A coalition of student, scholar, activist, and civil society organizations from Africa and Brazil has launched a formal petition urging governments on both sides of the Atlantic to overhaul how African students are treated within the Brazilian higher education system, framing their demands explicitly within the language of historical reparation.
The landmark petition calls on governments in Brasília and across lusophone Africa to address systemic racism, bureaucratic barriers, and neglect facing thousands of students.
The petition, titled Reparations and Educational Cooperation Between Brazil and the PALOP, was presented collectively during a virtual media briefing following the International Webinar series on Historical Reparations, Education, and Brazil–Africa Cooperation, held from 19 to 21 August 2025. It is addressed to a broad range of authorities, including Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Brazilian Immigration Services, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs across the PALOP, the Portuguese-speaking African countries of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe, as well as the African Union.
The document has been co-signed by three organisations: the African Women’s Collective at UNILAB, the historic Brazilian welfare organisation Associação Protetora dos Desvalidos, and the pan-African advocacy network Africans Rising for Unity, Justice, Peace, and Dignity.
Despite the long-standing cultural, linguistic, and historical ties between Brazil and lusophone Africa, a relationship forged in large part through the transatlantic slave trade, the petition argues that African students in Brazilian universities continue to face conditions that are “at odds with the country’s own constitutional commitments.”
The signatories invoke Brazil’s 1988 Constitution (Articles 3-IV and 5), the Statute of Racial Equality (Law 12.288/2010), and the national education laws mandating the teaching of African and Afro-Brazilian history (Laws 10.639/2003 and 11.645/2008), as well as international frameworks including ICERD and CEDAW.
“Reparations are not a favour granted to Afro-descendant peoples,” the petition states bluntly. “They represent justice — overdue, multifaceted, and essential.”
The petition catalogues six major areas of concern affecting African students in Brazil:
- Systemic Racism and Xenophobia — Students report discrimination from peers, professors, and the wider public, including exclusion from academic networks and persistent stereotyping, despite Brazil’s historic and demographic ties to Africa.
- Sexism and Gender-Based Discrimination — African women, particularly student mothers, face compounded hardship. The petition notes that universities rarely provide childcare services or safe housing, effectively forcing women to choose between their academic ambitions and their families’ wellbeing.
- Immigration and Bureaucratic Barriers — Visa delays, complex documentation requirements, and uncertain legal status leave many students in precarious and exploitable situations. Signatories argue that immigration systems designed to facilitate academic mobility are, in practice, perpetuating exclusion.
- Economic Hardship — Scholarships, where they exist, are frequently insufficient to cover basic living expenses. Irregular payment schedules have pushed some students into unsafe and exploitative employment, diverting their attention from their studies.
- Cultural Alienation and Lack of Integration — Despite a shared language, African students often feel deeply disconnected from Brazilian academic and social life, citing the absence of structured integration programmes as a significant obstacle.
- Psychological Distress — The cumulative effect of racism, financial strain, and cultural isolation manifests in elevated rates of stress, anxiety, and depression. The petition warns that universities seldom provide culturally competent mental health support, leaving students to “suffer in silence.”
Beyond cataloguing grievances, the petition presents a concrete set of demands:
- Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is urged to elevate reparations-driven cooperation as a diplomatic priority, enshrining student protections in binding bilateral agreements.
- Brazilian Immigration Services are called upon to streamline visa processes, eliminate discriminatory practices, and create secure legal pathways for African students.
- Brazil’s Ministry of Education is asked to enforce a zero-tolerance policy on racism and sexism within universities, extend childcare and housing provisions to student mothers, and comprehensively reform academic curricula to reflect African and Afro-Brazilian knowledge systems.
- PALOP Embassies in Brazil are challenged to move beyond symbolic welfare desks and establish fully staffed student affairs offices, emergency response funds, 24-hour assistance hotlines, and bilateral liaison committees with Brazilian institutions.
- Joint Brazil–Africa Agreements should adopt a holistic conception of reparations — one that encompasses educational, cultural, ecological, and financial dimensions, including cultural restitution and climate justice cooperation.
The petition reflects a growing frustration that formal agreements between Brazil and PALOP nations have not translated into meaningful changes for students on the ground.
“There is a profound gap between the rhetoric of Afro-Brazilian solidarity and the lived reality of African students navigating Brazilian institutions,” an education policy researcher noted. “This petition is significant because it does not merely ask for better welfare services, it demands a fundamental reframing of the entire cooperation architecture as a reparative project.”
The petition arrives as discussions around historical reparations gain renewed momentum across Latin America, the African continent, and in multilateral bodies including the United Nations.
The governments of Brazil and the PALOP nations have not yet issued formal responses to the petition. Signatories say they expect acknowledgement and engagement from the relevant ministries and embassies within 60 days of submission.
