On Monday the head of the United Nations called for reparations to “overcome racism and generational exclusion” in honor of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery.
Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, has called for reparations. He cites that the past “lay foundations for violent discrimination based upon White supremacy.”
Earle Courtenay Rattray was the cabinet chief who spoke on behalf of Guterres.
He said, “We demand reparatory-justice frameworks that will enable us to overcome generations of exclusion and discrimination,” in his address to the U.N. General Assembly, on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. ”
Middle Passage is the name of the transatlantic slave trading, which involved the kidnapping and transporting of over 12,000,000 Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to North and South America. British, French, and Spanish colonies were involved, later becoming the United States.
He added, “The lie that White supremacy continues poisoning our communities and societies.” It is our responsibility to end racism, reject it, and dismantle it as we commemorate centuries of injustice. Stop spreading hate on the internet and confront slavery’s legacy, which is marginalization, poverty, and deprivation.
Guterres’ statement came after the U.N. released a report calling on countries to take into consideration financial compensation as well as other measures to respond to the enslavement of people of African descent.
Guterres said in his report that no country has addressed slavery which has been around for 400 years.
The report states that “under international human rights law, compensation can be provided for economic damages if they are appropriate and proportionate with the severity of the violation and the circumstances. ”
The report stated that it was difficult to estimate the economic damage because of the long period passed and the difficulty identifying perpetrators or victims. ”
Similar calls for reparations in the United States are growing as grassroots activists and state legislators push similar measures. They created committees to examine the impact of slavery on society and determine compensation.
There are plans to compensate for damages in California as well as Fulton County Georgia, Shelby County Tennessee, Boston, and Detroit. St. Paul Minnesota, Durham North Carolina, and Boston.
Even the federal government is considering reparations.
