{"id":36809,"date":"2026-09-01T05:14:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T05:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=36809"},"modified":"2026-09-01T05:14:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T05:14:29","slug":"countries-legally-obliged-to-consider-slavery-reparations-says-un-committee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=36809","title":{"rendered":"Countries legally obliged to consider slavery reparations, says UN committee"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Guidance says states must implement \u2018comprehensive measures\u2019 to address legacy of racial discrimination<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A UN committee has said countries are legally obliged to consider reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and take other \u2060measures to address the enduring \u2060legacy of racial \u200bdiscrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guidance published on Monday by the committee on the elimination of racial discrimination (CERD) said the obligations arose from \u2060a legally binding 1965 convention on racial discrimination, not from the legal standards that existed when the slave trade took place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The committee described the approach as a \u201cparadigm \u2060shift\u201d away from debates over historical responsibility that have often been used by governments to resist reparations \u200bclaims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStates parties must implement comprehensive reparatory measures for \u200cpeople of African descent, \u200ccovering all aspects of remedies,\u201d said the UN document, which may be cited in courtrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 12.5 \u200cmillion Africans were taken and sold between the 15th and 19th centuries in what CERD called the largest forced displacement in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calls for reparations \u2013 ranging from official apologies to financial compensation \u2013 have gained momentum internationally, though opponents argue states and institutions should not be held responsible for historical crimes. The EU and Britain abstained from a UN resolution \u200con slavery in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some states have sought to dodge claims for justice in courtrooms by arguing that there were no international laws outlawing the slave trade \u200bat the time \u2013 the so-called intertemporality principle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the UN document argues that, regardless of whether slavery and the slave trade were illegal under the laws of the day, countries remain responsible under current international obligations to tackle their continuing effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIrrespective of the legal characterisation of the original historical acts, states parties remain bound \u2060by their present obligations under the convention to address structural inequalities,\u201d the UN document \u200bsays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial compensation alone is \u200bnot sufficient, it adds, urging \u201ctransformative\u201d measures including \u200bopening archives, revising public memorials and establishing independent truth commissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pela Boker Wilson, a committee expert \u200bfrom Liberia who helped draft \u200cthe document, said \u200bshe expected states \u200bto move beyond broad expressions of regret and review policies and laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are calling on state parties to take concrete and meaningful action,\u201d she told Reuters. \u201cWe want to affirm the dignity of those whose suffering was denied, whose suffering was minimised or forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference Link:- https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/aug\/31\/countries-legally-obliged-consider-slavery-reparations-un-committee<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guidance says states must implement \u2018comprehensive measures\u2019 to address legacy of racial discrimination A UN committee has said countries are legally obliged to consider reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and take other \u2060measures to address the enduring \u2060legacy of racial \u200bdiscrimination. Guidance published on Monday by the committee on the elimination of racial discrimination […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[34364,23744,34365,34369,34363,34362,34368,34366,34367],"class_list":["post-36809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-compensation-2","tag-convention-2","tag-ilegal","tag-racial-discramination","tag-repatriation","tag-salavery","tag-un-committee","tag-western-colonialists","tag-western-imerialism","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36810,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36809\/revisions\/36810"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}