January 16, Bissau – The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Guinea Bissau today approved the citizenship of nine Afro Descendants, all of them Balanta descendants and members of the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society In America (BBHAGSIA). The President of BBHAGSIA, Siphiwe Baleka, initiated the citizenship process as part of the Decade of Return Initiative that was launched on February 23, 2021 in partnership with The Secretary of Tourism of Guinea Bissau. This sets a precedent for other members of the African Diaspora who, through African Ancestry DNA testing, can show that they are deescendants of people from Guinea Bissau.
The decision of the Council of Ministers comes after President Baleka raised the issue at the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights 83rd Ordinary Session in October. “It took three years, but Guinea Bissau has finally taken this important step in receiving her long lost children who were taken as prisoner of war and enslaved in the Americas,” said President Baleka. “Guinea Bissau has now made a concrete contribution at the start of the African Union’s themed year 2025, ‘Justice for African people and people of African Descent through reparations.’ This is the internal reparations, the healing, that African governments are responsible for.’”
Read original: https://www.balanta.org/news/guinea-bissau-grants-citizenship-to-african-diaspora