Understanding the legacy of slavery: United Nations commemorations as communications tools for promoting and protecting human rights

United Nations International Days, Weeks, Years and Decades communicate about, foster deeper understanding, and encourage action on key issues affecting the individuals and communities we serve. These commemorations form a critical pillar in the outreach and advocacy strategies of United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) and Services tasked with connecting local and regional audiences with the work of the United Nations.

In the International Days calendar, there are several observances that encourage continuous engagement with the legacy of slavery and promote understanding of its pervasive and harmful influence, including the brutal interruption of African history and the lasting impact of racism and economic marginalisation on People of African Descent. These International Days honour those who suffered at the hands of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery, and affirm the significance of its Abolition as an historical event; raise awareness of contemporary forms of human trafficking and enslavement; and campaign against the economic and social marginalisation wrought by all expressions of racism and racial discrimination .They also mobilise action and celebrate ongoing resistance to, and triumph over, this legacy.

Within this framework, the United Nations Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery collaborated with the Rijksmuseum to present the exhibit Slavery: ten true stories of Dutch Colonial Slavery at United Nations sites worldwide, beginning with a hosting event at United Nations Headquarters, New York, in 2023. The exhibit as originally created, comprises audio-visual artefacts and print material that tell stories from a range of perspectives of the experience of the slave trade and slavery during the Dutch colonial period. To make these stories available to audiences outside the Netherlands, the Rijksmuseum developed a poster version as well as online supporting material. Permission to reproduce and display the poster exhibit was made available to the United Nations for use in its outreach.

For its 2024 commemoration of International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the United Nations Information Centre for the Caribbean Area (UNIC Caribbean) tapped into the UN Secretariat’s collaboration with the Rijksmuseum to bring the ten true stories exhibit to library users in Trinidad and Tobago. The UNIC Caribbean Slavery and its Legacy travelling exhibit project – a collaboration with the Public Libraries Division of the National Library and Information System (NALIS) - showcased the Rijksmuseum’s exhibit, with supporting lectures, at public and school libraries across the country.  

This travelling exhibit was the most recent activity in the Centre’s longstanding outreach programme – that included exhibits, presentations, discussion sessions, and digital campaigns – to promote understanding of the significance of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery and its enduring impact on Caribbean societies. It also built on the UNIC’s partnerships with education and research stakeholders who embrace the UN’s values and support its strategic communication goals. Guiding the UNIC Caribbean approach to this outreach was the UN’s commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights; the understanding that there are inalienable rights to which “everyone is entitled to as a human being - regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status."

With these important relationships and frameworks in view, the UNIC’s travelling poster exhibit project aimed to educate and encourage nuanced discussions about the legacy of slavery, drawing on the stories of the Dutch Caribbean colonial experience and perspectives.

The exhibit was mounted in seven public libraries across Trinidad and Tobago between July and October; and three school libraries in November. At these schools, the exhibit showcased the ten true stories poster display and also included discussions led by National Information Officer, Amanda Laurence, on the need to continue to “remember slavery” as an exercise in applying the lessons of the past to build better societies. The UNIC also hosted an information session featuring the Rijksmuseum’s Head of History and one of the curators of the ten true stories exhibition, Dr.Valika Smeulders, to brief NALIS librarians about the travelling exhibit project and also encourage their participation in all dimensions of the Centre’s human rights advocacy.