US EditionUN Declares Slave Trade 'Gravest Crime Against Humanity'
The UN resolution, supported by 123 countries, calls for reparatory justice including apologies and restitution for the transatlantic slave trade's enduring impact.
- On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Ghana-led resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans the "gravest crime against humanity," passing with 123 votes in favor, 3 against, and 52 abstentions.
- Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama led the initiative as a "safeguard against forgetting" the at least 12.5 million Africans forcibly transported across the Atlantic over four centuries.
- The resolution urges member states to consider formal apologies and financial compensation, while calling for the "prompt and unhindered restitution" of looted cultural artifacts to their countries of origin.
- Argentina, Israel, and the United States voted against the measure, with Deputy U.S. Ambassador Dan Negrea objecting to the "attempt to rank crimes against humanity" and rejecting legal reparations claims.
- While non-binding, the resolution initiates formal diplomatic dialogue on reparatory justice, aligning with the African Union's "Decade of Action on Reparations" to confront historical state-sanctioned wrongs.
277 Articles
277 Articles
Rochester Sentinel
Joy, scepticism across west Africa after UN vote on slave trade
Ghanaians in the streets of the capital Accra were full of pride -- and already looking toward future "justice" -- Thursday after the United Nations recognised the transatlantic slave trade as "the gravest crime against humanity."
The transatlantic slave trade is the gravest crime against humanity – why the UN declaration matters
The resolution passed by United Nations General Assembly on 25 May 2026 seeking recognition of the transatlantic slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity” potentially creates a broader definition of crimes against humanity in international law and allows for restitution claims against perpetrators. The resolution could elevate the legal and moral standard for what counts as the worst crimes against humanity, and compel more people to l…
Last Wednesday, the United Nations (UN) approved with 123 favorable votes a declaration establishing slavery as the most serious crime against humanity in history. The instance was not without controversy, as the United States rejected the resolution, while much of Europe abstained. Chile and much of Latin America, with the exception of Argentina, voted in favour. The other country that rejected the item was Israel. Read also...
UN General Assembly adopts resolution condemning the transatlantic slave trade
On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted Ghana’s resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity. In total, 123 countries voted in favour and 52 abstained, including the entire EU, Canada, Australia, and Japan. Only three countries voted against the resolution: the United States, Israel, and Argentina. Ghana spearheaded the resolution, which emphasizes that for 400 years, millions of …
Egypt Backs UN Resolution Confronting the Crimes of the African Slave Trade
In a historic vote, the United Nations General Assembly has designated the transatlantic slave trade, and the racialized chattel enslavement of Africans, as “the gravest crime against humanity.” Egypt joined 122 other nations in voting in favor of the resolution, which passed with 123 votes in favor, only three against (the United States, Israel, and Argentina), and 52 abstentions, including several European Union members and the United Kingdom.…
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