Coordination Meeting of the U.S.-Brazil Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Discrimination and Promote Equality

Washington, DC

The United States and Brazil will hold a coordination meeting of the U.S.–Brazil Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Discrimination and Promote Equality (Joint Action Plan) September 1-2 in Brasilia, Brazil.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Julissa Reynoso and Assistant Secretary of Education Russlynn Ali will lead the U.S. government delegation. Officials from the Departments of State, Education, Commerce, and Justice, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Environmental Protection Agency will also participate.

The government meeting and panel discussions with members of civil society and the private sector will allow Brazilian and American participants to address a variety of issues relating to the promotion of racial and ethnic equality in both countries. The delegation will seek to expand on the commitments for the Joint Action Plan that President Obama made during his visit to Brazil this March. The primary goals of the meeting include forging meaningful and sustainable relationships with the local, state, and federal governments on health, access to education, environmental justice, Black entrepreneurship for the World Cup and Olympic games, and access to justice.

A bilateral health working group will convene to advance discussion on issues affecting populations of African descendant in both countries. A delegation from U.S. Historically Black Universities and Colleges (HBCUs) will participate as part of an education initiative to strengthen ties between Brazilian universities and American HBCUs and Land Grant institutions. This initiative aims to expand access to education to historically underserved communities in both countries. A five-member delegation from Fulton County in Georgia will participate in the Black entrepreneurship and the Olympics and World Cup games discussions to exchange experiences from the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

The Joint Action Plan, signed in March 2008, pledges ongoing collaboration between the two governments to eliminate racial and ethnic discrimination and promote equality of opportunity for all.

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