‘The gravest crime against humanity’: What does the UN vote on slavery mean?

USA: The United Nations General Assembly this week overwhelmingly backed a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest crime against humanity”.

Welcoming the vote, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the wealth of many Western nations was “built on stolen lives and stolen labour”.

Noting the “barbaric punishments that maintained control – from shackles and iron collars to flogging and sexual violence”, he said it “was not simply forced labour”.

“It was a machinery of mass exploitation and deliberate dehumanisation of men, women and children. The wounds run deep and often go unrecognised.”

The resolution, backed by African and Caribbean countries, is not legally binding but analysts say it sends a powerful message.

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“It is already a huge and significant step in political terms to have this debate at the UN, even when it has a more symbolic value,” Almaz Teffera, a senior researcher on racism at Human Rights Watch, told the BBC.

She says it could increase the chance of progress on discussions about reparations, or some form of compensation.

The resolution was adopted by 123 votes to three, while 52 countries abstained, including the United Kingdom and EU member states.