The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is calling on governments to take concrete action to address the continuing effects of the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized slavery.
In a statement marking the International Day of People of African Descent on August 31, the committee stressed that slavery is not simply a matter of the past, saying its consequences continue through systemic racial discrimination and structural inequality.
The UN experts are urging states to establish national action plans with clear deadlines for reparations, developed in consultation with people of African descent. Proposed measures include compensation, restitution, rehabilitation and institutional reforms.
The committee is also calling for laws and policies that perpetuate racial inequality to be revised or repealed, while stressing that official apologies and acknowledgments should be accompanied by concrete measures.
The UN panel says private institutions, including businesses, banks, insurers and universities that historically benefited from slavery, should also recognize their role and contribute to restorative justice.