The United Nations committee has stated that countries are legally obliged to consider reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and take other measures to address the enduring legacy of racial discrimination. This is reported by infohub.kz.
In guidance published on Monday by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), it is noted that these obligations arise from the 1965 Convention on Racial Discrimination, not from the legal standards that existed during the slave trade. The committee described this approach as a "paradigm shift" away from debates over historical responsibility that governments have often used to resist reparations claims.
The UN document states: "States parties must implement comprehensive reparatory measures for people of African descent, covering all aspects of remedies." This document may also be cited in courtrooms.
According to CERD, at least 12.5 million Africans were taken and sold between the 15th and 19th centuries, which is considered the largest forced displacement in history. Calls for reparations, ranging from official apologies to financial compensation, have gained international momentum, although opponents argue that states and institutions should not be held responsible for historical crimes. The EU and the UK abstained from a UN resolution on slavery in March.
Some states have sought to dodge justice claims in courts by arguing that there were no international laws outlawing the slave trade at the time — the so-called "intertemporality principle." However, the UN document argues that regardless of whether slavery and the slave trade were illegal under the laws of the day, countries remain responsible under current international obligations to tackle their continuing effects.
The document states: "Irrespective of the legal characterisation of the original historical acts, states parties remain bound by their present obligations under the convention to address structural inequalities." It also emphasizes that financial compensation alone is not sufficient, and calls for "transformative" measures including opening archives, revising public memorials, and establishing independent truth commissions.
Pela Boker Wilson, a committee expert from Liberia who helped draft the document, said she hopes states will move beyond broad expressions of regret and review policies and laws. "We are calling on state parties to take concrete and meaningful action," she told Reuters. "We want to affirm the dignity of those whose suffering was denied, whose suffering was minimised or forgotten."