UN Labels Transatlantic Slave Trade “Gravest Crime Against Humanity”
Spanning the 16th to 19th centuries, the trade forcibly displaced an estimated 25–30 million Africans, who were “shackled” and “dragged off to the Americas and the Caribbean,” marking it as the largest transcontinental forced migration in recorded history, according to reports. Some analyses suggest that the worldwide economic repercussions of the trade and its enduring effects may exceed $100 trillion.
Introduced on Wednesday, the resolution received 123 votes in favor, while the entirety of NATO either opposed or abstained.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised the adoption, describing the transatlantic slave trade as a “monstrous system” and emphasizing the need to address its ongoing consequences.
Prior to the vote, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama highlighted that the resolution represents a pursuit of truth, a step toward healing and reparative justice, and urged UN members to support it as a way of doing what is “right for the memory of the millions who suffered the indignity of slavery.”
The resolution coincides with the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and reinforces long-standing efforts by African and Caribbean nations to seek acknowledgment and reparations for historical injustices.
Russia backed the measure, joining a coalition of Global South nations calling for stronger international recognition of the harms caused by slavery.
Meanwhile, the US representative to the UN Economic and Social Council, Dan Negrea, explained that Washington opposed the resolution because it “does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred.”
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