Photo: UN Photo/Marco Dormino

2023 Remembrance Programme

2023 Theme: “Fighting slavery’s legacy of racism through transformative education”    

 

The enslavement of over 13 million Africans during the Transatlantic Slave Trade was driven by the racist ideology that these women, men and children were inferior because of the colour of their skin. Countless families were torn apart. Scores of human beings lost their lives. Despite experiencing serious human rights violations, and intergenerational trauma over centuries, enslaved people persevered in their resilience, demonstrating courage and defiance against the conditions of enslavement, forced labour, and systemic violence and oppression.

The racist legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade reverberates today in harmful prejudices and beliefs which are still being perpetuated and continue to impact people of African descent across the world. Transformative education, which seeks to empower learners to see the social world critically and through an ethical lens to challenge and change the status quo as agents of change is essential to the work of teaching and learning about slavery in order to end racism and injustice and to build inclusive societies based on dignity and human rights for all people, everywhere.

 

Message of the United Nations Secretary-General  |  Remarks of the President of the United Nations General Assembly | Calendar of Events

 

Message of the United Nations Secretary-General
 

 

Today, we pay tribute to the victims of the transatlantic slave trade.

The evil enterprise of enslavement lasted for over 400 years. 

Millions of African children, women, and men were trafficked across the Atlantic, ripped from their families and homelands – their communities torn apart, their bodies commodified, their humanity denied.

The history of slavery is a history of suffering and barbarity that shows humanity at its worst.

But it is also a history of awe-inspiring courage that shows human beings at their best – starting with enslaved people who rose up against impossible odds and extending to the abolitionists who spoke out against this atrocious crime.

And yet, the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade haunts us to this day.

We can draw a straight line from the centuries of colonial exploitation to the social and economic inequalities of today.

And we can recognize the racist tropes popularized to rationalize the inhumanity of the slave trade in the white supremacist hate that is resurgent today.

It is incumbent on us all to fight slavery’s legacy of racism.

The most powerful weapon in our arsenal is education – the theme of this year’s commemoration.

By teaching the history of slavery, we help to guard against humanity’s most vicious impulses.

By studying the assumptions and beliefs that allowed the practice to flourish for centuries, we unmask the racism of our own time.

And by honouring the victims of slavery, we restore some measure of dignity to those who were so mercilessly stripped of it. 

Today and every day, let us stand united against racism and together build a world in which everyone, everywhere can live lives of liberty, dignity, and human rights.

***

 

Remarks of the President of the United Nations General Assembly
 

 

Mr. Secretary-General,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today we gather in commemoration of the victims of one of history’s most horrific crimes against humanity.

A crime perpetrated for over 400 years.

A crime that resulted in the forced deportation of over 15 million men, women, and children.

A crime perpetrated in full view of the law.

In fact, in most cases supported by the law of those times.

The law which allowed human beings to be kept as property.

Robbed of their homes, of their bodies, of their names, slavery sought to steal their very humanity from its victims.

At the same time, in the societies built upon slave labor, every day put into question the humanity of the enslavers.

How many proud nations were founded on the principles of equality and freedom while practicing racial chattel slavery?

What was the cost of the liberty of some?

Countless lives lost and stolen.

Countless families torn apart.

Countless decades of trauma, of forced labor and of cruel, systemic violence.

A year ago, I had the chance to pay a visit to Cape Coast in Ghana. One of the former centres of slave trade.

It was a shocking experience to enter the prison cells and tunnels where human beings were imprisoned, turned into slaves, then exported to the slave markets of the New World.

I don’t think I will ever forget the feeling of horror felt there.

While the transatlantic slave trade is over, the foundations on which it stood have not been fully dismantled.

Global economic inequalities can regularly lead to modern slavery.

Racism, including anti-black racism, discrimination, and colorism are still present in our societies.

Together, they form systems of racial differentiation between humans and humans.

Many Africans and people of African descent continue to feel that they are fighting an uphill battle for the recognition of an assault on their rights that was neither repaired nor rectified.

And are they wrong?

We must declare that this crime against humanity was not an authorless one.

We must acknowledge the responsibility of all the states, institutions, religious groups, businesses, banks, insurance companies and individuals who profited from slavery.

This is why this Day of Remembrance is so important – because it creates a space for us to reflect on a dark and shameful chapter of our shared history.

A space to honour all those who fell victim to the transatlantic slave trade, and to express our gratitude to all those who had the bravery to stand up to it.

It fosters a space for us to look towards our future.

George Orwell said that “the most effective way to destroy a people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history”.

For this reason, this year’s theme: “Fighting slavery’s legacy of racism through transformative education”, is more than timely.

As a global community, we have a duty of remembrance.

History, the facts of which should not be distorted, must serve as a lesson for all of us.

To honor the victims, and to promote a culture of respect for their descendants.

But for this duty of memory to truly be put in practice, we must reshape our education systems and curricula.

We have to do this to foster a genuine sense of justice for the victims, and to alleviate racial tensions that divide many of our societies.

We should all learn the story of Olaudah Equiano’s survival in the Middle Passage.

The significance of the 1791 uprising on the island of Saint Domingue – Haiti.

Zumbi dos Palmares’ solidarity towards his enslaved comrades.

The tale of the Garifunas and the origins of Palenqueros and Papiamento.

And we should also learn about the selfless struggle of the great abolitionists from Frederic Douglass to Harriet Beecher Stowe and Harriet Tubman.

Good people who were brave enough to stand up against the dominant ideologies of their times.

This is also our shared memory.

Through education, we can confute any revisionism with undisputable facts.

Through education, we can raise awareness of the dangers caused by misconceptions of supremacy – whether past or present.

Through education, we can ensure that no one will ever experience the hell lived by the 15 million we commemorate today.

And so, through education, the painful stories of racism can be transformed into a future of peace.

A future that is rooted in justice, equality, respect and dignity.

I thank you.

***

 

Calendar of Events

 

27 February - 30 March 2023
Exhibition "Slavery: Ten True Stories of Dutch Colonial Slavery" was on display at UN Headquarters 

United Nations Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum and supported by the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations and the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York hosted the exhibition entitled "Slavery: Ten True Stories of Dutch Colonial Slavery" which was on display in the United Nations Visitors' Lobby from 27 February to 30 March 2023.

Originally curated and displayed in 2021 by Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands’ national museum of art and history. The Ten True Stories exhibition was focusing on slavery in the Dutch colonial era, from the 17th to the 19th century – in Brazil, Suriname and the Caribbean, as well as in South Africa, Asia and the Netherlands itself. It presented ten true personal stories of people who were enslaved, people who profited from the system of slavery, and people who raised their voices against it. Their accounts came to life by scanning corresponding QR codes to listen to a pre-recorded audio of people living in the Netherlands who have a personal connection with the story. In New York, the ten stories integral to the original Slavery exhibition was presented around one single artifact: wooden foot stocks known as a ‘tronco’ (from the Portuguese for ‘tree trunk’). Several enslaved people would be forced to have their ankles clamped in the holes to constrain them –to subject them to corporal punishment and prevent from escaping. The foot stocks symbolize the more than one million people who were shipped in from around the world and forced to work, whether on plantations, as craftspeople, in mines, in transportation or on military expeditions. The poster version of the exhibition is available for display until 31 December 2024 at other UN offices worldwide.

 

In response to the display of the exhibit, Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, remarked:

“The legacy of centuries of enslavement, exploitation, and colonial rule reverberates to this day. We must learn and teach the history of slavery:
the crime against humanity; the unprecedented mass human trafficking; the unspeakable human rights violations. Behind the facts and figures are millions of human stories of
untold suffering and pain. But also, stories of awe-inspiring resilience, courage and defiance against the cruelty of oppressors.
This powerful exhibition calls on us all to put an end to racism and injustice In our own time and make inclusive societies based on dignity and rights a reality everywhere.”

 

 

Online version of the exhibition on view at the Rijksmuseum’s website.

Note to Correspondents

UN Feature story: "Ground-breaking exhibit on slavery gives new generation ‘hope for humanity’"
 

Photo: Anonymous, Enslaved men digging trenches, c. 1850, watercolour, Amsterdam Rijksmuseum,
purchased with the support of the Johan Huizinga Fonds/Rijksmuseum Fonds

Rijksmuseum Slavery Exhibition
Photo: Richard Koek

 

28 February 2023
Exhibition "Slavery: Ten True Stories of Dutch Colonial Slavery" opened at UN Headquarters

The United Nations Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery, together with the Rijksmuseum and the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations, organized an opening of the exhibition "Slavery: Ten True Stories of Dutch Colonial Slavery". Welcome remarks were delivered by Ms. Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. Her Excellency Ms. Yoka M.G. Brandt, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations and Dr. Valika Smeulders, Head of History Department and one of the exhibit curators, Rijksmuseum also delivered remarks.  The Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications stated, that the exhibition “invites the audience to actively engage and quite literally reflect on each life story, discovering our shared humanity and calling on us to join the fight to end racism and injustice in our own time.”  It was on display at the United Nations Visitors’ Lobby until 30 March.

Ms. Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications (left),
Dr. Valika Smeulders, Head of History Department and one of the exhibit curators, Rijksmuseum (center),
and Her Excellency Yoka M.G. Brandt, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations (right).
Photo: Richard Koek

Exhibition "Slavery: Ten True Stories of Dutch Colonial Slavery"
Photo: Richard Koek

 

28 February 2023
Dr. Valika Smeulders paid tribute to victims of slavery at the Ark of Return

The Head of History Department in Rijksmuseum - Dr. Valika Smeulders - visited the Ark of Return, the United Nations Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. A native of the Caribbean island and former Dutch colony, Curaçao, Dr. Smeulders is one of the curators of the exhibit “Slavery: Ten True Stories of Dutch Colonial Slavery” of Rijksmuseum, the National Museum of the Netherlands.  Her doctoral thesis at Erasmus University, Rotterdam focused on the presentation of the slavery past in Suriname, Curaçao, Ghana and South Africa. She specializes in the colonial past, social diversity and representation. After receiving a tour of the memorial on the UN Plaza, Dr. Smeulders said, "This was legalized injustice, committed for centuries on an international scale. By commemorating and having a lasting conversation, we are building a common future."

Dr. Valika Smeulders, the Head of History Department in Rijksmuseum, visited the Ark of Return.
Photo: Richard Koek

 

 

6 March 2023
Prime Minister of Aruba and Dutch High-level Officials visited the Ark of Return

The Secretary-General Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Ms. Marjan Hammersma; and the Prime Minister of Aruba & Minister of General Affairs, Innovation, Government Organisation, Infrastructure and Spatial Planning, Her Excellency Ms. Evelyn Wever-Croes; together with the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations, Her Excellency Ms. Yoka Brandt visited the Ark of Return, the United Nations Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The visit also included a guided tour of the exhibition “Slavery” Ten True Stories of Dutch Colonial Slavery” which was on display in the United Nations Visitors’ Lobby thanks to the Rijksmuseum and the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations. During the opening of the exhibition, Ambassador Brandt reminded us of our role in the fight to end the most enduring legacy of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans – racism.  She remarked, “There is no undoing the past, but in the here and now it is up to us to heal and to do better.”

Secretary-General Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Ms. Marjan Hammersma (left); Prime Minister of Aruba & Minister of General Affairs,
Innovation, Government Organisation, Infrastructure and Spatial Planning, Her Excellency Ms. Evelyn Wever-Croes (center); together with
the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations, Her Excellency Yoka Brandt (right).
Photo: DGC/TST

 

 

23 March 2023
Prime Minister of Aruba and Ministers from Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and the Netherlands visited the Ark of Return

Prime Minister of Aruba, Her Excellency Ms. Evelyn Wever-Croes and Ministers from Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and the Netherlands visited the Ark of Return to reflect on the history of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans. The Ark of Return, located on the United Nations Visitors Plaza, is the Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The visitors paid tribute to the victims of slave trade and reflected on the lingering consequences of racism and prejudice that continue to impact the descendants of the victims today. The delegation also received guided tour of the Rijksmuseum exhibition “Slavery: Ten True Stories of Dutch Colonial Slavery" presenting ten personal stories of people who were enslaved, profited from the system or revolted against it in different parts of the world – Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean.

Prime Minister of Aruba and Ministers from Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and the Netherlands visited the Ark of Return.
Photo: DGC/TST

 

 

27 March 2023
General Assembly marked International Day of Remembrance in New York

The United Nations General Assembly held a meeting to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade reflecting of this year’s theme “Fighting slavery’s legacy of racism through transformative education”. Speakers included: the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly, Member States and keynote speaker Prof. Djamila Ribeiro, Brazilian philosopher and journalist, winner of the Jabuti Literary Prize (2020) who has been using the power of education to fight discrimination against Afro-descendants in Brazil, including through her bestselling book ‘Little Anti-Racist Manual’ which has been used in schools and professional organizations throughout Brazil. For the first time youth representative also addressed the General Assembly – Taylor Cassidy – who is an activist and TikTok creator making Black history accessible to millions through per social media posts.

Remarks by António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General

Remarks by Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th session of the General Assembly

Watch the recording of the observance

António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General (left), Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th session of the General Assembly (center),
Movses Abelian, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management (right).
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Prof. Djamila Ribeiro addresses the commemorative General Assembly meeting to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Taylor Cassidy, youth advocate, addresses the commemorative General Assembly meeting.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Wide view of the General Assembly Hall as Secretary-General António Guterres (at podium and on screens) addresses the commemorative
General Assembly meeting to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

 

 

27 March 2023
Keynote speaker Prof. Djamila Ribeiro and youth advocate Taylor Cassidy paid tribute to victims of slavery at the Ark of Return

The keynote speaker at the United Nations General Assembly meeting to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade Prof. Djamila Ribeiro visited the Ark of Return. Prof. Ribeiro is a Brazilian philosopher and journalist, winner of the Jabuti Literary Prize (2020) and the only Black member of the influential literary institution Academia Paulista de Letras. She has been using the power of education to fight discrimination against Afro-descendants in Brazil, including through her bestselling book ‘Little Anti-Racist Manual’, articles in the Folha de S. Paulo, and 3 million followers on Instagram. The TikTok creator, Taylor Cassidy, was the first youth advocate to address the General Assembly. Taylor is an activist who makes Black history accessible to millions through per social media posts. Both speakers paid tribute to victims of slavery at the Ark of Return reflecting on the continued struggles of people of African descent against racism and the role of education in combating prejudice and hate speech.

Keynote speaker Prof. Djamila Ribeiro (right) and youth advocate Taylor Cassidy (left) at the Ark of Return.
Photo: DGC/Gabrielle Vardeleon

 

 

30 March 2023
Beyond Colonial Histories. Keynote lecture by Bryan Stevenson & Panel Discussion about Museums and the Transatlantic Slave Trade highlighted the role of the museums in inclusive programming

The Department of Global Communications Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum and supported by the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations and the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York hosted a keynote lecture by Bryan Stevenson & Panel Discussion about Museums and the Transatlantic Slave Trade titled, “Beyond Colonial Histories”. The moderated discussion was focusing on the history of slavery as a controversial theme in many countries and highlighted the current efforts by museums to include the voices of people of African descent; the importance and focus of ongoing research; inclusive programming; and dealing with the colonial past. Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, Bryan Stevenson was the featured speaker. Other notable speakers included the General Director of the Rijksmuseum, Taco Dibbits; the Head of History Department in the Rijksmuseum, Valika Smeulders; the Head of the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool Richard Benjamin; Director of the Barbados Museum & Historical Society, Alissandra Cummins; and narrators Susi and Simba Mosis. Moderated by Strategic Advisor for Diversity & Inclusion of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Arthur Kibbelaar, the panel discussion consisted of two parts. The first part was focusing on the history of slavery as a controversial theme in many countries. The second part highlighted the current efforts by museums to include the voices of people of African descent, the importance and focus of ongoing research, inclusive programming and dealing with the colonial past.  

Watch the recording of the event

United Nations YouTube: Video recording of the keynote speech by Bryan Stevenson

UN News interview: Cultural spaces help counter harmful legacy of slavery, argues Bryan Stevenson

  

Bryan Stevenson delivers keynote address during Beyond Colonial Histories event.
Photo: DGC/Gabrielle Vardeleon

Narrators Susi and Simba Mosis (left); Valika Smeulders, the Head of History Department in the Rijksmuseum (center); 
moderator Arthur Kibbelaar, Strategic Advisor for Diversity & Inclusion of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (right) 
during Beyond Colonial Histories event.
Photo: DGC/Gabrielle Vardeleon

 

 

30 March 2023
Prof. Bryan Stevenson visited the Ark of Return

Prof. Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, which operates the Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice visited the Ark of Return, the Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade at the United Nations. Mr. Stevenson is a lawyer, social justice activist, New York University law professor and author of “Just Mercy” who worked to exonerate over 135 innocent death row prisoners and hundreds of others wrongly convicted emphasizing that “the true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned”. Following the visit, Mr. Stevenson delivered the keynote lecture at an event entitled “Beyond Colonial Histories” which was part of commemorative activities for the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, where he remarked: 

“…the greatest evil of slavery was the narrative we created to justify enslavement… We have all inherited, in many parts of the world, a narrative of racial difference.”

Prof. Bryan Stevenson at the Ark of Return
Photo: DGC/TST

 

23 August 2023
Ms. Viola Ford Fletcher visited the Ark of Return

The Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery was honoured to receive Ms. Viola Ford Fletcher and her family at the Ark of Return on Wednesday, 23 August 2023. At 109 years of age, Ms. Fletcher is the oldest living survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Senior UN officials including Chef de Cabinet Courtenay Rattray, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming, and Outreach Division Director Maher Nasser, along with Jamaica’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Kurt Davis, were there to welcome her. The day marked the UNESCO International Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

UN News Interview: 109-year-old Tulsa Massacre survivor reflects on legacy of slavery in UN visit

Ms. Viola Ford Fletcher (seated) visits the Ark of Return on 23 August 2023
Left to Right: H.E. Mr. Kurt Davis, Deputy Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations; Mr. Courtenay Rattray, Chef de Cabinet; Mr. Ike Howard, Ms. Fletcher's grandson;
Ms. Margo “Mocha” Ochoa, publisher; Ms. Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications; Mr. Maher Nasser, Director of the Department of Global Communications Outreach Division; Ms. Marie-Elena John, Senior Racial Justice Specialist at UN Women; Ms. Muthoni Muriu, Senior Advisor for Diversity, Inclusion and Shared Leadership at UN Women.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

 

14 September 2023
Ms. Florence “Cuppy” Otedola visited the Ark of Return

To mark the International Day of Peace, Florence “Cuppy” Otedola visited the Ark of Return. She also rocked the student conference with incredible afrobeats and a speech.
Link to Florence Cuppy’s remarks at the International Day of Peace Youth Event: https://youtu.be/kg_U3JG0kHQ

Florence “Cuppy” Otedola at the Ark of Return
Photo: UN Photo/Mark Garten

 

6 December 2023
Knowledge, History and Power

On 6 December 2023, the Outreach Programme on Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade hosted “Knowledge, History and Power” – an engaging conversation which featured Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times Magazine reporter and creator of “The 1619 Project” and Laura Trevelyan, former BBC correspondent and Honorary Associate Fellow at the PJ Patterson Institute for Africa Caribbean Advocacy at the University of the West Indies.  Moderated by Professor Natasha Lightfoot of Columbia University, the hybrid event (in-person and online) was organized in collaboration with the Universities Studying Slavery Consortium, and within the context of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Maher Nasser, Director of the Department of Global Communications Outreach Division delivered welcome remarks.  Watch the recording..

UN News story: Award-winning journalists highlight UN as 'global body' advancing reparations

Photo: DGC/Catharine Smith
From left to right: Professor Natasha Lightfoot, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Laura Trevelyan

KEY DOCUMENTS

RELATED PROGRAMMES, OFFICES AND ASSOCIATIONS

HUMAN RIGHTS

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES