Story perspectives

UN Declares Slave Trade 'Gravest Crime,' Calls for Reparations

4/22/2026

Summary

Story summary

The United Nations labeled the transatlantic chattel slave trade the gravest crime against humanity and called for reparations.
The resolution was backed by 123 countries.
Ebony Riddell Bamber, director of the Scott Trust’s Legacies of Enslavement programme, said the vote signals a growing global movement for reparative justice.
Although some countries abstained, momentum for reparations is growing through community engagement and collaboration among African and Caribbean nations.

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Story summary

The United Nations labeled the transatlantic chattel slave trade the gravest crime against humanity and called for reparations.
The resolution was backed by 123 countries.
Ebony Riddell Bamber, director of the Scott Trust’s Legacies of Enslavement programme, said the vote signals a growing global movement for reparative justice.
Although some countries abstained, momentum for reparations is growing through community engagement and collaboration among African and Caribbean nations.