‘We Must End Evil of Racism for Good’, Secretary-General Stresses in Message Marking Day to Remember Slavery Victims

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

The transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans was a crime against humanity that resonates through history and continues to scar societies.  Today, we remember the women, children and men torn from their loved ones, forced to work in agonizing conditions, cruelly punished and deprived of their dignity and human rights, and we recall their acts of resistance and demands for justice.

For more than four centuries, millions of Africans were kidnapped, trafficked, abused and dehumanized.  This horrific enterprise rested on the destructive lie of white supremacy.  And it saw many colonizers, corporations and institutions amass unimaginable wealth.

For too long, these unthinkable acts have remained unacknowledged, unspoken and unaddressed, all as their legacies continue to shape our world.  Many still benefit from the odious profits reaped from chattel slavery.  Systemic racism has been embedded into institutions, cultures and legal and other systems.  Deeply rooted exclusion, racial discrimination and violence continue to undermine the ability of many people of African descent to thrive and prosper.

As the theme of this year’s International Day reminds us, acknowledging the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade is an essential step towards addressing the past, repairing the present and building a future of dignity and justice for all.  It is imperative to put in place reparatory justice frameworks that address this terrible history and its legacies.  And we must end the evil of racism for good.

The human dignity of every person stands at the heart of the United Nations.  We will always stand with everyone, everywhere to combat racial discrimination and hate, and to defend the human rights and dignity of all.