UN Adopts Landmark Resolution Declaring Transatlantic Slave Trade a Crime Against Humanity
In a significant moment of global reckoning, 123 United Nations Member States, including Nigeria and Ghana, have adopted a resolution formally declaring the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity. This historic vote, held on Wednesday, marks a crucial step in acknowledging the profound and lasting impact of this brutal system.
The resolution, championed by Ghana, garnered overwhelming support, with only three nations—Argentina, Israel, and the United States—voting against it, and 52 abstaining. This adoption coincides with the commemoration of the Second International Decade for People of African Descent and the African Union’s Decade of Reparations, underscoring the ongoing relevance and urgency of addressing the legacy of slavery.
Speaking on behalf of the 54-member African Group, the largest regional bloc at the UN, Ghana’s President John Mahama articulated the collective sentiment. “Today, we come together in solemn solidarity to affirm truth and pursue a route to healing and reparative justice,” he stated, emphasizing the need for acknowledgement and action.
For over four centuries, millions of Africans were forcibly removed from their homelands, subjected to unimaginable suffering during the arduous journey across the Atlantic, and compelled to labour under brutal conditions on plantations in the New World. This systematic dehumanization denied individuals their basic rights, their identities, and their very humanity. The repercussions of this exploitation continue to manifest today in persistent anti-Black racism and discrimination, highlighting the enduring structural inequalities rooted in this historical injustice.
The adopted resolution unequivocally emphasizes “the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity by reason of the definitive break in world history.” It further acknowledges the immense scale, prolonged duration, systemic nature, profound brutality, and enduring consequences of this crime. These factors, the resolution notes, continue to shape global societies through racialized systems of labour, property, and capital.
A core affirmation of the resolution is the imperative to address historical injustices that have affected Africans and people of the diaspora. This process, it asserts, must be conducted in a manner that actively promotes justice, upholds human rights, restores dignity, and facilitates healing. The resolution also explicitly recognizes that pursuing claims for reparations represents a tangible and necessary step towards achieving this remedy.
UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock underscored the gravity of the situation, stating, “The slave trade and slavery stand among the gravest violations of human rights in human history.” She further highlighted that this historical atrocity was “an affront to the very principles enshrined in the Charter of our United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, themselves born, in part, from these injustices of the past.” Baerbock also pointed out the significant developmental cost borne by the nations from which enslaved Africans were taken, describing it as a “hollowing out” due to the loss of generations who could have contributed to their nations’ prosperity. In stark terms, she characterized the slave trade as “mass resource extraction.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres echoed the call for confronting the lingering effects of slavery, urging a concerted effort to dismantle the persistent barriers that impede people of African descent from fully exercising their rights and realizing their potential. “We must commit, fully and without hesitation, to human rights, equality, and the inherent worth of every person,” he declared.
Guterres implored nations to accelerate actions aimed at eradicating systemic racism, ensuring reparative justice, and fostering inclusive development. This includes guaranteeing equal access to essential services such as education, healthcare, employment, and housing, as well as ensuring a safe environment for all. Furthermore, the Secretary-General emphasized the importance of respecting African countries’ sovereignty over their natural resources and ensuring their equitable participation and influence in global financial institutions and the UN Security Council.
The U.S. representative to the UN Economic and Social Council, Dan Negrea, articulated the United States’ position, stating that the country “does not recognise a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred.” This stance highlights the ongoing debates and differing perspectives on the path forward for addressing historical injustices and their contemporary implications.
The adoption of this resolution represents a significant moral and political statement by the international community, acknowledging the profound historical crime of the transatlantic slave trade and laying a foundation for continued dialogue and action towards justice and reconciliation.
