The landmark resolution calls for an apology and contributions to a reparations fund, without specifying an amount.

The United Nations General Assembly has voted to recognise the enslavement of Africans during the transatlantic slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity”, a move advocates hope will pave the way for healing and justice.

The resolution - proposed by Ghana - called for this designation, while also urging UN member states to consider apologising for the slave trade and contributing to a reparations fund. It does not mention a specific amount of money.

The proposal was adopted with 123 votes in favour and three against - the United States, Israel and Argentina.

Countries like the UK have long rejected calls to pay reparations, saying today’s institutions cannot be held responsible for past wrongs.

  • black_flag@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    164·
    12 hours ago

    today’s institutions cannot be held responsible for past wrongs.

    It’s not just that they don’t want to face the consequences of benefiting from apartheid. They want to continue benefiting from it.

      • dan1101@lemmy.worldEnglish
        96·
        12 hours ago

        Americans fought a war over slavery, so obviously they very much weren’t all ok with it. Also, look at stats of where most slaves went. Brasil had the most, USA wasn’t in the top 5. Any number of slaves is too much though.

        • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
          59·
          12 hours ago

          My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy Slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it, […] What I do about Slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save this Union - Abraham Lincoln

          • GregorGizeh@lemmy.zipEnglish
            93·
            11 hours ago

            So the president felt more responsibility to his nation than to the slaves, at a time where slavery was much less frowned upon than today. I have a hard time retroactively faulting him for that. If he did the right thing for the wrong reasons, is it not still the right thing to do?

            • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
              36·
              10 hours ago

              The war was not fought over slavery. That was only a convenient add-on. The US south was the primary party benefiting from slavery and the north wasn’t. Therefore it was easy for the North to tack that on the list.

              While I don’t see it as a bad thing, it was certainly not the primary motivator or reason the civil war was fought. Also it took quite a while after the civil war to actually abolish slavery and even now there are have things like forced prison labor which is primarily done by black men whose neighborhoods are overpoliced.

              • belastend@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                3·
                8 hours ago

                It was not a primary factor for the north. For the south, slavery was the single most important issue for fighting this war.