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.

    • encelado748@feddit.org
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      10 hours ago

      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?

      • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
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        10 hours ago

        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

        • encelado748@feddit.org
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          9 hours ago

          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?

          • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
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            9 hours ago

            You are still not saying who should pay. The west?

            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.

            • encelado748@feddit.org
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              9 hours ago

              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…

                • Lydon_Feen@lemmy.world
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                  8 hours ago

                  You’re right. The trans-saharan slaves only had to walk from Africa to the middle east.

                  So much better.

                • encelado748@feddit.org
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                  9 hours ago

                  So you are saying that the main problem finally is the way that the US treated the slaves working in the US. I can live with that. So the US needs to recognize the atrocity committed in the past and rectify currently rooted economic disparity in their society so that they can work to support those in disadvantaged condition. That is easy, solid reasoning, does not depend on tracing century old actions and works about fixing the problem. A more social democratic US would be good for sure.

                  • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
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                    7 hours ago

                    The treatment and also the scale of the slavery which drained Africa of manpower over a short periode of time and left huge critical gaps in its society which effects echo till this day.

            • yucandu@lemmy.world
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              6 hours ago

              Primarily the countries which benefitted from slave labor in the past which is the primary responsible factor for their current socio-economic status.

              So, the Caribbean, North, Central and South America, and Russia? That’s quite different from “the West” you said earlier.

        • yucandu@lemmy.world
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          6 hours ago

          Western slavery.

          What exactly is “Western” slavery, and how does it differ in your view from other forms of slavery?