WOLFE

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a Jamaican-inspired resolution to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Some 160 countries, including former colonial powers the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as all countries on the African continent, supported the resolution last Tuesday.

By the adoption of the resolution, spearheaded by Jamaica and tabled by CARICOM countries, the General Assembly agreed to designate March 25 as the International Day for the Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

In a statement to the assembly, Jamaica's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Raymond Wolfe, stressed the need for compensatory measures to address the lingering impact of slavery and the slave trade.

He said the adoption of the resolution, along with the commemorative activities to be held in 2007, represented the beginning of steps towards acknowledgement, atonement, healing and reconciliation. He said it also underlined the firm resolve of the international community that such horrific acts, which dehumanised the victims of their dignity, spirit and self-worth, should never be forgotten or allowed to recur.

Lasting legacy

He said that, beyond the symbolic gestures, it should be emphasised that the legacy of the slave trade and slavery, are not just of fundamental importance to the Caribbean and Africa. Their consequences, he said, should stir the conscience of the international community, especially taking into account the continued impact in political, social and economic terms.

The resolution recognised the slave trade and slavery as among the worst violations of human rights in the history of humanity, bearing in mind, particularly, their scale and duration. It acknowledged that the institution of slavery is at the heart of 'profound social and economic inequality, hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice which continue to affect people of African descent today'.

The resolution urged member states to develop programmes to educate and inculcate in future generations, including through school curricula, an understanding of the lessons, history and consequences of slavery and the slave trade.

The General Assembly will convene a special commemorative meeting in remembrance of the event on March 26, 2007.

At the national level, the Jamaica National Bicentenary Committee is coordinating a number of activities to commemorate the anniversary which begins with an official launch on January 2, with a cultural rally in Emancipation Park.