“Today we come together in solemn solidarity to affirm the truth and pursue a path toward healing and restorative justice,” said Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, speaking before the vote on behalf of the 54-member African Group, the U.N.’s largest regional bloc.
President John Mahama of Ghana addresses the United Nations General Assembly on the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Stolen, chained, sent
For more than 400 years, millions of people were kidnapped from Africa, chained, and sent to the New World to work in cotton fields and sugar and coffee plantations under scorching heat and the crack of the whip.
Denied their basic humanity and even their own names, they were forced to endure generations of exploitation with repercussions that resonate today including persistent racism and discrimination against black people.
The resolution emphasized “the trafficking in enslaved Africans and the racialized slavery of Africans as chattel.” the most serious crime against humanity due to the definitive rupture in world history, the scale, duration, systemic nature, brutality and lasting consequences that continue to structure the lives of all people through racialized regimes of labor, property and capital.”
There are spirits of the victims of slavery present in this room right now, and they are hearing one word: justice.
Esther Philips, Barbados’ first poet laureate
A slavery monument in Stone Town, Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania.
Address errors and support repairs
He affirmed the importance of addressing historical wrongs affecting Africans and diaspora peoples in a way that promotes justice, human rights, dignity and healing, while emphasizing that Repair claims represent a concrete step towards reparation..
The text was “highly problematic in countless ways,” Ambassador Dan Negrea, the US representative to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), said before the vote.
He lamented that Washington “must once again remind this body that the United Nations exists to maintain international peace and security” and that “it was not founded to promote narrow specific interests and agendas, to establish specialized International Days, or to create costly new meeting and reporting mandates.”
BesidesThe United States “does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred.”
A serious violation of human rights
The horrors of slavery echoed in the General Assembly Hall as Member States marked the International Day to Remember its Victims.
“The slave trade and slavery are among the most serious violations of human rights in human history: an affront to the very principles enshrined in the Charter of our United Nations. and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which were born, in part, from these past injustices,” said Assembly President Annalena Baerbock.
The countries from which enslaved Africans were taken also suffered “hollowing out,” losing entire generations who could have potentially helped them prosper.
“It was, to put it in colder terms, massive resource extraction“, said.
Eliminate persistent barriers
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for confronting slavery’s lasting legacies of inequality and racism.
“We must now remove the persistent barriers that prevent so many people of African descent from exercising their rights and realizing their potential.“, said.
“We must commit, fully and without hesitation, to human rights, equality and the inherent value of each person.”
In this sense, the Second International Decade for People of African Descent and the African Union Decade of Reparations are important.
Respect for African countries
He urged countries to use them to drive action to eradicate systemic racism, ensure restorative justice and accelerate inclusive development, marked by equal access to education, health, employment, housing and a safe environment.
“But Much bolder actions are needed, by many more States.”he added.
“This includes commitments to respect the ownership of African countries over their own natural resources. And measures to ensure their equal participation and influence in the global financial architecture and the UN Security Council.”
There is no peace without restorative justice
Barbados Poet Laureate Esther Philips read some of her works, including an article about a young woman walking through the grounds of a former sugar plantation and not understanding its historical significance while her ancestors buried there looked on.
“There are spirits of the victims of slavery present in this room right now, and they are hearing one word: justice.”Ms Philips told delegates.
“Because for them and for the world, there can be no peace without justice – restorative justice – and that call is only answered when words become action. The question is, what will they do?”