Declaration
70. Recognising that the Trans-Atlantic, Trans-Saharan and Trans-Indian Ocean slave trade
and slavery constitute crimes against humanity and were based on economic exploitation,
doctrines of racial supremacy and racial hatred and have subjected Africans and African
descendants, Indigenous Peoples and many others to the most horrific denigration of their being
including classification as sub-humans and chattel, subjugation to rape, forced labour, branding,
lashings, murder, maiming, destruction of their languages, cultures, psychological and spiritual
well-being resulting in structural subordination which continues to the present.
Programme of Action
233. We demand that educational curricula reflect the accurate historical experiences of both
the victims and the perpetrators of the Trans Atlantic SlaveTrade, Trans-Saharan and Trans-Indian Ocean Slave Trade, Slavery and Colonialism.
234. Therefore, we call for the establishment of an international tribunal within one year to
document the character and extent of harm derived from the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Trans-Saharan and Trans-Indian Ocean Slave Trade, slavery and colonialism which are crimes against
humanity.
235. Urge governments in Cameroon, Mauritania, Niger and Sudan that engage in any form
of slavery to eradicate this practice. In particular, laws abolishing traditional slavery should
include reparations for the victims of these violations. Criminal sanctions should be imposed on
perpetrators of these crimes. States should recognize the human rights of these victims,
including their political, social, economic, cultural and civil rights.
236. We demand that the United States, Canada, and those European and Arab nations that
participated in and benefited from the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, the Trans-Sahara Slave
Trade, the Trans-Indian Ocean Slave Trade, Slavery and the Colonization of Africa, within one
year of the WCAR establish an international compensatory mechanism for victims of these
crimes against humanity.
