Declarations Cannot Erase Four Centuries of Cruelty, Deputy Secretary-General Says in Message Marking Day to Remember Slavery Victims
Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to “Rhythms of Resistance”, a virtual event to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, in New York today:
Dear friends, ladies and gentlemen,
The transatlantic slave trade ended centuries ago. And yet we are still grappling with the consequences. Its legacy of racism and the marginalization of people of African descent continue to haunt us today. Which is why the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is not just about the past. It is just as much about the present. It is about confronting the contemporary resonance of the prejudice that slavery wove into our institutions. And it is about striving for a future in which people of all races enjoy equal opportunity, dignity, and justice.
Today is a day of learning, reflection and action. It is not enough to simply enumerate the enormous numbers of Africans who were torn from their families and communities and forced across the ocean. Behind these horrendous statistics are millions of human stories. Enslaved African women paid a particularly heavy price. Treated as property, they faced sexual violence, forced childbearing and saw their children taken from them for profit.
Declarations are not enough to erase the horrors of four centuries of cruelty. We must actively reverse the consequences of generations of exploitation, exclusion and discrimination — including their obvious social and economic dimensions through reparatory justice frameworks. And we must build a public consciousness that cherishes values such as human dignity, equality and respect for human rights.
That starts with our education systems. The Secretary-General will convene a summit this September aimed at mobilizing political commitment to transform education. Central to this is reflection around how our education systems must change to nurture an ethic of inclusion, equality and sustainability within societies. The transatlantic slave trade is an example of what happens when we stop seeing our common humanity. It is an era that must never be repeated.
This year, we commemorated for the first time the International Day for People of African Descent to pay tribute to the contributions of people of African descent around the world, and their struggles to combat all forms of racism and racial discrimination. The creation of the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent, the promotion of an international coalition against systemic racism and for reparations, led by the Vice-President of Costa Rica, reaffirms the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and can offer a unique space of exchange and recognition against prejudice and exclusion.
As we gather today to honour our ancestors and pay tribute to their “rhythms of resistance”, let us unite as one human family — to fight racism, promote kindness and advance equality.