2025 Remembrance Programme
"Acknowledge the past. Repair the present. Build a future of dignity and justice."
The transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans was one of the most horrific crimes in human history, brutally dehumanizing more than 15 million men, women and children over 400 years. It robbed individuals of their lives and liberty, and in the centuries that followed, systems of exclusion and discrimination stripped communities of their ability to thrive and prosper.
The fallacy of white supremacy was justified by – and entrenched in – institutions, cultures, and legal systems. Acknowledging the painful legacy of the trade in enslaved Africans is essential to repairing these broken systems.
Born out of past harms and crimes against humanity, systemic racism and structural injustices must be transformed to heal the wounds of enslavement and build a future of dignity and justice for Afro-descendant communities across the globe.
Message of the United Nations Secretary-General
25 March, 2025
The transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans was a crime against humanity that resonates through history and continues to scar societies. Today, we remember the women, children, and men torn from their loved ones, forced to work in agonizing conditions, cruelly punished, and deprived of their dignity and human rights, and we recall their acts of resistance and demands for justice.
For more than four centuries, millions of Africans were kidnapped, trafficked, abused and dehumanized. This horrific enterprise rested on the destructive lie of white supremacy. And it saw many colonizers, corporations and institutions amass unimaginable wealth.
For too long, these unthinkable acts have remained unacknowledged, unspoken, and unaddressed, all as their legacies continue to shape our world. Many still benefit from the odious profits reaped from chattel slavery. Systemic racism has been embedded into institutions, cultures, and legal and other systems. Deeply rooted exclusion, racial discrimination and violence continue to undermine the ability of many people of African descent to thrive and prosper.
As the theme of this year’s International Day reminds us, acknowledging the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade is an essential step towards addressing the past, repairing the present, and building a future of dignity and justice for all. It is imperative to put in place reparatory justice frameworks that address this terrible history and its legacies. And we must end the evil of racism for good.
The human dignity of every person stands at the heart of the United Nations. We will always stand with everyone, everywhere to combat racial discrimination and hate, and to defend the human rights and dignity of all.
General Assembly Observance of the 2025 International Day of Remembrance
of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
On Tuesday, 25 March 2025 at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the General Assembly convened its annual plenary meeting to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Speakers included the President of the 79th Session of the General Assembly, His Excellency Philemon Yang; the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. António Guterres; keynote speaker and Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature Mr. Wole Soyinka; youth speaker and former United States Youth Poet Laureate Ms. Salome Agbaroji; and representatives of Member States and regional groups.
Watch the General Assembly meeting on demand at
Remarks of the President of the General Assembly
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The transatlantic slave trade stands as one of the darkest chapters in human history.
Over a span of 400 years, between 25 and 30 million people were forcibly uprooted, shackled, and transported from Africa to the Caribbean and the Americas.
Many did not survive the journey.
Men and women and children were separated from their families, stripped of their identities, and robbed of their freedom.
They and their descendants endured generations of brutal servitude, enforced by the lash of the whip.
On the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, we recall this history – and confront its legacy.
And we reflect on the moral urgency of dismantling that legacy.
We commit to laying the foundations for a more just future.
One built upon respect for human dignity and human rights.
Read full remarks
Remarks by the Secretary-General
Watch the remarks delivered by Secretary-General António Guterres
Remarks by Keynote Speaker
Watch the remarks delivered by the keynote speaker, the Nobel Laureate in Literature Professor Wole Soyinka,
Remarks by Youth Speaker
Watch the remarks delivered by the youth speaker, former United States Youth Poet Laureate Salome Agbaroji,
Students visit United Nations Headquarters for the 25 March 2025 Commemoration
Hundreds of students from secondary schools and universities across the New York Tri-State area gathered at the United Nations on 25 March 2025 to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Following the United Nations General Assembly’s plenary session marking the International Day, young attendees toured the sculpture exhibition The Stories of Us, guided by curator and co-founder Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye. The exhibition features works by artists from across the African diaspora. Students also participated in a roundtable discussion with youth speaker Salome Agbaroji.
Salome Agbaroji, students attending the plenary meeting at the General Assembly Hall
Calendar of Events
7 March – 25 April 2025
The Stories of Us Sculpture Exhibition at United Nations Headquarters
The United Nations Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery, in collaboration with the Stories of Us arts non-profit organization, is displaying a sculpture exhibition featuring artists from across the African diaspora. It features five large-scale “talking drums” by the artists Alanis Forde, Francks Deceus, Láolú, Leasho Johnson, and Marryam Moma. The exhibition honours the resistance of enslaved Africans and the powerful voices of their descendants, whose leadership and cultural innovations enrich our societies today.
The sculpture exhibition runs in the United Nations Visitors’ Lobby through 11 April and then moves to the United Nations Visitors Plaza, where it will serve as the backdrop for the many dynamic music, dance, and high-level events scheduled for the annual Permanent Forum for People of African Descent (14-17 April).
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