The UN General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution recognizing the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized chattel enslavement as the “gravest crime against humanity.” The Ghana-led measure, supported by the African Union and many Caribbean states, passed 123 to 3, with 52 abstentions. The United States, Israel and Argentina voted against the text; the abstention group included the United Kingdom and all 27 members of the European Union.
Ghana said the resolution was necessary because the legacies of slavery persist in present-day racial disparities. After the vote, Ghana’s foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, celebrated the outcome as a victory for Africa and people of African descent. Speaking for the African Union, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama said the declaration affirms historical truth and seeks pathways toward healing and reparative justice while guarding against forgetting.
Titled the “Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime Against Humanity,” the text expressly condemns the trafficking of enslaved Africans, racialized chattel enslavement, slavery and the transatlantic slave trade as among the most inhumane and long-lasting injustices. It urges UN member states to begin talks on reparatory justice, including consideration of a formal apology, restitution and compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, guarantees of non-repetition, and legal and policy changes to address racism and systemic discrimination.
Ghanaian officials argued that those responsible for the transatlantic trade are known and that affected communities deserve recognition, apology and remedies. Ablakwa suggested that measures could include structural reforms, compensation and the return of looted artifacts; the Netherlands remains the only European country so far to have issued a formal state apology for its role in slavery. European powers historically involved in the trade include Portugal, Spain, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden.
Opponents and abstaining states cited legal and political objections. They warned against holding contemporary states liable for historical acts and objected to any implication of ranking crimes against humanity. Before the vote, US deputy ambassador Dan Negrea said the United States does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time, and the EU’s representative noted concerns about legal and factual issues, including retroactive application of international law. Ghana’s foreign minister replied that history and justice do not vanish with time.
The resolution is symbolic and non-binding, but supporters say it broadens international recognition of the harms caused by the transatlantic slave trade and creates space for future discussions on reparative measures.