Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest crime against humanity.” The measure, proposed by Ghana, urged countries to consider apologizing and contributing to a reparations fund. It passed with 123 votes in favor, including from Russia and China. The US, Israel, and Argentina voted against it, while 52 countries, including the UK, abstained.
The vote came as the result of a years-long reparations campaign by African and Caribbean states. The African Union designated 2025 as the year of “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” while CARICOM has repeatedly pushed its 10-point plan, which includes formal apologies, debt cancellation, public health support and education programs.
The move has since triggered widespread backlash among Western governments and political figures. The UK, which, according to a report by a former International Court of Justice judge, owes over $24 trillion in reparations to 14 Caribbean countries, has opposed the demands. British Chancellor Rachel Reeves previously said the country “cannot afford” the sums demanded, while the Conservative opposition has dismissed reparations as a “scam.”
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has also dismissed the compensation claims as “insulting” and threatened to block visas for citizens of countries seeking slavery reparations from Britain. Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, are among at least 17 countries which have demanded reparations from the former imperial power.
On Tuesday, Turk welcomed the General Assembly’s March 25 resolution supporting the AU and CARICOM campaign, acknowledging that “efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in certain quarters.”
He urged UN member states to adopt and enforce anti-racism laws, include young people of African descent and civil society in decision-making, and maintain momentum towards reparatory justice.