What did the UN resolution say on slavery reparations?

UN General Assembly calls trafficking enslaved Africans “gravest crime”

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution aimed at addressing the “historical wrongs” of enslaved African trafficking. The text declared that the trafficking of enslaved Africans is the “gravest crime against humanity” and called for reparations.

Why the resolution matters

The vote places the issue squarely in the realm of international legal and moral responsibility, not just historical remembrance. By using strong language—labeling the crime as the gravest against humanity—the resolution seeks to strengthen the argument that the harms of the trans-Atlantic slave trade remain relevant to contemporary justice debates.

It also signals that member states continue to fight over how the UN should treat slavery and its legacies, including whether and how compensation or reparative measures should be pursued.

What is explicitly included

• The resolution characterizes enslaved African trafficking as a “gravest crime against humanity.”
• It includes a call for reparations.

Political context from voting

One related report stated that Ghana introduced a UN resolution framework on the issue, and that Israel and Argentina voted against it, indicating continued divisions among UN member states.

Bottom line

By formalizing slavery trafficking as an extreme crime and urging reparations, the resolution elevates reparations from a national political debate to an international question of accountability and remedy.