General Assembly Declares Enslavement of Africans ‘Gravest Crime against Humanity’, Debates Legal Implications

Eightieth Session, 75th Meeting (AM)
GA/12755 25 March 2026

“The General Assembly today declared the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity as Member States debated the legal ramifications of such a declaration.

The Assembly adopted the text “Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime against Humanity” (document A/80/L.48) with a recorded vote of 123 in favour to 3 against (Argentina, Israel, United States), with 52 abstentions.

By its terms, the Assembly affirmed the importance of addressing historical wrongs affecting Africans and people of African descent and emphasizes that claims for reparations represent a concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs.

United States, European States Take Issue with Legal Implications

The representative of the United States opposed the resolution, describing it “highly problematic in countless respects”. Stressing that the UN was not founded to advance narrow interests, establish niche international days or create costly meeting and reporting mandates, he said: “This resolution does all three.”

Further, he underlined that his delegation does not recognize the legal right to reparation for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred and objects to its attempt to “rank crimes against humanity in any type of hierarchy”. Additionally, he rejected the “cynical usage of historical wrongs as a leverage point in an attempt to reallocate modern resources to people and nations who are distantly related to the historical victims”.

These points were raised also by many others, including the members of the European Union.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Foreign Minister of Ghana, speaking on behalf of the African Group, presented “L.48”, stressing the text is “not about reopening history” or targeting individual States, and “does not create legal hierarchies of crime,” […].

The text’s objectives, he explained, are to secure formal and unequivocal recognition of slavery’s world-breaking impact, affirm its enduring consequences, reinforce global efforts towards “reparatory justice through dialogue and cooperation” and strengthen solidarity against “systemic racism and historical denialism”. While legal technicalities and procedural arguments were said to have been used “to once again silence voices”, the message is clear: “Justice does not expire with time,” […].

[25 March – Day of Remembrance; ed.]

Today’s meeting was held in commemoration of International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. On 25 March 1807, the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed in the United Kingdom. In 2006, the United Nations General Assembly, through resolution 61/19, recognized that “the slave trade and slavery are among the worst violations of human rights in the history of humanity, bearing in mind particularly their scale and duration”, and designated 25 March 2007 as the International Day for the Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The following year, through resolution 62/122, it designated 25 March as an annual International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, beginning in 2008.

This year’s theme, “Justice in Action”, calls on the global community to confront this history with honesty and to acknowledge its enduring impact.

UN Not Shying Away from Truth

In her opening remarks, the Assembly’s President Annalena Baerbock (Germany) remembered the millions of Africans “stolen, shackled and shipped like cargo” and invoked writer and abolitionist Olaudah Equiano’s account of enslavement to underscore the gravest violations of human rights committed through the transatlantic slave trade. […]

[… A]lthough slavery was abolished, “its consequences endure”, shaping descendants’ lives through poverty, discrimination and underrepresentation, while countries of origin suffered a hollowing out of generations.

[…]

“We will never forget the victims of slavery,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, urging: “And we must never forget the malevolent system that sustained it for so long.” “This perverse global order thrived because power acted without conscience,” and he stressed: “We must use our power for better ends.”

[… H]e welcomed the steps taken by some countries to apologize for their role in the evil of slavery. “But, far bolder actions — by many more States — are needed.” These, he said, include commitments to respect African countries’ ownership of their natural resources, as well as steps to ensure their equal participation and influence in the global financial architecture and the Security Council.

[…]

Regional Groups’ Perspectives

In the ensuing discussion, Ghana’s representative, speaking for the African Group, said that remembrance through books, music, education and memorials helps the world document, educate, and begin to heal. […]

Cuba’s speaker, on behalf of the Group of Latin America and Caribbean States (GRULAC), urged the international community to move “from remembrance to action” in confronting the legacies of slavery. […] He […] highlighted the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which recognizes slavery and the slave trade as “a crime against humanity”. […]

The representative of Lebanon, speaking for the Asia-Pacific States Group, said that today’s observance “reminds us of our shared responsibility” to preserve the truth of history and to firmly oppose racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and “related intolerance in all their forms”. […]

“We cannot change history, but we can — and should — talk about it,” said the representative of the United Kingdom, speaking for the Western European and Other States Group. Meaningful dialogue on sustainable development, education, health and climate is important, and continued progress requires confronting the barriers and inequalities that persist today. He also underlined the need to address the “scourge of modern slavery” and related forms of exploitation, including trafficking, forced labour, sexual exploitation and forced criminality. “While we cannot rewrite the past, we can choose how it guides us and strengthens our resolve to build a more just and inclusive future,” he concluded.

[…].”

• Full report “General Assembly Declares Enslavement of Africans ‘Gravest Crime against Humanity’, Debates Legal Implications” on the website of the United Nations (last checked in March 2026).

• Watch also the press conference “Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime Against Humanity” of the United Nations, one day ahead of the General Assembly’s vote on 24 March 2026 (last checked in March 2026).

• See also the document “Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime against Humanity” as PDF. Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its Eightieth Session, 75th Meeting (AM) on 25 March 2026. Source: UN webpage [https://press.un.org/en/2026/ga12755.doc.htm] (last checked in March 2026).

Further background:

• See article “Abolishing the Slave Trade” on the portal Archives.History.ac.uk (last checked in March 2026).

• Document “An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade” [http://www.esp.org/foundations/freedom/holdings/slave-trade-act-1807.pdf] of the United Kingdom from 25 March 1807. Source: Electronic Scholarly Publishing Project) (last checked in March 2026).

• See also 1926 Slavery Convention of the League of Nations, amended by the UN in 1953 (enacted 1955), aiming to prevent and suppress the slave trade, on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (last checked in March 2026).

• Note also the United Nations’ “Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery” from 1956, expanding upon the 1926/1955 Convention to address modern forms of enslavement beyond traditional chattel slavery, on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (last checked in March 2026).

• See also the Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Conference Against Racism, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 27 March 2002 by recorded vote, in the ‘Primary Sources’ section of this website.