Dear MEL Topic Readers,
UN votes to recognise slavery as gravest crime against humanity
The African coastal slave trade was established by Europeans in the
15th century, and trade to the Americas began in the 16th century, lasting until
the 19th century. The vast majority of the slaves were captured in Central and
West Africa, transported, and sold to European traders, who then shipped them
to the Americas as part of the triangular trade. It is estimated that around 12
to 15 million Africans were captured, traded, and forced to work as slaves. On
March 25, a resolution to designate the Transatlantic Trafficking of Enslaved
Africans and the enslavement system as the gravest crime against humanity was
adopted at the UN General Assembly with an overwhelming majority of 123 member
states. Three members, Argentina, Israel, and the United States, voted against
the resolution, and 52, including many European countries, abstained. The
resolution, which was spearheaded by Ghana and strongly supported by the
African Union, is meant to safeguard against forgetting the inhumane practice. African
countries also call for financial repartition, including educational,
endowment, and skills training funds. The US said it does not recognize a legal
right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under
international law at the time they occurred, and refused to use modern
resources for reparations.
Read the article and learn what recognition and reparation of slavery mean
to African countries.
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