The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution recognizing the trafficking of enslaved Africans as the “gravest crime against humanity”. One hundred and twenty-three countries voted in favor of the resolution, which was championed by Ghana and backed by the African Union and Caribbean nations.
The resolution is a significant step towards acknowledging the historical injustices of the transatlantic slave trade, which involved the kidnapping, enslavement, and transport of at least 12.5 million Africans to the Americas and the Caribbean between the 15th and 19th centuries. Conditions on the journey were so horrific that only 10.7 million survived.
Global Response to the Resolution
The United States, Israel, and Argentina were the only countries to vote against the resolution, while the United Kingdom and all 27 members of the European Union abstained. Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa posted a photo of the results on social media, saying: “We did it for Africa and all people of African descent.”
According to the United Nations, the transatlantic slave trade was a brutal system of exploitation that had a profound impact on the lives of millions of people. The resolution “unequivocally condemns the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans, slavery and the transatlantic slave trade as the most inhumane and enduring injustice against humanity”.
Call for Reparatory Justice
The resolution calls on UN member nations to engage in talks “on reparatory justice, including a full and formal apology, measures of restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, guarantees of non-repetition and changes to laws, programmes and services to address racism and systemic discrimination”. Ghana’s Foreign Minister Ablakwa said that some nations had refused to acknowledge their crimes, and that the perpetrators of the transatlantic slave trade, including European countries and the United States, should formally apologize to Africa and all people of African descent.
The Netherlands remains the only European country to have issued a formal apology for its role in slavery. Other European nations involved in the slave trade, including Portugal, Spain, Britain, France, Denmark, and Sweden, have yet to do so.
Here are some key facts about the transatlantic slave trade:
- At least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, enslaved, and transported to the Americas and the Caribbean between the 15th and 19th centuries.
- Only 10.7 million survived the journey, with millions dying due to harsh conditions and treatment.
- The transatlantic slave trade was a brutal system of exploitation that had a profound impact on the lives of millions of people.
- The resolution calls on UN member nations to engage in talks on reparatory justice, including a full and formal apology, measures of restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, guarantees of non-repetition and changes to laws, programmes and services to address racism and systemic discrimination.
The adoption of the resolution is a significant step towards acknowledging the historical injustices of the transatlantic slave trade and towards promoting reparatory justice and healing for the victims and their descendants.
