US Votes Against UN Slavery Resolution, Cites Concerns

The United States has formally explained its decision to vote against a United Nations “Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime against Humanity.”

This landmark resolution, which was “spearheaded by Ghana passed this week at the UN General Assembly in New York, with a vote of 123 in favor to 3 against (Argentina, Israel, and the United States). There were 52 abstentions.”

Defending its stance, the U.S. government clarified that while it remains firmly opposed to the “trans-Atlantic/trans-Saharan slave trade, all other forms of slavery, and accepts they are “historical wrongs,”” it found the specific language of the “UN resolution text was “highly problematic in countless respects.””

Representing the American position, “Ambassador Dan Negrea argued that the UN exists to maintain international peace and security, not to advance specific interests and agendas, establish niche international days, or create new costly meeting and reporting mandates.”

As the “Rep. to the UN Economic and Social Council,” Negrea stated that while “the U.S. acknowledges past horrors,” it “rejects the resolution’s assertion that historical facts from the 15th-19th centuries constitute violations of jus cogens (peremptory norms).”

Addressing the underlying themes of the document, the U.S. noted that “the resolution’s drafters and supporters seem to expect compensation.” Consequently, the U.S. “does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred.”

Furthermore, “the government also questioned who the recipients of “reparatory justice” would be,” expressing concern over the “reallocation of modern resources to people and nations who are distantly related to the historical victims.”

During his remarks, “Negrea also condemned the “fake news” about President Donald Trump,” claiming that “he has done more for Black Americans than any other president and enjoyed historic support from the Black community in the 2024 election.”

On the other side of the debate, “Ghana’s President John Mahama,” representing the “54-member African Group,” described the “solemn solidarity to affirm truth and pursue a route to healing and reparative justice.”

Supporting this perspective, “UN Secretary General António Guterres said the transatlantic slave trade was a crime against humanity that struck at the core of personhood, broke up families, and devastated communities.”

Following the vote, the “diplomat urged everyone to “reject the false narrative of racial difference”” and called for a global “fully commit to human rights, equality, and the inherent worth of every person.”