Source: United Nations (Video News)
Video Message by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
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“”The transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans was a crime against humanity that resonates through
history and continues to scar societies. Today, we remember the women, children, and men torn
from their loved ones, forced to work in agonizing conditions, cruelly punished, and deprived of
their dignity and human rights, and we recall their acts of resistance and demands for justice.
For more than four centuries, millions of Africans were kidnapped, trafficked, abused and
dehumanized. This horrific enterprise rested on the destructive lie of white supremacy. And it
saw many colonizers, corporations and institutions amass unimaginable wealth.
For too long, these unthinkable acts have remained unacknowledged, unspoken, and
unaddressed, all as their legacies continue to shape our world. Many still benefit from the odious
profits reaped from chattel slavery. Systemic racism has been embedded into institutions,
cultures, and legal and other systems. Deeply rooted exclusion, racial discrimination and
violence continue to undermine the ability of many people of African descent to thrive and
prosper.
As the theme of this year’s International Day reminds us, acknowledging the horrors of the
transatlantic slave trade is an essential step towards addressing the past, repairing the present,
and building a future of dignity and justice for all. It is imperative to put in place reparatory
justice frameworks that address this terrible history and its legacies. And we must end the evil of
racism for good.
The human dignity of every person stands at the heart of the United Nations. We will always
stand with everyone, everywhere to combat racial discrimination and hate, and to defend the
human rights and dignity of all.””