The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday called the historic transatlantic trade in African slaves “the most serious crime against humanity” and called for reparations as a “concrete step to righting historical wrongs”. Slovakia abstained from the vote, similar to other Western countries and members of the European Union. TASR informs about it with reference to AP and AFP agencies.
UN member states in the resolution “condemned the African slave trade and the racially conditioned enslavement of Africans, slavery and the transatlantic slave trade as the most inhuman and enduring injustice against humanity”. They also demand the “swift and immediate return” of cultural artefacts – including works of art, monuments, museum exhibits, documents and national archives – to their countries of origin without compensation.
123 UN member states voted for the resolution. The United States, Israel and Argentina voted against and 52 other members abstained, including the United Kingdom and EU member states. The UNGA resolution presented by Ghana is not binding.
“Today we gather in heartfelt solidarity to affirm the truth and embark on a journey of healing and restorative justice,” Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama said before the vote. “The adoption of this resolution serves as a guarantee against oblivion. Let it be recorded that when history called upon us, we did what was right to the memory of the millions who suffered the indignity of slavery.” he declared.
The resolution calls on UN member states to begin negotiations on “restorative justice, including a full and formal apology, property restitution measures, compensation, rehabilitation, guarantees of non-repetition, as well as changes in laws, programs and services aimed at addressing racism and systemic discrimination”.
Chargé d’affaires of the British Permanent Mission to the United Nations James Kariuki declared that the history of slavery and “its devastating consequences and long-term effects” must never be forgotten. However, Britain, together with the majority of Western countries, abstained from voting.
The resolution was symbolically adopted by the UN General Assembly on March 25, which is the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. It has been commemorated since 2008 in memory of the millions of victims who died in the 16th to 19th centuries as a result of slavery and the transatlantic trade.
