What comes to mind when you hear the words “foreign policy”? If you envision international relations and overseas disputes, you’d be right; and either way, you’re probably not thinking of dreadful topics like the one the United Nations discussed on Mar. 25, in which they voted on the gravest crime against humanity. But what did the United Nations decide-and why even hold a vote in the first place?
Despite what it might sound like, the UN vote isn’t an annual event. They don’t often rank crimes against humanity, and there were no choices to deliberate over; rather, Ghana proposed the recognition and the UN voted to officially accept it. The crime in question was the transatlantic slave trade, a forced migration which displaced over 12 million Africans to work in servitude, and Ghana spearheaded the effort in an attempt to foster official recognition of its wrongs. With 123 votes in favor, the United Nations was incredibly receptive to the request; however, there remained deliberation between the two sides.
Those who supported the vote argued that recognition of the tragedy was essential and sought to grant legitimacy and move toward reparatory justice. With the majority of the United Nations on board with this plan, the vote seemed close to unanimous. However, 28 members didn’t vote, and the United States, Israel, and Argentina were strongly opposed. For those opposed to it, the issue was the ranking of crimes; they argued that ranking one crime above another would minimize other atrocities humanity has faced.
“The assertion that some crimes against humanity are less severe than others objectively diminishes the suffering of countless victims and survivors of other atrocities throughout history. This is not a competition. This attempted ranking is also simply incorrect as a matter of law,” Ambassador Dan Negrea, representative for the United States, said.
However, other members disagreed, and the vote ultimately passed 123-3. While the resolution isn’t legally binding, it serves as an important recognition symbolically, and diplomats around the world have applauded the decision.
“The adoption of this resolution serves as a safeguard against forgetting,” Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama said. “Let it be recorded that when history beckoned, we did what was right for the memory of the millions who suffered the indignity of slavery.”
For UN updates, check out UN News at https://news.un.org/en/, and stay tuned for more political polls.
