NEW YORK, 31st May 2025 (WAM) -- Secretary-General António Guterres has renewed his calls for Member states and the United Nations to work towards justice and reparations for Africans and the diaspora in a speech in New York on Friday.
“Africa is a continent of boundless energy and possibility. But for too long, the colossal injustices inflicted by enslavement, the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism have been left unacknowledged and unaddressed,” he said.
Speaking to the Africa Dialogue Series, which is focused on the theme of justice through reparations, the Secretary-General noted that the movement for reparatory justice is gaining momentum around the world as reflected by the declaration of the Second Decade for People of African Descent, which runs through 2035.
“We point to the poisoned legacies of enslavement and colonialism, not to sow division but to heal them,” he said.
Guterres underlined the entrenched nature of racism and exploitative systems, saying that these systems have disadvantaged African countries and people of African descent beyond the end of colonialism and enslavement.
“Decolonisation did not free African countries, or people of African descent, from the structures and prejudices that made those projects possible,” he said.
“African countries did not cause the climate crisis. Yet the effects of our heating planet are wreaking havoc across the continent,” he said.
He also reiterated his call for the establishment of a permanent Security Council position for an African Member State.
The President of the General Assembly, Philémon Yang, underlined the importance of teaching this history through national curricula and monuments such as The Ark of Return at UN Headquarters.
“Knowledge of our true history can serve as a powerful compass in our onward march towards progress,” he said.
Yang, the General Assembly President, underlined the urgency of the Secretary-General’s remarks, urging member states to act imminently.
“Now is the moment to turn recommendations into rights, apologies into action and aspirations into accountability.”