The United Nations has taken a major step in trying to correct a historic wrong. It has called for reparations for African nations that were subjected to the transatlantic slave trade and voted to recognize slavery as a crime against humanity. Though African countries welcomed the U.N.\u2019s resolution, other nations, including the United States, viewed the vote with skepticism.<\/p>\n
What did the UN vote for? <\/p>\n The U.N.\u2019s resolution<\/a> was spearheaded by Ghana, one of the countries from which an estimated<\/a> 12.5 million people across the African continent were captured by Europeans during the height of the slave trade. It declares the \u201ctrafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized chattel enslavement of Africans\u201d to be the \u201cgravest crime against humanity\u201d due to the \u201cscale, duration, systemic nature, brutality and enduring consequences that continue to structure the lives of all people through racialized regimes of labor, property and capital.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ghana\u2019s president, John Mahama, \u201ccalled on U.N. members to \u2018engage in inclusive, good-faith dialogue on reparatory justice, including a full and formal apology\u2019 as well as measures of restitution and compensation,\u201d said Bloomberg<\/a>. The full scope of these reparations remains unclear, and a specific dollar amount wasn\u2019t noted. Some believe reparations \u201cshould go beyond direct financial payments to also include developmental aid for countries, the return of colonized resources and the systemic correction of oppressive policies and laws,\u201d said The Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below <\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n The Week<\/p>\n Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \nSUBSCRIBE & SAVE\n<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Sign up for The Week’s Free Newsletters<\/p>\n From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n Why are some countries against this? <\/p>\n The resolution was largely well-received, passing 123-3. But the three countries to vote \u201cno\u201d were significant: Argentina<\/a>, Israel<\/a> and the United States. There were also 52 abstentions, including the United Kingdom and all members of the European Union. The U.S. vote comes as \u201cpolicy groups, human rights organizations and academics have accused President Donald Trump<\/a> of minimizing Black history,\u201d said The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n Critics often point to Trump\u2019s gripe against the Smithsonian<\/a>, which the president has accused of \u201cfocusing too much on \u2018how bad slavery was\u2019 and not enough on the \u2018brightness,\u2019\u201d said the Times. U.S. officials claim the decision to vote \u201cno\u201d on the resolution was not about race. The U.S. \u201cstrongly objects to the cynical usage of historical wrongs as a leverage point in an attempt to reallocate modern resources to people and nations who are distantly related to the historical victims,\u201d Deputy U.S. Ambassador Dan Negrea said in a speech<\/a> to the U.N.<\/p>\n The White House also \u201cstrongly objects to the resolution\u2019s attempt to rank crimes against humanity in any type of hierarchy,\u201d said Negrea. British officials used almost identical language: The U.K. is \u201cfirmly of the view that we must not create a hierarchy of historical atrocities,\u201d British Ambassador James Kariuki said in his U.N. speech<\/a>. The U.N. \u201cshould approach all historical injustices with the same seriousness, empathy and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n Others felt the move by the United Nations<\/a> was a necessary one. The resolution was \u201csignificant as it represented the furthest the U.N. has \u200bgone in recognizing transatlantic slavery as a crime against humanity and in calling for reparations,\u201d Justin Hansford, a \u2060law professor at Howard University, said to Reuters<\/a>. The action \u201cmarks the first vote on \u200bthe floor of the U.N. I cannot overemphasize how large of a step that is.\u201d And despite the backlash from some Western nations, the \u201clongstanding calls for reparations,\u201d said Reuters, have \u201cgained momentum in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n Explore More<\/p>\n