2008 Remembrance Programme
“Breaking the Silence: Lest We Forget”
The Transatlantic slave trade persisted for four centuries.
Imagine being torn from your weeping family as a result of ethnic warfare…forced to walk hundreds of miles until you reach the sea on the West African side of the Atlantic Ocean. You are stripped of your name, your identity, of every right a human being deserves. The European ship that you are forced to board, is headed across the Atlantic to Caribbean and South American plantations, a voyage through the awful “middle passage”. A multitude of black people of every description chained together, with scarcely room to turn, traveling for months, seasick, surrounded by the filth of vomit-filled tubs, into which children often fell, some suffocating. The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying renders the whole scene of horror almost inconceivable. Death and disease are all around and only one in six will survive this journey and the brutal, backbreaking labour that follows.
Message of the Secretary-General | Message of the President of the 缅北禁地General Assembly | Calendar of Events | Factsheet: Slavery Today
Background
Imagine being torn from your weeping family as a result of ethnic warfare… forced to walk hundreds of miles until you reach the sea on the West African side of the Atlantic Ocean. You are stripped of your name, your identity, of every right a human being deserves. The European ship that you are forced to board, is headed across the Atlantic to Caribbean and South American plantations, a voyage through the awful “middle passage”. A multitude of black people of every description chained together, with scarcely room to turn, traveling for months, seasick, surrounded by the filth of vomit-filled tubs, into which children often fell, some suffocating. The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying renders the whole scene of horror almost inconceivable. Death and disease are all around and only one in six will survive this journey and the brutal, backbreaking labour that follows… The transatlantic slave trade persisted for four centuries.
Slavery and the slave trade are among the worst violations of human rights in the history of humanity. The transatlantic slave trade was unique within the entire history of slavery due to its duration (four hundred years), its scale (approximately 17 million people excluding those who died during transport) and the legitimization accorded to it, including under laws of the time.
The transatlantic slave trade constituted the biggest deportation in history and is often referred to as the first example of globalization. Lasting from the 16th century to the 19th century, it involved several regions and continents: Africa, North and South America, Europe and the Caribbean and resulted in the sale and exploitation of millions of Africans by Europeans.
The “triangular trade”
Ships carrying trading goods such as guns, alcohol and horses left European ports headed for West Africa, where they would exchange these items for enslaved Africans. The slaves had either been captured in wars or were victims of a thriving local business in the capture and sale of slaves.
Ships heavily overloaded with African slaves would then set out across the “Middle Passage” to American and European colonies in the Caribbean and South America. To transport the maximum number of slaves the ship’s steerage was often removed. It is estimated that one in six slaves died on this journey due to the cramped, unsanitary conditions. On ships where disease or rebellion occurred, this toll could rise to more than one in two.
After the surviving slaves were sold, the ships returned to Europe carrying goods produced with slave labour such as sugar, tobacco, cotton, rum and coffee.
Justifying a System of Slavery
The transatlantic slave trade was a comprehensive and large scale economic system. The main trading countries - Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, England and France – were able to make a significant profit on each leg of the triangular journey and many European cities flourished courtesy of the profits from agricultural industries built and sustained literally on the “backs” of African slaves.
The practice of slavery was often justified on philanthropic or religious grounds. It was even codified under law, in the notorious “Code Noir” of 1685. This French law set out the rights and duties of masters and slaves in the colonies of the Americas and stated that “We declare slaves as movable property”. It established a system of harsh discipline including flogging and branding for minor crimes however it was also portrayed as a “benefit” to slaves against abuses by their masters and included the provision of religious holidays, enforced Catholic worship, tolerance of intermarriages and advocacy for the preservation of families.
Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade
By the late 18th century, moral and political opposition to the slave trade was growing in Britain and the US, as well as in other parts of Europe. Groups such as the Quakers in North America and the Society for the Extinction of the Slave Trade in Britain were instrumental in raising public awareness of the slave trade through public petitions, boycott campaigns and the dissemination of materials describing and sometimes illustrating the living conditions of slaves onboard the trade ships or working on the plantations.
Slaves also rose up against their subjugation, most notably in Haiti in the Revolution of 1791 to 1804. This single event marked a significant turning point for the slave trade as the colonial powers began to recognise the political and military risks of such uprisings. This factor, combined with the growing voices of the abolitionist movement and the changing economic conditions that had reduced the economic significance of some European colonies, signaled the beginning of the end of the transatlantic trade.
Two hundred years ago in early March of 1807, the United States’ President, Thomas Jefferson, signed legislation abolishing the slave trade. Later that same month, the British Parliament, led by the efforts of abolitionists William Wilberforce, the Reverend James Ramsay and John Wesley, banned the slave trade throughout the British Empire. The tide had turned.
In subsequent years other European countries followed suit with laws prohibiting slavery; however it was not until 80 years later that the transatlantic slave trade was finally extinguished, with Cuba and Brazil abolishing it in 1886 and 1888 respectively.
Legacy
The legacy of the transatlantic slave trade is the subject of much debate. There can be no doubt that it resulted in the destruction of a significant portion of the language, culture and religion of millions of enslaved Africans. The removal of such large numbers of people from Africa disrupted the African economy and is believed by some scholars to have permanently disadvantaged Africa compared to other parts of the world. It can also be argued that slavery redefined Africans to the world, leaving a legacy of racism and stereotyping of Africans as inferior.
Breaking the Silence, Lest We Forget
On 17 December 2007, the 缅北禁地General Assembly designated 25 March as an annual International Day for the Commemoration of the Two-Hundredth Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, beginning in 2008. Little is known about the 400-year long transatlantic slave trade and its lasting consequences felt throughout the world, or of the contribution of slaves to the building of the societies of their enslavement. This lack of knowledge has served to marginalize people of African descent across Europe, North America and South America.
The purpose of this Day is to honour the memory of those who died as a result of slavery as well as those who have been exposed to the horrors of the middle passage and have fought for freedom from enslavement. In addition, it is a day to discuss the causes, consequences, and lessons of the transatlantic slave trade in order to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice.
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- Anti-Slavery International
Secretary-General's Message
Remarks to the Commemoration of the International Day of Remebrance of the Victims of Slavery
and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
New York, 25 March 2008
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ambassador Mahiga, Chairman of the African Union,
Ambassador Hackett, Chairman of the CARICOM Ambassadors’ Caucus,
Distinguished Congressman Payne,
Mr. Belafonte,
Excellencies, colleagues and friends,
I am deeply moved to be with you for this solemn remembrance of the victims of the transatlantic slave trade, one of the greatest atrocities in history. This unparalleled global tragedy claimed untold millions of lives over four centuries, and left a terrible legacy that continues to dehumanize and oppress people around the world to this day.
The forced movement of West Africans across the Atlantic happened on an unprecedented scale of brutality and inhumanity, killings and massive abuses. Millions died without a burial, without a trace.
This chapter in human history is all the more reprehensible because the trade yielded significant prosperity in countries where slavery was perpetrated under colour of law. These States paid no monetary price for their progress, but they incurred a terrible cost in the form of the entrenched racism that we still battle today. The slave trade left an indelible mark, not only because it offended the human conscience, but also because it was a result of a shocking complicity of nations that participated in the name of “commerce” for 400 years.
Considering the enormous historic proportions and impact, it is a cruel irony that little is known about the slave trade. That is why today is so important. We must remember and honour those who spent their lives as slaves, who were defined under laws as nothing more than chattel, property and real estate, who were essentially treated not as humans but as “things”.
The question of how to atone for this crime is difficult to answer. We must acknowledge the great lapse in moral judgment that allowed it to happen. We must urge present and future generations to avoid repeating history. We must acknowledge the contributions that enslaved Africans made to civilization. And countries that prospered from the slave trade must examine the origins of present-day social inequality and work to unravel mistrust between communities.
Above all, even as we mourn the atrocities committed against the countless victims, we take heart from the courage of slaves who rose up to overcome the system which oppressed them. These brave individuals, and the abolitionist movements they inspired, should serve as an example to us all as we continue to battle the contemporary forms of slavery that stain our world today.
In our time, forced labour, sexual exploitation and human trafficking afflict millions of people worldwide, including children toiling under unspeakably abusive conditions. Racism and racial discrimination still take a serious and sometimes deadly toll. We are all shamed by these repugnant crimes. And we are all challenged to respond.
How fitting, therefore, that this historic first International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade falls in the year of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article four of the Declaration tells us, and I quote: “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” End quote.
Let us give life to those words. Let us honour the victims of the slave trade by remembering their struggle. Let us carry it forward until no person is deprived of liberty, dignity and human rights.
Thank you very much.
Ban Ki-moon
General Assembly President's Message
Statement Given on Behalf of the President of the General Assembly at the Commemoration of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
New York, 25 March 2008
Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honor to give the following statement on behalf of the President of the 62nd session of the General Assembly.
The President deeply regrets that he was not able to be here in person to celebrate such an important event, as he is currently on an official visit in Europe.
I would like to begin by thanking the organizers of today’s event – the Caribbean Community, the African Union, the European Union the United States Mission and the Department of Public Information.
We are here today, because last year Member States of the General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 25th March as an annual day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
The Assembly also decided to erect a permanent memorial at the United Nations to acknowledge the tragedy and consider the legacy of slavery. I would like to thank those who have contributed to the memorial fund and invite other interested parties to do so too.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Slavery is a deplorable fact of human history. Evidence of slavery predates written records. It can be found in almost all cultures and continents.
It has been legitimated by racism and extreme discrimination, or just social convention and economic opportunism.
Last year, we came together to hold a special commemoration to celebrate 200 years since the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. That day marked the beginning of the end for the transatlantic traffic in human beings.
The forced removal from Africa of 25 million between 1500 to 1900 had a significant affect on the continent. This was a crime against humanity.
This day of remembrance offers us all a chance to acknowledge how profoundly shameful the colonial slave trade was, and to remember the millions who suffered. It also gives us the opportunity to pay tribute to the courage and moral conviction of all those who campaigned for abolition.
However, while coming to terms with past injustices, we also need to recognise the unspeakable cruelty that persists today.
Slavery in its modern form comes in many guises - such as bonded labour and slavery by descent, forced recruitment of child labour and child soldiers, human trafficking and the illegal sex trade.
An estimated 5.7 million children are victims of forced and bonded labour, and 1.2 million children are victims of child trafficking.
Around 300,000 children are currently being exploited as child soldiers in over 30 areas of conflict around the world.
The International Organization for Migration estimates that annually 700,000 women, girls, men and boys are trafficked across borders away from their homes and families and forced into slavery.
Linked to trafficking is the commercial sexual exploitation of children of whom 1 million, mainly girls, are forced into prostitution every year. These girls are sold for sex or used in child pornography in both the developed and the developing world.
If we sincerely want to honour the suffering that slaves experienced and died under in the past, we must do much more to protect and promote the human rights, freedom and dignity of all people, in particularly, those who continue to suffer under modern forms of slavery.
This is the basic premise of the first Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 4 states that:
‘No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.’
However, trafficking in persons remains a major challenge even in the 21st century. It poses a serious threat to both our human dignity and human security.
The time has come to make a decisive declaration of political will to defeat human trafficking. The General Assembly is uniquely positioned to accomplish this task.
That is why I intend to convene a special meeting of the General Assembly on Human Trafficking on 3rd June.
We need to raise awareness about the scale of the problem, promote international partnerships and consider how best the 缅北禁地system working with all stakeholders can tackle this issue.
As Martin Luther King Jr. – the great civil rights activist – once memorably said,
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Thank you very much for your attention.
Calendar of Events
Tuesday, 25 March - Solemn Ceremony
DPI, in collaboration with the Permanent Representatives of the Caribbean Community Ambassadors’ Caucus and the African Group of Ambassadors to the UN, has organized a solemn observance in the ECOSOC Chamber from 10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will deliver a statement as will the President of the General Assembly. Congressman Donald Payne, who tabled a Bill to commemorate the two-hundredth anniversary of the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the United States, and Mr. Harry Belafonte, Academy Award winner and human rights activist will speak.
Master of Ceremony: Mr. Kiyotaka AKASAKA, Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Department of Public Information
- Performance by the Mangue Sylla Group and City South Steel Band (Patrick Johnny Gomes, soloist)
- H.E. Mr. Ban KI-MOON
Secretary-General of the United Nations - Message from H.E. Mr. Srgjan KERIM
President of the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly - H. E. Mr. Augustine P. MAHIGA
Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania, Chairman of the African Union - Hon. Donald M. PAYNE
Representative of the 10th Congressional District of New Jersey - H.E. Sir John SAWERS
Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom - Performance by City South Steel Band (Patrick Johnny Gomes, soloist)
- H.E. Mr. Christopher HACKETT
Permanent Representative of Barbados, Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Caucus - H.E. Mr. Antonio Pedro Monteiro LIMA
Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cape Verde, Chairman of the African Group of - H.E. Mr. Zalmay KHALILZAD
Permanent Representative of the United States - Performance by Mangue Sylla Group with Spiritual Singer
- Keynote Speaker: Harry Belafonte, Renowned Actor/Activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
- Performance by Mangue Sylla Group and City South Steel Band
Wednesday, 26 March - Opening of Exhibit
An exhibition organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information, in cooperation with Amistad America, the McKissick Museum of the University of South Carolina and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.will be launched in the North-East Gallery of the Visitors’ Lobby on Wednesday, 26 March at 6 p.m. The two-part exhibit consists of:
The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo – The first part features fifty-two narrative drawings by Tom Feelings. These drawings are mixed media works of tempera, pen and tissue detailing the horror of the importation of Africans from a life of freedom to a strange new world of slavery. Also included in the exhibit are three sculptures by the same artist.
Amistad: The Story – The second part features a scale model of the Freedom Schooner Amistad and describes the historic Amistad Incident of 1839 when African slaves gained control of the 19th century schooner and demanded to be returned home. The Amistad became a symbol in the movement to abolish slavery. In June 2007, a full-scale replica of the schooner Amistad embarked on an epic voyage visiting the ports of call of the Atlantic slave trade in a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade, when Britain and the other slave-trading powers (followed by the U.S.) signed an international treaty banning the trade. Photos of this contemporary voyage will also be on display.
Thursday, 27 March - NGO Briefing
The DPI/NGO Section and the UNESCO Office in New York are organizing a DPI/NGO briefing on “Lest We Forget: Breaking the Silence on the Transatlantic Slave Trade”, preceded by the premiere of the documentary “The Slave Route: A Global Vision” from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Dag Hammarskj?ld Library Auditorium.
The event is expected to be webcast live. The event will commence with the premiere of the groundbreaking film co-produced by Dr. Sheila Walker. The film will be screened from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., to be followed by the “Meet the Producer” segment from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. that will allow for a candid exchange with the producer.
The panel discussion featuring H.E. Mr. Raymond Wolfe, Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations; H.E. Ms. Karen Pierce, Deputy Permanent Representative of United Kingdom to the United Nations; Mr. Howard Dodson, Director, Schonburg Center for Research in Black Culture; and Mr. William D. Payne, Former Assemblyman, NJ Legislature will follow from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. View PDF
Screening
- 10-11 a.m. Premiere of the groundbreaking documentary film titled “The Slave Route: A Global Vision”
Meet the Producer
- 11-11:30 a.m. Remarks by Sheila Walker, Member of the International Scientific Committee of the Slave Route Project
Panel Discussion
- 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Moderator
Mr. Eric Falt, Director, Outreach Division of the Department of Public Information
Panelists
- H.E. Mr. Raymond Wolfe, Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations
- H.E. Ms. Karen Pierce, Deputy Permanent Representative of United Kingdom to the United Nations
- Mr. Howard Dodson, Director, Schonburg Center for Research in Black Culture
- Mr. William D. Payne, Former Assemblyman, NJ Legislature
- Representatives of NGOs are encouraged to participate during the Q & A segment.
Friday, 28 March - Student Video Conference
The First Annual Student Videoconference will take place in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium at UNHQ from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. - “Lest We Forget: Breaking the Silence on the Transatlantic Slave Trade”. In collaboration with Amistad America, DPI will engage youth in the study of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the dangers of racism and prejudice.
Students sailing on a replica of the freedom schooner Amistad retracing the Transatlantic slave route, which would dock in St. Lucia on 26 March, will be part of the videoconference. Other videoconference sites are in Norway, Canada, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, United Kingdom and 缅北禁地headquarters. The entire event will be webcast at 缅北禁地Cyberschoolbus. Duty stations around the world are encouraged to participate “live” by sending comments and questions from any computer to 缅北禁地headquarters in New York during the videoconference using a form that will be posted on 缅北禁地Cyberschoolbus.
Factsheet: Slavery Today
“We should remember that even today, many millions of our fellow human beings are subjected to slavery-like practices…For all that has been accomplished in our campaign for human rights, we still have much to do.”
Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon
Modern Forms of Slavery
The first annual International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade also serves as a reminder that contemporary forms of slavery – such as human traficking, forced prostitution, child soldiers, forced and bonded labour and the use of children in the international drug trade – are still flourishing today, largely as a result of vulnerability exacerbated by poverty, discrimination and social exclusion.
- It is estimated that more than 250,000 children are currently being exploited as child soldiers in as many as 30 areas of conflict around the world. Many of the kidnapped girls who are made into child soldiers are also forced into sexual slavery.
- The International Organization for Migration estimates that annually 700,000 women, girls, men and boys are being traficked across borders away from their homes and families and into slavery.
- An estimated 5.7 million children are victims of forced and bonded labour, also known as debt bondage, and 1.2 million children are victims of child trafficking.
- Linked to trafficking is the commercial sexual exploitation of children of whom 1 million, mainly girls, are forced into prostitution every year. These girls are sold for sex or used in child pornography in both the developed and the developing world.
“Despairingly credible comparisons of scale and suffering may be drawn with the trans-Atlantic trade in Africans in the Americas in which more than 12 million people were forcibly transported over the ocean in four hundred years. It is to our great shame that if today’s statistics are correct, and 700, 000 people are now being trafficked across borders into slavery annually, we will have equaled that total in a mere 20 years.”
Mrs. Ndioro Ndiaye Deputy Director General International Organization of Migration
It is the responsibility of us all to work to address the root causes of slavery, to provide assistance and protection to its victims and to ensure that there is no impunity for those who perpetuate the practice.
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