UN General Assembly Designates Transatlantic Slave Trade as 'Gravest Crime Against Humanity'

The UN General Assembly passed a landmark resolution with 123 votes in favor declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity and calling for apologies and reparations, though the United States, Israel, and Argentina voted against it while 52 countries including the UK and EU members abstained. Ghana proposed the resolution, backed by the African Union and Caribbean Community, urging contributions to a reparations fund for education and skills training rather than direct payments, while calling for the return of stolen cultural artifacts. The US rejected the resolution arguing historical acts cannot be judged by modern international law and objected to what it called cynical resource reallocation, while the UK cited concerns about holding contemporary institutions responsible for past wrongs. The resolution addresses the enslavement of 12-15 million Africans between 1500 and 1800, with over two million dying during transport, and states that consequences persist today in racial inequalities and underdevelopment affecting people of African descent worldwide.

UN Resolution Designating Transatlantic Slave Trade as Gravest Crime Against Humanity

• ▪Fifty-two countries abstained from voting on the UN General Assembly resolution on the transatlantic slave trade, including the United Kingdom and European Union member states
• ▪The UN General Assembly resolution on the transatlantic slave trade was adopted with 123 votes in favor and three against
• ▪The United States, Israel, and Argentina voted against the UN General Assembly resolution on the transatlantic slave trade
• ▪The UN General Assembly resolution on the transatlantic slave trade was backed by the African Union and the Caribbean Community

Calls for Reparations and Restitution of Cultural Artifacts

• ▪Reparatory justice was the African Union's official theme for 2025

Opposition from Western Nations and Legal Objections

• ▪US Ambassador to the UN Dan Negrea stated that the UN General Assembly resolution on the transatlantic slave trade was unclear as to whom the recipients of reparatory justice would be
• ▪UK Ambassador to the UN James Kariuki stated that the UN General Assembly resolution on the transatlantic slave trade was problematic in terms of its wording and international law

Historical Context and Contemporary Impact of the Slave Trade

• ▪Between 1500 and 1800, around 12-15 million people were captured in Africa and taken to the Americas where they were forced to work as slaves
• ▪Ghana's President John Mahama criticized Donald Trump's administration for normalizing the erasure of black history

Perspective of African Union and Caribbean Community

• ▪The African Union and Caribbean Community frame reparations as essential to correcting persistent global racial and economic inequalities rooted in slavery
• ▪The African Union has made reparatory justice a central priority by designating it as the organization's official theme for 2025