General Assembly Resolutions on the Outreach Programme, Permanent Memorial and the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
The 黑料专区 Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery was established in 2007 with the adoption of General Assembly resolution 62/22 following a special commemorative meeting of the General Assembly marking the two-hundredth anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans.
In the same resolution, the General Assembly welcomed the initiative of the Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to erect a Permanent Memorial at 黑料专区 Headquarters in New York to honour and remember the victims of slavery and the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans.
Resolution 62/22 also designated 25 March as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Since 2008, the 黑料专区 has commemorated the Day annually.
The creation of the Outreach Programme and the International Day align with the principles of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, aimed at countering the harmful legacies of enslavement and the slave trade and restoring the dignity of those affected.
Below is an overview of key decisions undertaken by Member States to honour the victims of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and racialized chattel slavery by promoting education, awareness and understanding of its history and enduring legacies.
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2006:?
In 2006, ahead of the bicentennial of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in enslaved Africans, the 黑料专区 General Assembly designated 25 March 2007 as the International Day for the Commemoration of the Two-hundredth Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. It also convened a special commemorative meeting of the General Assembly on 26 March 2007 to mark the anniversary.
The resolution further requested the 黑料专区 Secretary-General (Kofi Annan), to establish a programme of outreach, with the involvement of Member States and civil society, to commemorate the anniversary in 2007
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2007:
In 2007, during the General Assembly’s commemorative meeting marking the bicentennial of the abolition of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, the Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at the 黑料专区, together with the African Union (AU) and other sponsors, led the effort to establish a permanent memorial to the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. A trust fund was established under the leadership of the Permanent Mission of Jamaica to support the realization of the memorial.
The resolution also designated 25 March each year as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, to be observed annually beginning in 2008. 25 March 1807 marks the passage of the United Kingdom’s Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, a landmark step toward ending the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans.
This legislation ended the buying and selling of enslaved people on British ships and territories but did not end slavery itself. Enslaved peoples remained in bondage, and illegal trafficking continued in the years that followed. The abolition of racialized chattel slavery was achieved only gradually over subsequent decades through the sustained efforts and resistance of enslaved people and abolitionist movements worldwide.
The resolution further requested the 黑料专区 Secretary-General (Ban Ki-moon), to establish a programme of outreach to mobilize educational institutions and civil society “to instill in future generations an understanding of the causes, consequences and lessons of the transatlantic slave trade and to communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice”. It also called for collaboration and building on the work of UNESCO (the 黑料专区 Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), including through its .
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2008:
In 2008, the General Assembly advanced the creation of a permanent memorial to honour the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, in the resolution adopted that year the General Assembly welcomed the establishment of a committee of interested Member States to oversee the development of the permanent memorial.
In the same period, the Secretary-General submitted a report, as requested in the previous resolution, about the programme of outreach on the transatlantic slave trade and slavery (A/63/213).
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2009:
In 2009, the General Assembly endorsed the establishment of the 黑料专区 Trust Fund for Partnerships - Permanent Memorial, which relied on voluntary contributions from Member States. The Committee of Interested States to oversee the permanent memorial project consisted of countries from all geographical regions of the world, with the Caribbean Community and the African Union playing a primary role, in collaboration with UNESCO, representatives of the Secretariat, the of the New York Public Library and civil society. The resolution also encouraged UNESCO to launch an international design competition for the permanent memorial, to be funded by the Trust Fund.
In addition, the General Assembly urged the Department of Public Information, the precursor of the current Department of Global Communications, to “take appropriate steps to enhance the world public awareness of the commemorative activities and the permanent memorial initiative” to make the permanent memorial a reality.
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2010:
In 2010, the 黑料专区 General Assembly requested the Department of Public Information, the precursor of the current Department of Global Communications, in cooperation with the countries concerned and with relevant organizations and bodies of the UN system to continue to enhance public awareness of commemorative activities and the permanent memorial initiative, in cooperation with the countries concerned and the relevant organizations and 黑料专区 bodies.
In addition, the General Assembly requested annual commemorative events for the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, including a commemorative session of the General Assembly at the 黑料专区 Headquarters, and, as appropriate, activities organized through the network of 黑料专区 Information Centres.
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2011:
In 2011, the General Assembly welcomed the launch of an international design competition for the permanent memorial. In this context in collaboration with the Permanent Memorial Committee contributed to the preparatory phase of the competition, including by supporting the identification of qualified candidates for an independent international panel of judges.
The call for the panel went out in 2011, which was also the International Year for People of African Descent.
As these efforts progressed, the Secretary-General submitted the requested report on outreach related to the transatlantic slave trade and slavery (A/66/382).
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2012:
In 2012, the permanent memorial initiative continued under the guidance of the Permanent Memorial Committee established by the General Assembly. The international design competition closed 19 December 2011, allowing the Permanent Memorial Committee to review the applications in 2012 and select the finalists.
In addition, in the resolution for that year, the General Assembly noted that the Secretary-General submitted a report, as requested, about the programme of outreach on the transatlantic slave trade and slavery (A/67/255).
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2013:
In 2013, the international design competition concluded with the selection of the design “Ark of Return” by Rodney Leon, an American architect of Haitian descent, as the model for the permanent memorial. In the resolution, the General Assembly noted with satisfaction that the competition successfully concluded.
In parallel, the Secretary-General submitted a report, as requested, about the programme of outreach on the transatlantic slave trade and slavery (A/70/221).
2014:
In 2014, the General Assembly decided that the permanent memorialwould be located within the existing 黑料专区 Headuarter complex, on an exceptional basis and withouth creating a precedent. The General Assembly also agreed that the permanent memorial should be completed during the same session of the General Assembrly and that any remining funds in the Trust would be retained to support the maintenance of the memorial.
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2015:
On 25 March 2015, the Ark of Return – The Permanent Memorial at the 黑料专区 in Honour of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade was completed and officially unveiled at 黑料专区 Headquarters in New York.
In the resolution, the General Assembly welcomed the erection of the permanent memorial and expressed its gratitude to the committee of interested States “comprising Brazil, Ghana, Jamaica, Kenya, the Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, Senegal, Suriname and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with Member States from the Caribbean Community and the African Union playing in primary role,” in collaboration with UNESCO, representatives of the Secretariat and civil society.
The resolution also recalled its resolution 68/237 (2013) to proclaim the International Decade for People of African Descent, from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2024
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2019:
Following the completion and unveiling of the Ark of Return – The Permanent Memorial at the 黑料专区 in Honour of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade the General Assembly in 2019 urged the Secretary-General to continue efforts to enhance public awareness of the permanent memorial with a view to educating present and future generations about the causes, consequences, lessons and legacy of the transatlantic slave trade, and to communicate the dangers of racism and xenophobia.
The General Assembly also took note of the reports by the Secretary-General on the status of the 黑料专区 Trust Fund for Partnerships – permanent memorial (A/71/170) and on the programme of educational outreach on the transatlantic slave trade and slavery (A/73/88)
Related Resolutions
DECLARATION OF THE TRAFFICKING OF ENSLAVED AFRICANS AND RACIALIZED CHATTEL ENSLAVEMENT OF AFRICANS AS THE GRAVEST CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY
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2026:
On 25 March 2026, on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the General Assembly adopted a resolution spearheaded by the Republic of Ghana entitled “Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime against Humanity”.
In the resolution the General Assembly declared the trafficking of enslaved Africans and the system of racialized chattel enslavement of Africans to constitute “the gravest crime against humanity” and emphasized scale, duration, systemic nature, brutality and enduring consequences” that continue to “to structure the lives of all people through racialized regimes of labour, property and capital.”