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.
Transatlantic slavery is easily traceable to the countries which committed it and which suffered from it. The time period is irrelevant. In fact Israelis are primarily the Jews which didn’t suffer from the Holocaust because they went to colonize Palestine instead of staying in Germany. So your argument works against you.
Should today citizen of Portugal (under the 1976 Republic) be accountable for the legal (at the time) actions of the Portuguese Crown? Should the citizen of Benin be accountable for the atrocities committed by Dahomey to secure the slaves from nearby tribes? Are the people of Benin both beneficiary and responsible for that? How much? Should Brazil pay for the action of the Portuguese Crown? Should Italy pay because the Republic of Genoa bankers benefited from the loans and contracts with the Portuguese merchants? How much is an Italian descendent from a Venetian born in today Croatia responsible for the sins of Genoese banker that finances the Portuguese crown to pay the Imbangala people to capture slaves?
Yes they should at least pay some reparations. Now why is Germany sending money to Israel?
reply to the entire question if you can, and bring a reasonable justification about who and how much should pay to who. We have Italian descendent from Dalmatia, we have Brazilian descendent from Portugal, we have people from Angola descendent from Imbangala, Benin people descendent from Dahomey, that needs to pay how much to other people from Angola and Benin?
Countries in Africa are still suffering from the consequences of Western slavery. The entire countries as a whole, not taking into account the people. The only reason Africa is still underdeveloped is because of Western slavery and colonialism.
(Primarily black) communities in the West could also be given restitution funds to make up their deficiency in socio-economic status caused by past discrimination
You are still not saying who should pay. The west? Is Poland, Italy, Germany, Greece, Norway, Finland, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and tens more supposed to pay for the past government of Britain, France, the US, Denmark, the Netherland, Spain and Portugal? Should also Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Sudan pay for the trans-saharan slave trade?
Yes. Primarily the countries which benefitted from slave labor in the past which is the primary responsible factor for their current socio-economic status.
The trans-saharan slave trade wasn’t a top down institutionalized government instrument and not nearly as bad or prominent as the horrific and institutionalized Western mass slavery of Africans. I recommend you educate yourself a bit on slavery before throwing out random whataboutisms.
So, 10 to 13 million people is bad, but 7 to 10 million people is not as bad? Not even 70% as bad? So if we are counting the countries that benefited we should also add Turkey and Saudi Arabia (the ottoman empire) to the list. Great, now how much, and who gets the money? If I am a mixed American with ancestry from both Ireland and West africa, should I get money or should I pay money? Is Mexico paying me? Is Turkey paying me? Which percentage?
we can go on an on. This is just silly…
Transatlantic slave trade is nothing more than a deflection argument filled with disinformation and little substance. Even the conditions of the slaves were nowhere near comparable. Slaves deported to the Americas were treated as literal cattle. https://review.gale.com/2025/04/08/african-slavery-vs-trans-atlantic-slave-trade/
So, the Caribbean, North, Central and South America, and Russia? That’s quite different from “the West” you said earlier.
Wait till you discover what the word colonialism means and who ran the countries you mentioned.
What exactly is “Western” slavery, and how does it differ in your view from other forms of slavery?
Read the comments below and find out