Addressing the General Assembly, Guterres warned that systemic racism, economic exclusion and racial violence continue to deny people of African descent the opportunity to thrive.
He called on governments to acknowledge the truth and finally honour the trade’s legacy by taking action.
“For too long, the crimes of the transatlantic slave trade – and their ongoing impact – have remained unacknowledged, unspoken and unaddressed,” he said, denouncing erasure of history, rewriting of narratives and dismissal of slavery’s intrinsic harm.
“The obscene profits derived from chattel slavery and the racist ideologies that underpinned the trade are still with us,” he added.
For over four centuries, an estimated 25 to 30 million Africans – nearly a third of the continent’s population at the time – were forcibly taken from their homelands. Many did not survive the brutal journey across the Atlantic.
The exploitation and suffering – families torn apart, entire communities decimated and generations condemned to bondage – was driven by greed and sustained by racist ideologies, which remain today.
Honouring and remembering those who suffered, the UN in 2007 designated March 25 as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
The date marks the passage of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in the United Kingdom in 1807, three years after the Haitian Revolution.
Liberation from French rule led to the establishment of the Republic of Haiti – the first country to gain independence based on the actions of enslaved men and women.
Even after slavery was abolished, the UN chief noted, its victims were not compensated and, in many cases, formerly enslaved people were forced to pay for their freedom.
Haiti, for instance, had to make massive payouts to those who profited from its suffering, a financial burden that set the young nation on a path of enduring economic hardship.
“Today is not only a day of remembrance. It is also a day to reflect on the enduring legacies of slavery and colonialism and to strengthen our resolve to combat those evils today,” Guterres said.
He urged governments, businesses and civil society to take decisive action against racism and discrimination, urging nations to fully implement the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and to comply with their human rights obligations.
“Acknowledging this truth is not only necessary – it is vital for addressing past wrongs, healing the present and building a future of dignity and justice for all,” he stressed.
This year’s commemoration also marked the tenth anniversary of the Ark of Return, the permanent memorial to honour the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, located at UN Headquarters in New York.
Standing solemnly against the backdrop of the East River, the Ark of Return greets world leaders, government officials and the public as they enter UN Headquarters – a white-marble monument to the resilience and resistance of those who endured the horrors of slavery.
