Countries Must Look into Paying for Slave Trade Damages - UN Committee

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) says countries must think about reparations for the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade.

According to reports from Reuters, the committee released guidance on Monday. It says countries must provide broad reparations for their direct or indirect roles in the transatlantic slave trade.

This news comes five months after the UN General Assembly voted to declare the transatlantic slave trade as one of the worst crimes against humanity. PREMIUM TIMES notes that Ghana introduced this resolution. It asked UN members to think about apologizing for the slave trade and setting up a reparations fund.

Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Ablakwa, said the reparations fund would be used to fix the damage caused by slavery.

“We are demanding compensation, and let us be clear, African leaders are not asking for money for themselves. We want justice for the victims and causes to be supported, educational and endowment funds, skills training funds,” he said.

The resolution got a lot of support at the General Assembly. A total of 123 Member States voted for it. But the US, Argentina, and Israel voted against it. Meanwhile, 52 countries, including Britain, Portugal, and Spain, chose not to vote either way.

The UN committee describes the states' obligation as a shift from the usual debates about historical responsibility. Governments have often used this to avoid reparations claims.

“States Parties must implement reparatory measures for people of African descent, covering all aspects of remedies,” the document said.

It argued that states are still responsible under current international rules to deal with the ongoing effects of the slave trade.

It insisted that this applies no matter if slavery and the slave trade were illegal at the time.

“Irrespective of the legal characterisation of the original historical acts, States Parties remain bound by their present obligations under the Convention to address structural inequalities,” the UN document stated.