UNITED NATIONS (CMC):

The 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) says the experience of the slave trade should "not be repeated nor forgotten" as the international community yesterday observed the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the week-long event, chairman of the CARICOM diplomatic corps and Barbados' UN Ambassador, Christopher Hackett, says it is important to recognise the "resilience of the enslaved African people who were aboard those ships.

"They rose above their harsh experiences to respond creatively to life in their new geographic settings.

"Thus, we see the energies and success of their descendants in various parts of the New World, particularly in the Caribbean and some parts of Latin America and right here in the United States," he added.