Thursday, March 26, 2026 - The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution recognizing the enslavement of Africans during the transatlantic slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity.”
The resolution, proposed by Ghana, aimed at advancing calls
for justice and reparations.
It was adopted with 123 votes in favour, as reported by BBC.
Three countries—the United States, Israel and Argentina
voted against it, while fifty-two countries, including the United Kingdom and
European Union member states, abstained.
The resolution urged UN member states to consider issuing
formal apologies for the slave trade and contributing to a reparations fund,
although it did not specify any monetary amount.
Speaking ahead of the vote, Ghana’s President, John Mahama,
said the decision was necessary to honour victims and confront the legacy of
slavery.
“Let it be recorded that when history beckoned, we did what
was right for the memory of the millions who suffered the indignity of the
slave trade and those who continue to suffer racial discrimination,” he said.
“The adoption of this resolution serves as a safeguard
against forgetting. It also challenges the enduring scars of slavery.”
Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the
resolution was aimed at securing justice rather than financial gain.
“We are demanding compensation — and let us be clear,
African leaders are not asking for money for themselves.
“We want justice for the victims and causes to be supported,
educational and endowment funds, skills training funds,” he said.
The campaign for reparations has gained momentum in recent
years, with “reparatory justice” adopted as the African Union’s theme for 2025,
while Commonwealth leaders have also called for dialogue on the issue.
According to the UN data, over 15 million men, women and
children were the victims of the tragic transatlantic slave trade.
Research by the UK’s Royal Museums Greenwich also shows
that 450,000 of the 3.4 million Africans transported in British ships died on
the Atlantic crossing.
The resolution, backed by the African Union and the
Caribbean Community, noted that the consequences of slavery persist in the form
of racial inequalities and underdevelopment affecting people of African descent
globally.
Several countries, however, raised objections during the
debate.
The United Kingdom acknowledged the harm caused by the slave
trade but argued that the resolution posed challenges in terms of wording and
international law.
“No single set of atrocities should be regarded as more or
less significant than another,” the UK’s UN ambassador, James Kariuki, said.
Similarly, the United States said it does not recognise a
legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under
international law at the time they occurred.
US ambassador Dan Negrea also criticised what he described
as the “cynical usage of historical wrongs” to seek modern compensation.
The resolution further called for the return of cultural
artefacts taken during the colonial era.
“We want a return of all those looted artefacts, which
represent our heritage, our culture and our spiritual significance,” Ablakwa
said.
Despite its adoption, UN General Assembly resolutions are
not legally binding, though they carry significant moral and political weight.
0 Comments