A DEDICATED community leader has been honoured by the United Nations.

Birkby man Milton Brown has been awarded a Fellowship for People of African Descent at the United Nations.

He is the chief executive officer of the Deighton-based Parents of Black Children Association (PBCA) and was chosen from 650 people internationally for the Fellowship. He is Europe’s only member.

Milton said: “This is an amazing opportunity and an honour.

“To be chosen from 650 applicants is testimony to the achievements of the whole team within PBCA and the partnerships that we have made within Kirklees Council over the last 14 years.

“I think that many people do not understand the ongoing plight of people of African descent. There is an argument that many people of African descent don’t understand it either.

“Some of us may have experienced it but not quite understood it due to the historical imbalance in economics, education and social depravation that consciously and unconsciously have been de-motivating people of African descent for a very long time.

“The UN believes that this needs to be addressed and I am fully committed to the task.”

The fellowship programme provides participants with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the United Nations Human Rights system with a focus on issues of particular relevance to people of African descent such as politics, law, religion, economics, class, gender, race, education, health and housing.

Milton will be working with nine other professionals from Uruguay, Brazil, Panama, Canada, Haiti, Israel, Ethiopia, USA and Colombia.

Part of his brief is to be an Ambassador for the United Nations and present his findings to the wider community.

Milton added: “The task is huge and I have never been one to turn my back on anything that I felt wasn’t worth fighting for.

“This is not only about the here and now, it’s about connecting to the past and looking to the future.

“Too many times I hear how disenfranchised the African and African Caribbean communities are.

“I feel what the UN are proposing couldn’t have come at a more significant and poignant time for people of African descent.”

Milton is a former RAF gunner serving for six years in the 1980s and serving in Northern Ireland and Germany.

He has helped build a school un Uganda and has worked with football clubs to cut racism.

He established the PBCA in 2006 to promote the success stories of young people from ethnic groups.