Observed first in 2008 after a December 2007 resolution, International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade honours and remembers the more than 15 million men, women and children who were brutalized under a slavery system that endured for more than 400 years.
The legacy of the inhumane forced migration – 96 per cent of captives arrived in South America and the Caribbean islands – is the large population of people of African descent in the Americas.
From 1501 to 1830, four Africans crossed the Atlantic for every one European, making the demographics of the Americas in that era more of an extension of the African diaspora than a European one. The legacy of this migration is still evident today, with large populations of people of African descent living throughout the Americas.
Despite its abolition, slavery continues in modern forms to this day, the ultimate violation of the right to autonomy. Another legacy of a barbaric system when human beings are regarded as “other” and “less than”: racism and prejudice.
Theme of International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 2022:
The theme for this year is - "Stories of Courage: Resistance to Slavery and Unity against Racism." The transatlantic slave trade is often studied and discussed at the macro level. It was a phenomenon characterized by unprecedented mass human trafficking, degrading economic transactions and unspeakable human rights violations. But examining the transatlantic slave trade at the micro level reveals its true brutality.
Behind the facts and figures are millions of human stories. The stories of those who were ripped from their homelands and families. The stories of those who fought against their oppressors. The stories of those who triumphed against all odds to win their freedom. Those stories continue today as people across the globe keep struggling together against the transatlantic slave trade’s most enduring legacy – racism.
How will the day be celebrated this year?
The Department of Global Communications, which manages the United Nations Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery and communications around the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024) – together with UNESCO and UNFPA – will hold an online cultural event to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Called “Rhythms of Resistance,” the online event will highlight the history of the transatlantic slave trade, as well as its ongoing legacy of racism. Through showcasing rhythmic performances in multiple countries, it will also demonstrate how African cultures have shaped societies throughout the Americas. The event will start at 10:00 a.m. EDT (7:30 p.m. IST)
