00:00The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly in favour of a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest
00:09crime against humanity.
00:11Even though all but two countries in Europe chose to abstain, 123 nations voted for the resolution, most of them
00:18from the global south.
00:19One of them is Brazil, the biggest recipient of enslaved Africans and the last country in the world to abolish
00:26slavery.
00:27Our reporter Jan Onosco is in Rio de Janeiro at one of the ports which received the slave ships.
00:33Jan, tell us what this vote means for Brazil.
00:39Well, I'm here at the Longo Wharf in the centre of Rio.
00:44It's the most powerful surviving physical witness to the gravest crime against humanity.
00:50That is what the transatlantic slave trade has been called by this historic UN resolution.
00:58Over the course of just 40 years, a million enslaved Africans were brought into the country via this stone ramp
01:06behind me.
01:07They were treated worse than animals.
01:09They were shackled in chains.
01:11They were traded in markets.
01:13And they were brutally punished.
01:15They were part of a trade which kidnapped and trafficked 12.5 million men, women and children over the course
01:23of three and a half centuries.
01:25And 4.9 million of those Africans ended up here in Brazil.
01:29Now, this UN vote is not legally binding.
01:32But here in Brazil, it's being seen as hugely symbolically important.
01:37That is because the country still suffers with the effects of slavery even today.
01:43Structural racism is deeply rooted in Brazilian society.
01:47If you are black, you are twice as likely to live in poverty compared to someone who is white.
01:53You're also half as likely to get a university degree.
01:57And you're also three times more likely to be murdered.
02:01Now, the Minister for Racial Equality, Aniele Franco, whose own sister Marielle, was murdered in a politically motivated crime,
02:10has said that this UN vote now gives international legitimacy to the policies of racial equality being implemented here in
02:18Brazil.
02:18And that is really important because there are still many people in Brazil who deny that racism here exists.
02:25One of those people is the former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
02:30And in fact, during his presidency, he slashed funding for racial equality policies by more than 60%.
02:37However, most of the people we spoke to on the streets of Rio agree that racism is a problem in
02:44Brazil today.
02:48If I were white, I reckon people's reactions in certain situations would be different.
02:53You know what I mean.
02:54You notice that when you walk past people on the right, they move their bags to the left.
02:59You start to pick up on these things.
03:01So it's not just about money.
03:02You could give them money or take the gold that's there and give it back.
03:06But that's not enough.
03:09What's needed is education, you see.
03:11It's not just at school.
03:13It's at school, at home, on the street, in everyday life.
03:16Education is needed.
03:18People need to be re-educated.
03:20That's the word, re-educated.
03:22To look at others as you would look at yourself.
03:26So, Jan, will this vote strengthen calls for reparations for victims in Brazil?
03:33Well, the resolution itself calls for reparatory justice, but it's really unlikely to take the form of financial payouts.
03:42The slave trade was carried out by European empires.
03:46And so, not surprisingly, every single country in Europe except for two chose to abstain during this vote.
03:54It's really not surprising because they weren't going to admit to this crime
03:57and then be forced to put their hands in their pockets and pay reparations.
04:01Now, the arguments against reparations are that while the slave trade was being carried out,
04:06it wasn't illegal.
04:07It was legally allowed.
04:09And also that the slave trade happened so long ago that it would be impossible to identify all the victims
04:16of it.
04:16However, there is a historical precedent for paying a country reparations.
04:21That happened after the Second World War.
04:23Germany paid around €700 million to Israel because of the Holocaust.
04:31Now, ironically, Israel was one of only three countries to vote against this UN resolution.
04:36The other two countries were the United States and also Argentina.
04:40But here in Brazil, this vote is being seen as an opportunity to recognise all that really still needs to
04:47be done
04:48to address the legacy of slavery that still haunts the country in the form of racism and inequality.
04:55And the government here, Lula's government, has said that it's going to take a long time,
04:59but that it's committed to repairing these problems and really delivering reparatory justice.
05:07All right, Jan and Osco, thank you very much for that in Rio de Janeiro.
05:12All right.
Comments