In a historic move hailed by advocates, the UN General Assembly condemned the transatlantic slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity,” calling on nations involved to pursue restorative justice and reparations.
The resolution passed with 123 votes in favor, three against, and 52 abstentions, despite opposition from the United States, Israel and Argentina.
Though non-binding, the measure urges countries to acknowledge slavery’s enduring legacy, including persistent racial discrimination and neo-colonial influences in today’s world.
“The transatlantic slave trade was a crime against humanity that struck at the core of personhood, broke up families, and devastated communities”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. “To justify the unjustifiable, slavery’s proponents and beneficiaries constructed a racist ideology, turning prejudice into a pseudoscience”.
However, the United States, Israel, and Argentina opposed the resolution, while Britain and EU countries abstained. U.S. Ambassador, Dan Negrea, described the text as “highly problematic”, noting that the U.S. does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time.
French representative, Sylvain Fournel, warned that the resolution “risks pitting historical tragedies against each other that should not be compared, except at the expense of the memory of the victims”.
Also speaking, Ghanaian Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, rejected claims that the resolution ranks human suffering.
“The perpetrators of the transatlantic slave trade are known: the Europeans, the United States of America. We expect all of them to formally apologize to Africa and to all people of African descent”, he said.
He called for formal apologies and the return of looted African artifacts as part of restorative justice.
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