The UN General Assembly and Reparations for Slavery

UN resolution on slavery reparations March 26 2026

The United Nations General Assembly adopted an important resolution on March 26, 2026. The resolution declared the transatlantic slave trade to be 'the gravest crime against humanity' and called for reparations for African nations and descendants of enslaved people.

The transatlantic slave trade was the forced transportation of millions of Africans to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries. It is one of the darkest chapters in human history.

Between 12 and 15 million Africans were forcibly taken from their homes and sold as property in the Americas. The UN resolution is significant because it is a formal international acknowledgment of this historical injustice.

However, there is a big difference between passing a resolution and actually paying reparations. Reparations means financial compensation — money paid to those who were wronged or their descendants.

The question of reparations is extremely controversial. Which countries should pay?

How much? Who should receive the money?

These questions do not have simple answers. European countries that participated in the slave trade — including the UK, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Spain — will be watched closely for their response to this resolution.