Volker Turk has warned that efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in “certain quarters,” and urged countries to back Africa’s push.
Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest crime against humanity.” The measure, proposed by Ghana, urged countries to consider apologizing and contributing to a reparations fund. It passed with 123 votes in favor, including from Russia and China. The US, Israel, and Argentina voted against it, while 52 countries, including the UK, abstained.
READ MORE: UN declares slave trade ‘gravest crime against humanity’
The vote came as the result of a years-long reparations campaign by African and Caribbean states. The African Union designated 2025 as the year of “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” while CARICOM has repeatedly pushed its 10-point plan, which includes formal apologies, debt cancellation, public health support and education programs.
The move has since triggered widespread backlash among Western governments and political figures. The UK, which, according to a report by a former International Court of Justice judge, owes over $24 trillion in reparations to 14 Caribbean countries, has opposed the demands. British Chancellor Rachel Reeves previously said the country “cannot afford” the sums demanded, while the Conservative opposition has dismissed reparations as a “scam.”
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has also dismissed the compensation claims as “insulting” and threatened to block visas for citizens of countries seeking slavery reparations from Britain. Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, are among at least 17 countries which have demanded reparations from the former imperial power.
On Tuesday, Turk welcomed the General Assembly’s March 25 resolution supporting the AU and CARICOM campaign, acknowledging that “efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in certain quarters.”
He urged UN member states to adopt and enforce anti-racism laws, include young people of African descent and civil society in decision-making, and maintain momentum towards reparatory justice.
https://www.rt.com/africa/638492-un-rights-chief-backs-reparations-slavery-colonialism/
The US VP had to defend President Trump’s Gaza policy at a rally on a Georgia college campus.
US Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to defend Washington’s policy in Gaza after he was booed and heckled at a key MAGA event on Wednesday.
Co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a conservative student group that has long been seen as a strong support base of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement but is now showing apparent cracks.
Less than 15 minutes into a TPUSA event at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, Vance was interrupted by hecklers over US policy in Gaza, with one audience member shouting, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” As he attempted to respond, others shouted, “You’re killing children!” and “You’re bombing children!”
Vance replied by referring to Trump’s achievements as president, including securing a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, something he said the previous administration of Joe Biden failed to do.
“I ...
Sergey Shoigu has cautioned Finland and the Baltic states against allowing Kiev to use their airspace for attacks on Russia.
Russia would have the right to retaliate if Finland and the Baltic states are deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
“Recently, there has been an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes against Russia via Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,” Shoigu told journalists. “As a result, civilians are suffering and significant damage is being caused to civilian infrastructure.”
Either Western air defenses are proving ineffective, or these four countries “deliberately provide their airspace, thereby becoming open accomplices in aggression against Russia,” he added. In the latter case, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the security chief stressed.
In recent weeks, Kiev has intensified drone strikes on ...
US-Israel strikes and Tehran’s retaliation are pushing oil and gas facility damage costs toward $50 billion, Rystad Energy projects.
The US-Israel war on Iran could push regional repair costs in the Middle East to as much as $58 billion, with oil and gas facilities alone accounting for up to $50 billion, according to an analysis released by energy research firm Rystad.
However, the report stresses that the main constraint is not funding but limited global capacity to supply key equipment and engineering services, which could delay repairs for years.
Rystad’s estimate marks a sharp increase from the initial $25 billion projection the firm issued three weeks ago, reflecting the broader scope of damage before the April 8 ceasefire between the US and Iran.
“Repair work does not create new capacity. It redirects existing capacity, and that redirection will be felt in project delays and into inflation far beyond the Middle East,” Rystad senior analyst Karan Satwani said.
“The $58 billion ...
