Jamaica among 123 countries supporting UN resolution recognising slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity”

Jamaica is among 123 countries that supported the adoption of a United Nations resolution endorsing the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime Against Humanity.

This was an effort led by the Republic of Ghana.

The resolution was adopted today, as the global community commemorates the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Welcoming the resolution’s adoption, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, says Jamaica’s support reflects both its longstanding engagement in multilateral efforts to confront the legacy of chattel slavery and its historical ties to West Africa.

Reflecting on the recent visit of the Foreign Minister of Ghana to Seville in St. Ann, Mrs. Johnson Smith noted that the Minister and his delegation were moved by the history and recognition of being at one of the earliest sites of the arrival of more than one million enslaved Africans during the transatlantic slave trade.

She said the resolution strengthens international recognition of the scale, duration and enduring impact of the transatlantic slave trade and racialized chattel enslavement.

Mrs. Johnson Smith says Jamaica reaffirms its commitment to reparatory justice for people of African descent, guided by the CARICOM ten-point plan and will continue to work with partners to advance this agenda within the multilateral system.