Decision on transatlantic slavery supported by 123 international locations, whereas three opposed it – together with the US and Israel.
Revealed On 25 Mar 2026
A United Nations decision, proposed by Ghana, to recognise transatlantic slavery because the “gravest crime towards humanity” and calling for reparations, has been adopted regardless of pushback from Europe and the US.
At a UN Basic Meeting (UNGA) vote on Wednesday, 123 international locations supported the decision, which just isn’t legally binding however carries political weight, whereas three opposed it, together with the US and Israel, and 52 abstained, together with the UK and European Union international locations.
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Ghana stated the decision was wanted as a result of the implications of slavery, which noticed no less than 12.5 million Africans kidnapped and offered between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, persist as we speak, together with racial disparities.
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama, a key architect of the decision, stated the decision’s passing was “a path to therapeutic and reparative justice”.
“The adoption of this decision serves as a safeguard towards forgetting … Let or not it’s recorded that when historical past beckoned, we did what was proper for the reminiscence of the tens of millions who suffered the indignity of slavery.”
Ghana’s international minister, Samuel Ablakwa, stated the decision known as for accountability and will pave the way in which for a “reparative framework”.
“Historical past doesn’t disappear when ignored, fact doesn’t weaken when delayed, crime doesn’t rot … and justice doesn’t expire with time,” Ablakwa stated.
UN Secretary-Basic Antonio Guterres advised the UNGA that “far bolder motion” was required from extra states to confront historic injustices.
The Netherlands stays the one European nation to have issued a proper apology for its function in slavery.
The decision has come after the African Union final 12 months got down to create a “unified imaginative and prescient” amongst its 55 member states about what reparations for slavery might appear like.
It urges member states to have interaction in dialogue on reparations, together with issuing formal apologies, returning stolen artefacts, offering monetary compensation, and making certain ensures of non-repetition.
Regardless of the longstanding requires reparations, there may be additionally a rising backlash.
A number of Western leaders have opposed even discussing the topic, with critics arguing that as we speak’s states and establishments shouldn’t be held accountable for historic wrongs.
Each the EU and the US voiced issues that the decision may indicate a hierarchy amongst crimes towards humanity, treating some as extra critical than others.
