International Day of Abolition of Slavery 2023; December 2nd.

FORUM: "Honouring the victims of slavery and highlighting the legacy of the slave trade." International Day of Abolition of Slavery 2023. Globally, 50 million people are trapped today in different forms of modern slavery, such as forced labour, trafficking in persons or domestic servitude. Ending Modern Slavery requires bold action by frontline leaders, donors, governments and a movement of collaborators. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #ModernSlavery, #forcedlabour, #EndHumanTrafficking, #2December, #SlaveryAbolitionDay.

“Slavery is both a historic horror and a contemporary outrage,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday's Abolition of Slavery Day, urging to fight against modern slavery in all its forms.

EVENTS: 74th anniversary of the Convention for the suppression of the Traffic in persons.

From27 - 29 November 2023 was held the 12th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights at the Palace of Nations in UN Geneva.

Risks of forced labour are of grave concern and a stark reality in global and complex Supply Chains, including in public procurement. At the #UNForumBHR, we presented our efforts focused on combating Human Trafficking in our own supplychains and explained how, at the
OSCE, we walk the talk.

Day 3 (Room XX) - Closing plenary - 12th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights.

Brief description of the session:This session draws the 2023 annual Forum on Business and Human Rights to a close. The aim of the session is to reflect on the Forum's theme 'Towards Effective Change in Implementing Obligations, Responsibilities and Remedies'. It will do so by considering the roles which each stakeholder plays in ensuring the effective implementation of the UNGPs and promoting respect for human rights in business activities. In particular, there will be a focus on effective remedies and what is needed to implement them. It will also be an opportunity to review what has been heard during the Forum and offer ideas for the ways forward.

Key objectives of the session:

• Reflect on the Forum's theme of 'Towards Effective Change in Implementing Obligations, Responsibilities and Remedies';
• Analyse how different stakeholders can act to ensure the effective implementation of the UNGPs and promote respect for human rights in business activities;
• Discuss how judicial and non-judicial grievance mechanisms, State-based and non-State based, can ensure access to effective remedy;
• Identify opportunities and obstacles for moving forward to make effective change; and
• Share positive practical examples of actions taken, including those that have been featured during the UN Forum.

EXHIBIT: The "Ark of Return" at UNHQ honours the victims of slavery and highlights the legacy of the slave trade.

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 2021, March 25

 Statement by the Secretary-General's at General Assembly on International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 2021; March 25

Today we honour the memory of the millions of people of African descent who suffered immeasurably under the evil of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.

We remember with humility the resilience of those who endured.

And we acknowledge the immense contributions slaves and their descendants have made to the economies and culture of the countries to which they were forcibly transported.

We must never forget the daily terror experienced by the enslaved peoples, the unthinkable acts of cruelty they endured, the daily reminder that they could lay claim to nothing, not even their own children.

But the slave traders and owners failed to rob the enslaved peoples of dignity and agency.

We remember the acts of resistance and the demands for justice of enslaved peoples.

We recall the courage of leaders like Queen Ana Nzinga of the Kingdom of Ndongo, now Angola, and Toussaint Louverture, of Saint-Domingue, now Haiti, and the peoples they led.

As we honour those whose names we know, we acknowledge the daily courage of the millions whom we will never know except as names on inventory lists drawn up by slave owners, traders and insurance agencies.

We support initiatives to reclaim, recover and reconstitute the history of those who were enslaved.

We also acknowledge that racism is both a cause and a legacy of slavery.

And we recognize that the impact of the slave trade remains visible in racial injustices and inequalities today.

Ending slavery’s legacy of racism is a global imperative for justice.

The transatlantic slave trade is a global history that continues to resonate.

It created and sustained a system of exploitation that existed for over 400 years.

It devastated the economies of those it enslaved.

And it strengthened the colonial project, enriching its multitude of beneficiaries at the expense of the lives of the enslaved.

The racism at the core of the system built on slavery condemned Africans to enduring second-class status.

To provide justification for the slave trade, Africans were consistently portrayed as less than human.

Racist tropes circulated widely, incorporated into sermons, pamphlets and cultural expressions, and given legitimacy by pseudo-science and legislation.

So, while the transatlantic slave trade ended over two centuries ago, the ideas that propelled it remain alive today.

In Europe, the United States and elsewhere, white supremacists are organizing and recruiting across borders.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, white supremacist propaganda reached an all-time high in 2020.

We must counter all lies of racial supremacy.

The irrefutable fact is that we are all equally part of one race – humankind.

When we forget this basic fact, we imperil ourselves.

Repeated acts of racism, by people and institutions, expose the impact of slavery’s legacy.

Last year, they helped to galvanize a worldwide movement for justice and an end to racism.

We must build on this momentum.

Our Organization is built on the demand for global justice and an end to racism and inequality.

This must include action to redress the wrongs of history.

We need to acknowledge and correct the long-lasting effects of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.

By tackling inequities and inequalities, by building inclusive communities and economies, and by educating about history, we truly honour the memory of the victims of slavery.

 

United Nations Secretary-General

EVENTS: