by David Lindfield
A United Nations committee declared Monday that countries bound by a 1965 anti-discrimination treaty have a present-day legal obligation to pursue reparations for people of African descent over the enduring effects of the transatlantic slave trade.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said the obligation applies even though slavery and the slave trade were not necessarily prohibited under international law at the time they occurred.
The committee described its position as a “paradigm shift” intended to move the debate away from arguments over historical legal responsibility and toward present-day obligations to address what it calls structural racial inequality.
“States Parties must implement comprehensive reparatory measures for people of African descent, covering all aspects of remedies,” the committee said.
The U.N. document could potentially be cited in future court cases.
Reparations Could Include Cash Payments and ‘Truth Commissions’
The committee argues that financial compensation should be part of the response but should not be the only remedy.
It called for broader “transformative” measures that could include opening historical archives, revising public memorials, and creating independent “truth commissions.”
The committee said states should address what it described as the continuing “legacy of racial discrimination” through a comprehensive reparations framework.
According to U.N. estimates, approximately 12.5 million Africans were transported and sold during the transatlantic slave trade between the 15th and 19th centuries.
The committee identified 182 countries as falling under the treaty framework, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Portugal.
U.N. Rejects Argument That Modern States Cannot Be Liable for Historical Acts
Opponents of reparations have long argued that people alive today should not be held financially responsible for crimes committed centuries ago.
Some governments have also relied on the legal principle of intertemporality, arguing that historical conduct should be judged according to the international law that existed at the time.
Britain and the European Union abstained from a U.N. resolution on slavery in March, reflecting broader resistance among some governments to open-ended reparations obligations.
The committee rejected that line of reasoning.