AU calls UN slave trade vote step towards 'healing'
Africa
By
AFP
| Mar 26, 2026
A general view of details on a wall at the Zomachi memorial in Ouidah on August 4, 2020. [Yanick Folly, AFP]
The African Union Thursday, welcomed as "historic" a UN vote to designate the transatlantic African slave trade as "the gravest crime against humanity" and said it marked an important step towards "healing".
The resolution was adopted at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday in a vote backed by 123 countries, with three voting against and 52 abstentions.
The United States was among those to oppose the measure, while Britain and EU member states abstained.
Despite being non-binding, the resolution goes beyond simple acknowledgement and asks nations involved in the slave trade to engage in restorative justice.
READ MORE
British Airways parent says Mideast war to hit annual profits
Mpesa drives growth as Safaricom hits record Sh99.7b profit
Kenya to spend nearly half of budget on debt servicing
KDC roots for creative economy, innovation and youth-led enterprise growth
Kenya, World Bank deepen irrigation push to boost food security
Why Nairobi's empty office problem is shrinking
Gulf Energy at the centre of yet another 'dirty fuel' drama
Dangote eyes Kenya as hub to raise African capital for refinery, other projects
Treasury trims economic growth forecast to 5pc on Middle East conflict
"This historic decision marks an important step toward truth, justice, and healing, and reinforces the urgent need to address the enduring legacy of slavery," the AU's head Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said in a statement published on X.
The pan-African body is committed to working with the UN, member states and partners "to advance historical justice and ensure that such crimes are neither forgotten nor repeated", it said.