UN votes for Britain to give up trillions of pounds in 'slavery reparations' handouts

Alsharq Tribune- Gina Issa 

The United Nations has voted for the UK to give up trillions of pounds in "reparations" for the transatlantic slave trade.

A resolution tabled by Ghana on behalf of the African Union called for Britain to begin "good-faith dialogue on reparatory justice, including a full and formal apology, measures of restitution, compensation".

Britain has, so far, said no.

Campaigners have claimed reparations packages could be worth trillions of pounds - while the resolution condemned the historical slave trade as the "gravest crime against humanity".

The non-binding resolution passed in the UN General Assembly with a vote of 124 to three, with the UK abstaining from the vote, alongside 51 other countries.

The three countries who voted against the resolution were Argentina, Israel and the United States.

Most European Union countries abstained from the vote, including countries who engaged in the transatlantic slave trade such as Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands.

African countries, some of which only outlawed slavery this century, lobbied the broader UN in New York for weeks, successfully getting support from countries such as Iran, China, and Russia.

Many Commonwealth countries, including India, also backed the resolution.

James Kariuki, the charge d’affaires at the UK mission to the UN, said Britain "continues to disagree with fundamental propositions of the text". He also raised concerns over legal language used within the non-binding resolution.

Dan Negrea, the US representative to the UN, raised the issue of the Trans-Saharan slave trade and other forms of slavery, which were not condemned as a crime against humanity.

He said the US rejected an attempt to create a "hierarchy" of crimes against humanity and said supporters of the resolution were using it to further their political goals.

Mr Negrea added the United Nations "was not founded to advance narrow specific interests and agendas, to establish niche International Days, or to create new costly meeting and reporting mandates".

Earlier this month, it was revealed the African Union, which comprises 55 member states, intends to use the Chagos ruling in the International Court of Justice to push the case for reparations.

The UN resolution establishing the slave trade as a crime against humanity was seen as a key first step to advancing the case in international courts.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres seemingly came out in support of reparations, calling for "far bolder action" from member states to confront historical injustices.

"Now we must remove the persistent barriers that prevent so many people of African descent from exercising their rights and realising their potential," he said.

Mr Guterres did not note Britain's role in ending the slave trade, freeing 800,000 slaves, abolishing the trade entirely in 1807, and throughout most of the British Empire under the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.

A Foreign Office spokesman commented on the delegation’s vote, told The Telegraph: "The transatlantic slave trade was abhorrent.

We recognise its horrific impacts and the ongoing strength of feeling it arouses.

"We are committed to deepening respectful, long-term partnerships with African countries, rooted in mutual respect, that deliver real change for people’s lives. "The UK’s position on reparations is clear – we will not pay them."