The UN General Assembly has adopted a non-binding resolution that recognizes the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized chattel enslavement as the “gravest crime against humanity.” The measure, championed by Ghana and supported by the African Union and Caribbean nations, passed with 123 votes in favor. The United States, Israel and Argentina voted against it, while 52 countries abstained — a group that included the United Kingdom and all 27 members of the European Union.
Ghana said the resolution was needed because the legacies of slavery persist today, including enduring racial disparities. After the vote, Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa posted the results, declaring: “We did it for Africa and all people of African descent.” Speaking for the African Union, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama said the resolution affirms truth and seeks a path to healing and reparative justice, and serves as a safeguard against forgetting.
The resolution, titled “Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime Against Humanity,” unequivocally condemns the trafficking of enslaved Africans, racialized chattel enslavement, slavery and the transatlantic slave trade as among the most inhumane and enduring injustices. It calls on UN member states to engage in talks on reparatory justice, including consideration of a full and formal apology, restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, guarantees of non-repetition and changes to laws, programs and services to address racism and systemic discrimination.
Ghana’s representatives argued that those responsible for the transatlantic slave trade are known and that affected populations deserve recognition, apology and remedies. Ablakwa suggested institutions should address structural racism and that compensation and the return of looted artifacts could be part of restorative justice. The Netherlands is the only European country so far to have issued a formal state apology for its role in slavery. Key European nations historically involved in the trade included Portugal, Spain, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden.
Some countries opposed or abstained on legal and political grounds. Opponents argued modern states and institutions should not be held liable for historical wrongs, and raised concerns that the resolution could imply a hierarchy among 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 they occurred,” and objected to attempts to rank crimes against humanity. The EU’s representative, Gabriella Michaelidou, said the bloc would have backed a text drawing attention to the scale of the atrocity but had concerns about legal and factual issues, including retroactive application of international law.
Ghana’s Foreign Minister responded that history and justice do not disappear with time: “History does not disappear when ignored, truth does not weaken when delayed, crime does not rot … and justice does not expire with time.” The resolution is symbolic and non-binding but supporters say it advances global recognition of the harms of the transatlantic slave trade and opens space for discussions on reparatory measures.