UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations General Assembly voted Wednesday to declare the transatlantic slave trade the “gravest crime against humanity” and called for reparatory justice for enslaved Africans and their descendants, marking a historic shift in the international community’s engagement with slavery’s enduring legacy.
The resolution passed 123-3, with 52 abstentions. The United States, Israel, and Argentina were the only three nations to vote against it. The United Kingdom and all 27 European Union members abstained.
Ghana Leads Historic Vote
President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana, the African Union’s Champion for Reparations, spearheaded the resolution that took more than a year to negotiate. The vote took place on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, honoring the memory of approximately 13 million African men, women, and children enslaved over four centuries.
“Today, we come together in solemn solidarity to affirm truth and pursue a route to healing and reparative justice,” Mahama said before the vote. “The adoption of this resolution serves as a safeguard against forgetting. Let it be recorded that when history beckoned, we did what was right for the memory of the millions who suffered the indignity of slavery.”
Diplomats applauded and some cheered when the resolution was adopted.
What the Resolution Requires
The resolution, while not legally binding, carries significant political weight. It calls on U.N. member nations to engage in dialogue on reparatory justice measures including:
- Full and formal apologies for slavery
- Measures of restitution and compensation
- Rehabilitation and guarantees of non-repetition
- Changes to laws, programs and services to address systemic racism
- Equal access to education, health, employment, housing, and a safe environment
- Prompt return of stolen cultural artifacts, artworks, and documents to countries of origin
Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa emphasized that the resolution “is not about apportioning blame across generations or nations” but ensuring historical wounds are “neither forgotten nor denied.”
Why the U.S. Voted No
Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dan Negrea called the resolution’s text “highly problematic in countless respects” before the vote.
“The United States does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred,” Negrea said in a statement. He also objected to ranking crimes against humanity, saying that suggesting “some crimes against humanity are less severe than others objectively diminishes the suffering of countless victims and survivors of other atrocities throughout history.”
The European Union echoed similar concerns about “the use of superlatives” implying a hierarchy among atrocity crimes, as well as what it called “unbalanced interpretation of historical events.”
What Happens Next
The resolution encourages collaboration between the African Union, the Caribbean Community, and the Organization of American States with U.N. bodies on reparatory justice and reconciliation efforts. It also calls for voluntary contributions to promote education on the transatlantic slave trade.
The Netherlands remains the only European country to have issued a formal apology for its role in slavery. The resolution builds on Ghana’s “Year of Return” initiatives and the African Union’s 2025 effort to create a unified vision for what reparations may look like.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called for “far bolder action” from more states to confront slavery’s lasting legacies. “Now we must remove the persistent barriers that prevent so many people of African descent from exercising their rights and realizing their potential,” he said.