Resolution Under the leadership of Ghana, it got 123 votes in its favor. Three countries – Argentina, Israel and the United States – voted against. And 52 remained absent.
“Today, we come together in full solidarity to affirm the truth and walk the path of healing and restorative justice,” Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama, speaking ahead of the vote on behalf of the 54-member African Group – the largest regional bloc at the UN – said.
Ghana’s President John Mahama addressed the UN General Assembly on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Stolen, shackled, sent away
For more than 400 years, millions of people were stolen from Africa, put in chains and shipped to the New World to toil in cotton fields, sugar and coffee plantations under scorching heat and whiplash.
He denied his basic humanity and even his name Were forced to endure exploitation for generations, the ill effects of which are still being heard today. Which includes persistent anti-Black racism and discrimination.
The resolution emphasized “trafficking of enslaved Africans and racially enslaving Africans”. The most serious crime against humanity Because of the definitive break in world history, the scale, duration, systemic nature, brutality and lasting consequences of which continue to structure the lives of all people through the racial regimes of labour, property and capital.
The souls of the victims of slavery are present in this room right now and they are hearing only one word: Justice.
Esther Phillips, Barbados’ first poet laureate
A slavery memorial in Stone Town, Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania.
Fix mistakes, support compensation
It reaffirmed the importance of addressing historical wrongs affecting Africans and peoples of the diaspora in a way that promotes justice, human rights, dignity and healing, while also emphasizing that Compensation claims represent a concrete step towards resolution.
“The text was deeply problematic in countless respects,” said Ambassador Dan Negria, the US representative to the UN. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), said before the vote.
He expressed regret that Washington should “once again remind this body that the United Nations exists to maintain international peace and security” and “was not established to pursue narrow specific interests and agendas, establish specific international days, or create new expensive meeting and reporting mandates.”
AheadThe US “does not recognize a legal right to reparation for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred.”
a serious human rights violation
Echoes echoed through the General Assembly hall as member states recalled the horrors of slavery. 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 principles enshrined in the Charter of our United Nations. and this Universal Declaration of Human RightsThey themselves, to some extent, are born out of these injustices of the past,” said Assembly President Annalena Baerbock.
The countries from which Africans were enslaved also had to be “hollowed out”, losing entire generations that could potentially have helped them prosper.
“To put it bluntly, it was, large scale resource extraction,” He said.
overcome persistent obstacles
united nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for Confronting the enduring legacy of slavery’s 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,” He said.
“We must be fully and without hesitation committed to human rights, equality and the inherent worth of every person.”
in this regard, Second International Decade for People of African Descent And the African Union’s Reparations Decade is important.
respect for african countries
He urged countries to use them to take action to eliminate systemic racism, ensure restorative justice, and accelerate inclusive growth marked by equal access to education, health, employment, housing and safe environments.
“But Far bolder action is needed by many more states“He said.
“This includes commitments to respect African countries’ ownership of their natural resources. And steps to ensure their equal participation and influence in the global financial architecture and the United Nations.” security council”
No peace without restorative justice
Barbados poet Esther Phillips read some of her works, including a piece about a young girl wandering the grounds of a former sugar plantation and not understanding its historical significance as her ancestors are buried there.
“The souls of the victims of slavery are present in this room right now and they are hearing only one word: Justice.“Ms Phillips 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 are turned into action. The question is, what will you do?”
