The UN resolution is non-binding but could pave the way for public apologies and reparations. The US voted against it, while Italy abstained.
The slave trade was the worst crime against humanity in history. This was established by the United Nations General Assembly in a resolution approved by 123 countries, rejected by the United States, Israel and Argentina, and with 52 abstentions, including Italy.
The resolution, presented by Ghana, is not legally binding and has mainly symbolic value. Its aim is to achieve international recognition of the transatlantic slave trade as a crime, as a step toward possible public apologies and reparations by the states involved.
The UN resolution on slavery
The resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly states that “the trafficking of enslaved Africans and the racialised enslavement of Africans constitute the most serious crime against humanity.” This is not only because of what it meant in the past — “its definitive rupture with world history, its scale, its duration, its systemic nature, its brutality” — but also because of its lasting consequences, “which continue to shape the lives of all people through racial regimes of labour, property and capital.”
The reference is to more than 15 million Africans enslaved and trafficked across the Atlantic Ocean between the 1500s and 1800s. The text was proposed by Ghana, a West African country heavily involved in the slave trade and where the signs of that period are still visible, such as coastal forts where tens of thousands of people were held in terrible conditions. The drafting of the text was also supported by the African Union (AU) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
“We have done what was right for the memory of millions of people who suffered the indignity of slavery,” said Ghana’s president John Dramani Mahama in his speech at the UN. The resolution was approved with 123 votes in favour, three against (United States, Israel and Argentina) and 52 abstentions, including all members of the European Union. The United Kingdom, for example, justified its abstention by stating that today’s governments cannot be held responsible for the actions of past governments. US ambassador to the UN Dan Negrea argued that at the time slavery was not considered a crime under international law, and therefore Washington cannot be held accountable today.
Reparations for descendants?
The first recognition of the transatlantic slave trade as a crime by the UN dates back to 2001, during a conference against racism, xenophobia and related intolerance held in Durban, South Africa. The approval of the new resolution by the General Assembly represents a further step toward obtaining political recognition at the highest level for one of the darkest periods in history.
The text is not binding, but rather symbolic, within a broader process that aims to lead to official apologies by the states responsible for the slave trade and potentially to reparations for the descendants of victims. “History does not disappear if it is ignored, truth does not weaken if it is postponed, crime does not rot and justice does not expire with time,” said Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Ablakwa in his address to the UN.
A debate on reparations has been ongoing for some time, and surveys show growing awareness in countries historically responsible for the transatlantic slave trade. In a 2000 survey, only 4 per cent of the white US population supported reparations for African American descendants of enslaved people; today that figure has risen to 30 per cent. At the same time, in the United States, the issue faces political resistance from President Donald Trump. During his term, he ordered a review of Smithsonian museums, accusing them of focusing too much on slavery and not enough on American exceptionalism. Numerous artefacts and exhibits related to slavery have been removed from national historic parks, and the president has also personally supported the preservation of monuments honouring Confederate leaders who fought to preserve slavery.
On the sidelines of the resolution’s approval, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for “more courageous actions by many more states” to address the legacies of inequality and racism left by slavery.
Siamo anche su WhatsApp.
Segui il canale ufficiale LifeGate per restare aggiornata, aggiornato sulle ultime notizie e sulle nostre attività.
Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.
