THE APPROPRIATE USE OF "SLAVERY" AND "THE SLAVE TRADE" THROUGHOUT THE UNITED NATIONS ANTI-RACISM MECHANISMS REGARDING REPARATIONSDATE: Monday, April 14th, 2025.
TIME: 1:00pm to - 3:00 pm EST
LOCATION: Suite #120 - 866 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017
REGISTRATION: https://forms.gle/953G7ST7GJhP7oEm6EVENT DESCRIPTIONThe consistent use of ‘slavery’ and the ‘slave trade’ as the legal and conceptually appropriate terms for the harms that reparations address is paramount. Over two decades ago, the United Nations (UN) Durban Declaration and Program of Action recognized slavery and the slave trade, particularly the transatlantic slave trade, as crimes against humanity. It also acknowledged that Africans and people of African descent were victims of these acts and continue to suffer from their consequences.
Reparations for slavery and the slave trade are a central focus of the Second International Decade for Peoples of African Descent (2025 - 2034). The UN Permanent Forum of People of African Descent has prioritised reparations, while regional entities, such as the Programme of Action for CARICOM’s Ten Point Plan, provide a structured reparations framework. The African Union’s proposed theme for 2025, “Justice for Africans and people of African Descent through Reparations,” further underscores commitment to this issue.
This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the cornerstone of the international legal framework to prevent and combat racial discrimination. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is preparing a General Recommendation on Reparations for the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, reinforcing ICERD’s role in ensuring full and effective implementation of reparatory justice.
In parallel, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the UN submitted a proposal to include the slave trade as a provision in the Draft articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity. Additionally, Sierra Leone proposed to amend the Rome Statute, of the International Criminal Court, to include the slave trade as a crime against humanity, as well as slavery and the slave trade as war crimes.
While actors within the UN Anti-racism Mechanisms and regional bodies share a commitment to reparations, differences persist in the terminology they use. This side event seeks to clarify why consistent terminology will be important in all advocacy efforts.
From April 14 – 17, 2025, the fourth session of the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent (PFPAD) will take place at the UN Headquarters in New York. As part of the session, a side event on April 14 will feature a panel of experts discussing the appropriate terminology for referring to slavery and the slave trade in the context of reparations advocacy. This side event is intended for PFPAD participants, CERD members and their constituencies, as well as representatives from UN Member States, regional entities, civil society, academia, practitioners and other experts engaged in the issue of reparations.
PROPOSED PROGRAM
OPENING REMARKS• George Shadrack Kamanda, First Secretary, Legal Affairs, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the United Nations (tbc)
MODERATION AND CLOSING• S. Priya Morley, Director, Racial Justice Initiative, Bernstein Institute for Human Rights, NYU Law
SPEAKERS• Gay McDougall, Vice-Chair, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
• Patricia Viseur Sellers, former Special Advisor for Slavery Crimes to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and Visiting Fellow, Kellogg College, University of Oxford
DISCUSSANTS• June Soomer, Chairperson, Permanent Forum on People of African Descent
• Verene A. Shepherd, Vice-Chair, CARICOM Reparations Commission and CERD, Director of the Institute for Reparations Research, The University of the West Indies
• Barbara G. Reynolds, Member, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent
Q&A
