Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the General Assembly event to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, in New York today:
The transatlantic slave trade is an indelible stain on the conscience of humanity. For more than four centuries, enslaved Africans were kidnapped and trafficked, dehumanized, abused and exploited.
The depth and scale of the cruelty, inhumanity, and depravity of this practice is incomprehensible. So, too, is the suffering, fear, pain and misery endured by those millions of people exploited for profit.
Today, we reflect on families ripped apart and communities decimated. We remember the women, children, and men forced to work in agonizing conditions, savagely punished, and deprived of their dignity and human rights.
And we take strength in their resistance and demands for justice: From revolution in Haiti, to the underground railroad in the United States, to countless individual acts of courage and defiance.
I deeply regret that several countries — including my own — were engaged in this immoral trade. A trade driven by greed and built on lies — particularly the lie of white supremacy. A trade enabled by insurers, bankers, shipping companies, legal systems and more that saw individuals, institutions and corporations amass unimaginable wealth on the back of human suffering. When slavery was officially abolished, it was not the enslaved who were compensated, but the enslavers — receiving reparations equivalent to billions of dollars in today’s money.
In an even crueller twist, some slaves were forced to pay compensation. Haiti had to fund payouts to those who had profited from its suffering — all in the name of securing its independence.
Today is not only a day of remembrance. It is also a day to reflect on the enduring legacies of slavery and colonialism and to strengthen our resolve to combat those evils today.
The obscene profits derived from chattel slavery and the racist ideologies that underpinned the trade are still with us. Systemic racism has been embedded into institutions, cultures, and social systems.
And deeply rooted exclusion, racial discrimination and violence continue to undermine the ability of many people of African descent to thrive and achieve their full potential.
For too long, the crimes of the transatlantic slave trade — and their ongoing impact — have remained unacknowledged, unspoken and unaddressed.
Links to slavery were buried, histories were rewritten, minimized or overlooked, ongoing harms were excused or dismissed and perpetrators seemed to hope their actions would be lost to the past.
They were wrong. Thanks to the tireless work of affected leaders and communities, calls to acknowledge and repair the past can no longer be ignored.
This year, at both the African Union Summit and the Caribbean Community Heads of Government Meeting, I heard leader after leader make a powerful case for reparatory justice.
Some institutions and States are taking steps to acknowledge and address their pasts; museums and public spaces are commemorating the resistance of people of African descent and celebrating their vast contribution to societies. This is a start.
But we need much more. The horrors of the transatlantic slave trade are an undeniable fact. Acknowledging this truth is not only necessary, it is vital for addressing past wrongs, healing the present, and building a future of dignity and justice for all.
It is also important that reparatory justice frameworks are grounded in international human rights law, developed with the participation of affected communities and acknowledge the terrible harms caused.
I urge everyone to play their part in building inclusive societies free from the evils of racism.
That means countries complying with their international obligations — including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, implementing the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and becoming parties to the Convention if they are not already.
It means business leaders promoting equality and combating racism. And it means civil society and everyday people continuing to push for justice and taking a stand against racism wherever and whenever it appears.
This mission is at the heart of the United Nations. The human dignity of every person is our founding creed. We must stand with everyone, everywhere, to combat racial discrimination and hate and to defend the human rights and dignity of all.
