In a historic vote, the UN General Assembly did just that specific The trans-Atlantic slave trade and the racist enslavement of Africans, as “the most serious crime against humanity.”
Egypt joined 122 other countries in voting in favor of the resolution, which was approved by 123 votes in favour, with only three votes in favor (the United States, Israel and Argentina), with 52 abstentions, including several members of the European Union and the United Kingdom.
This resolution, which was adopted amid sustained applause at UN headquarters in New York, although not legally binding, constitutes an important step towards recognizing one of the most serious forms of injustice in history.
It calls on countries historically involved in the trade to seek restorative justice, including formal apologies, the return of looted artifacts, and to take concrete measures to address the enduring legacy of racial discrimination and neo-colonialism that continues to affect people of African descent around the world.
Ghanaian President John Mahama, a prominent voice in the African Union’s campaign for reparations, Directed The Assembly directs: “Today, we come together in solemn solidarity to affirm the truth and seek the path of healing and restorative justice. “The adoption of this resolution is a guarantee against being forgotten.”
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres Reinforced The moral weight of the moment, saying: “The transatlantic slave trade was a crime against humanity that struck at the core of character, broke up families, and destroyed communities. To justify the inexcusable, slavery’s proponents and profiteers constructed a racist ideology and turned prejudice into pseudoscience.”
Although the text is not binding Honestly He urges “restorative justice.” This includes formal acknowledgment of responsibility by former colonial powers, the return of cultural heritage stolen during the era of slavery, and efforts to dismantle the structural racism that still exists today.
The transatlantic slave trade, often Referred to The African slave trade, in discussions of the era, was the largest forced migration in recorded history. It began in the early 16th century when Portuguese traders first began shipping captured Africans to the Americas, and expanded rapidly under the colonial powers of Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands and others.
In the Americas, labor is unpaid slave Africans produced enormous wealth for the European empires and laid the economic foundations of the New World, while at the same time institutionalizing a system of racial hierarchy and racism.