“It is time to abolish human exploitation once and for all and to recognise the equal and unconditional dignity of each and every individual,” Ms. Azoulay said.

The Day is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples.

‘The fight is not over’

Echoing the goals of UNESCO’s intercultural project The Routes of Enslaved Peoples, it should offer an opportunity for collective consideration of the historic causes, the methods and the consequences of this tragedy and for an analysis of the interactions to which it has given rise between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean, said the UN agency, which leads the annual commemoration.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said that while the Day honours the victims of the transatlantic slave trade, “the fight is not over.”

“Modern slavery persists,” she stated. “Let’s confront injustice, past and present and uphold the dignity and rights of every person.”

For its part, the UN works towards these goals, including through its Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery, established in 2007.

Uprising led to abolition

On the night of 22 to 23 August 1791, in then Saint Domingue, now Haiti, saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

Against this background, the International Day is commemorated around the world. It was first celebrated in a number of countries, including in 1998 in Haiti and in 1999 on Gorée Island in Senegal, where millions of enslaved people had been forced onto ships to cross the ocean.

“Today, let us remember the victims and freedom fighters of the past so that they may inspire future generations to build just societies,” UNESCO’s Ms. Azoulay said.