Secretary-General Honours Victims of ‘Epically Shameful’ Transatlantic Slave Trade, Urges Defence of Human Dignity, in Message for International Observance

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, observed on 25 March:

The epically shameful transatlantic slave trade was the largest forced and legally sanctioned migration in human history.  More than 15 million men, women and children from Africa were enslaved.

This Day of Remembrance was established to acknowledge a brutal chapter in human history, and to raise awareness of the dangers of racism and prejudice today.

As we mark the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this year, let us honour those who perished or suffered under slavery.  Let us celebrate the gains of people of African descent.  And let us press, every day and everywhere, to defend the dignity of every human being.