in recent decades. The panel will also address the European States' resistance to fulfill their obligations under international law to give justice and reparations to all the victims of these colonial policies.

To coincide with the event, the Justice Initiative's exhibition 'SHAME - European Stories', featuring portraits of victims of childhood abuse, will be open to the public.

• Geneviève Kaninda (African Futures Lab)
• Rachel Kapombo (Association des Enfants des Belges Laissés au Congo - AEBLC)
• Issa Niyongere (Association des Métis des Grands Lacs - AMGL Burundi) 
• Yanine Karapatakis (Collectif Métis - Belgique) 
• Conrad Bryan (The Association of Mixed Race Irish)
• Rym Khaddraoui (Amnesty International) 
• Adwoa Coleman (Adviser, Office of the Chairpairson, African Union Commission)
• Barbara Reynolds (Chairperson, UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent)