Today marks International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and its Abolishing, a day that is annually observed on August 23 to remind people about the devastation wrought on humanity by the transatlantic slave trade. For 400 years, over 12 million Africans were captured into slavery and forced to work in deplorable conditions in the New World. This deprived the continent of valuable human capital needed for its development.
The day is therefore observed by the International Community to offer an opportunity for collective consideration of the historic causes, the methods and the consequences of this tragedy, and for an analysis of the interactions to which it has given rise between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean. This year\’s day also marks the 25th anniversary of \”UNESCO\’s Slave Route Project: Resistance, Liberty, Heritage\”, which for a quarter of a century has been working to help governments, universities, the media and civil society organizations open these tragic pages of history, to combat the oblivion or denial of a past that is well documented by so many written and oral archives, and to make this immense heritage known through the tremendous cultural diversity celebrated today.
As part of its commemoration, the United Nations, in collaboration with member states, organizes events that create awareness about modern-day slavery and inviting countries to bring a lasting end to the manifestation of slavery in modern times.
