Slavery: "We must turn memory into progress & remembrance into responsibility" - UN Chief

Remarks by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, at the 75th plenary meeting of the 80th session of the General Assembly on the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade. ---- Secretary-General António Guterres for his part said “today is more than a time of remembrance. It's a moment to confront the lasting legacies of inequality and racism. We will never forget the victims of slavery, and you must never forget the malevolent system that sustained it for so long.” Guterres said, “this was not simply forced labour. It was a machinery of mass exploitation and deliberate dehumanisation of men, women and children.” He said, “the transatlantic slave trade was a crime against humanity that struck at the core of personhood, broke up families and devastated communities.” The Secretary-General welcomed “steps some countries are taking to apologise for their role in the evil of slavery, and to join an honest dialogue about its lasting consequences, but far bolder actions and many more states are needed, and this includes commitments to respect African countries ownership of their own natural resources, and steps to ensure their equal participation and influence in the global financial architecture and the UN Security Council.” Full remarks: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statements/2026-03-25/secretary-generals-remarks-the-international-day-of-remembrance-of-the-victims-of-slavery-and-the-transatlantic-slave-trade


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