51³Ô¹Ï

2010 Remembrance Programme

¡°Expressing Our Freedom Through Culture¡±

The International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade for 2010 is being observed under the theme ¡°Expressing Our Freedom Through Culture¡±.

This theme highlights the centrality of cultural heritage, passed down from generation to generation, as a medium for expressing and nurturing identity during the days of slavery, and ultimately for celebrating freedom from it after 400 years of relentless struggle to break free.

The event is held annually pursuant to General Assembly resolution A/RES/62/122 of 17 December 2007, which called, inter alia, for 25 March to be designated as International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The resolution requested the Secretary-General, in collaboration with UNESCO, to establish an educational outreach programme to mobilize educational institutions, civil society and other organizations to inculcate in future generations the ¡°causes, consequences and lessons of the transatlantic slave trade, and to communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice¡±.

Message of the Secretary-General | Message of the President of the UN General Assembly | Calendar of Events | Promotional Materials

Background 

The tragic transatlantic slave trade, which marked one of the darkest chapters in human history, lasted for 400 years, despite a spirited resistance by the millions of enslaved peoples, which began from the beginning of that brutal system. Many vulnerable communities devised astute defensive strategies, including protective walls and fortresses and the abandonment of villages that were hard to defend.

In the middle Passage, they mounted fierce rebellions, perhaps the most notable of which was the revolt onboard the slave ship Amistad in 1839, which later became a symbol in efforts to abolish slavery. In the various overseas destinations where they faced life as slaves, enslaved peoples continued to fight for their freedom.

A ¡®secret weapon¡¯ which facilitated their efforts in that regard was their cultural heritage, particularly regarding similarities in language, music and religious practices, through which they bonded, mobilized and planned revolts.

Demonstrating the critical role of religious practices in particular in the efforts of enslaved peoples to break free, a fabled group of maroons (run away slaves), enacted by a Surinamese cultural group, was believed to have approached their escape in four stages - beseeching their ancestors for guidance and blessings, promising in return to honour those ancestors with music; invoking mother earth with power over all living things to find them a peaceful home in the forests; invoking voodoo, the ¡®snake god¡¯ to distract their captors while they escaped; calling upon ¡®Apuku the spirit of the forests¡¯ to keep them safe; and beseeching ¡®Kromanti, the god of war¡¯ to help make their escape successful. These were traditions in their homelands from where they were forcibly taken, and traditions they relied upon in hundreds of years to strengthen their resolve to seek freedom.

In addition to the numerous incidents of their brave physical resistance and daring escapes, enslaved peoples nurtured their identities and cultural heritage through the retention of belief systems and oral traditions, societal values, music, dance, art, food and folklore. Music was for many of them the medium of choice for cultural resistance, as it enabled them to tell their stories, express their anger and keep their spirits up. When their captors understood the cultural value of the drum as a powerful, even magical, medium of communication and forbade them from making and using drums, enslaved Africans continued to make music with other things.

In many instances, African rhythms from the homeland came to be fused with other musical forms in the diaspora, of which examples include bosa nova (Brazil), Salsa (Cuba), Mento and Reggae (Jamaica) and Calypso and Steelpan music (Trinidad). Other legacies of the cultural resistance draw attention to the survival of elements of indigenous African languages in the vernacular of many countries in the Caribbean, including Kreyol (combination of African and French), Patios (African and English) and Papliemento (African and Dutch).

In time, a celebration of freedom in the Diaspora became synonymous with a celebration of the cultural heritage that made it possible for the hundreds of millions of people who descended from the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade to maintain spiritual links with their ancestral roots.

Message of the Secretary-General

Slavery is abhorrent. It is explicitly prohibited by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the 51³Ô¹Ï has reaffirmed this principle many times, including in the Durban Declaration adopted at the 2001 World Conference Against Racism.

But slavery and slavery-like practices continue in many parts of the world. Slavery is mutating and re-emerging in modern forms, including debt bondage, the sale of children, and the trafficking of women and girls for sex. Its roots lie in ignorance, intolerance and greed.

We must create a climate in which such abuse and cruelty are inconceivable. One way is by remembering the past and honouring the victims of the transatlantic slave trade. By reminding ourselves of past injustices, we help to ensure that such systematic abuse of human rights can never be repeated.

Those who controlled the transatlantic slave trade made huge profits from death, misery and exploitation. They presided over the forcible removal of millions of people from their homelands in Africa. Slave traders and owners subjected these forced migrants and their descendants to the most callous physical, mental and emotional abuse.

We see the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade in all the countries it affected. If we are wise, we will use this legacy for good. We will recognize that it is clear evidence of what can happen, if intolerance, racism and greed are allowed to triumph.

We should also take heart from those who, with great courage, succeeded in ending this institutionalized abuse. Their bravery ensured the eventual triumph of the values the 51³Ô¹Ï represents: tolerance, justice, and respect for the dignity and worth of all human beings.

Today, we salute all the victims of slavery and we commit ourselves to ensuring that this practice, in all its forms, is eradicated.

Ban Ki-moon

Message of the President of the UN General Assembly

Delivered by H.E. Mr. Christopher Hackett, Permanent Representative of Barbados,

Acting President of the General Assembly,

at the Special Commemorative Meeting of the General Assembly

on the Occasion of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade,

25 March 2010
 

I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of His Excellency Dr. Ali Abdussalam Treki, President of the General Assembly.

We are gathered here today for the third annual International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. This commemoration by the General Assembly signifies the international community¡¯s respect and honor for the millions of Africans, violently removed from the African continent and transferred to centuries of bondage in North and South America and in the islands of the Caribbean.

The Durban Conference against Racism firmly established the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade as the greatest scourge of modern life and a grotesque crime against humanity. Today is an occasion not only to enhance awareness about the past, but also to commit that never again should human beings display such inhumanity towards other human beings. The 51³Ô¹Ï Organization must indeed continue to deploy all efforts in order to bridge the knowledge gap. Major historical events and facts that have now been ascertained cannot continue to be ignored. Ignorance and concealment are obstacle to peace and dialogue. The 51³Ô¹Ï, including UNESCO, must be vocal and visible on this issue and help break the silence that still surrounds the many tragic aspects of slavery and slave trade.

I commend the Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the African Group for taking the lead on this annual commemoration. All of us fully embrace this initiative, and with one voice pay homage to the victims, say ¡°No¡± to this horrific act of oppression, and call attention to the lingering traces of prejudice, which, sadly, continue as a legacy of the enslavement of Africans.

I also commend the complementary initiative led by the CARICOM States to establish a Permanent Memorial at the 51³Ô¹Ï to the memory of all the victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, and I call on all Member States and the international community to provide all out support for this Memorial.

This year¡¯s commemoration, with its theme, ¡°Expressing our Freedom Through Culture¡±, underscores one of the many approaches of the resistance movement which the enslaved Africans employed to eventually bring an end to this heinous crime. Throughout the Americas, the enslaved Africans, despite their horrendous conditions, were able to preserve the aspects of their culture which continue to this day as manifested in music, song, dance, language, cuisine, and sports.

We welcome the special significance attached to this year¡¯s commemoration which is dedicated to Haiti, as the first successful result of the resistance of the enslaved, which overthrew the forces of oppression and cast aside the shackles of slavery bringing an end to the rule of the masters. We must pay special tribute to the leaders of the Haitian revolution, Toussaint L¡¯Ouverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines and others, who by their revolutionary action, ushered in the demise of slavery in the Caribbean, South America, and in the United States, and forced the breaking of the silence on this horror.

The slave trade is among the worst violations of human rights in history. Due to its duration, its scale and the legitimization that was accorded to it, the transatlantic slave trade is unique, maybe the first example of globalization. We should never forget that this was the biggest deportation in history. Slave Trade and slavery have affected all continents and have caused the great upheavals that have impacted the modern societies. It is unfortunate and totally unacceptable that in this age we are still struggling to confront slavery and slave trade and its various manifestations, such as human trafficking.

The slogan ¡°Never Again¡± therefore needs to be transformed into action and visible results. That will be the best homage to the victims of slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

Thank you.

Calendar of Events

Monday, 22 March

An Expression of Freedom Through Culture: Afro-Caribbean music and food fair

6:30 pm ¨C 8:30 pm
Welcome statement by USG/DPI Kiyo Akasaka
Brief statement by the Chair of CARICOM, H. E. Ambassador Donatus Keith St. Aimee, on behalf of CARICOM and African countries
Carnival style music by the Pantonic Steel Orchestra, a New York-based group of very talented steelpan musicians with a mastery of Afro/Caribbean rhythms and other music genres.
UN Jazz Society
Traditional Kora player
Venue: North Delegates' Lounge (old) Conference Building
 

Tuesday, 23 March

Film Screening: Slave Routes: Resistance, Abolition and Creative Progress (Jayne Cortez, 2008) (1 hr. 40 mins)

6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

This is a documentary on scenes from a 2008 NYU symposium on the same topic. The documentary, which reviewed new information relating to the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery, was intended to improve understanding about that tragic practice, examine its consequences and modern forms of slavery, and encourage continuing research and archival projects on the subject.
Screening venue: Room 1, North Lawn Building

Wednesday 24 March

¡°400 Years of Struggle: For Freedom and Culture¡± Exhibit Opening

6:30 p.m.

A three-part exhibit, comprising a new collection of compelling scrims and panels from the Connecticut Historical Society on the Amistad Revolt, depicting various stages of the rebellion and related trial; the Schomburg Digital online exhibition on the ¡°Abolition of the Slave Trade: The Forgotten Story¡±, which uses pictures and text to depict the struggles of enslaved peoples to regain their freedom; and paintings on similar concepts submitted by the Caribbean Cultural Center. The Exhibit will also feature the work of Haitian ¨C born artist, Patricia Brintle, depicting other forms of resistance to slavery through the maintenance of cultural identity, expressed through music, dance and oral tradition.

Welcoming remarks and moderation by USG  Kiyo Akasaka
Brief statement by CARICOM Chair, H.E. Ambassador Donatus Keith St. Aimee
Brief statement by Permanent Observer of AU, H. E. Ambassador T¨¦te Ant¨®nio
Brief remarks by participants in the exhibition (Ms. Susan Tamulevich, Ms. Patricia Brintle and Ms. Shantrelle Lewis)
Brief remarks by H. E. Ambassador Leo Merores (Haiti) 

Venue:  South Gallery, Visitors¡¯ Lobby, at  6:30 p.m.
 

Thursday 25 March

NGO Briefing at HQ

10.15 a.m. ¨C 12.30 p.m.

Panel discussion: ¡°The impact of cultural expression as a means of resistance to the transatlantic slave trade¡±.
Moderator: Mr. Eric Falt
Dedication to Prof. Rex Nettleford by Dr. Marcia Burrows (The University of West Indies)
Panelists: Dr. Marcia Burrows (Barbados); Mr. Sekou Konneh (Liberia); Ms. Saudia Muwwakkil (United States); Prof. Horace G. Campbell (Jamaica/Tanzania) .
(Room 4, North Lawn Building)

Press conference

1.00 ¨C 1.30pm

Statements will be made by USG Akasaka and regional groups on the significance of the international day of remembrance, with particular emphasis on ongoing efforts to build a permanent memorial to slave trade victims, which is to be erected within the UN premises. Simulcast by Amistad America.
(DHL Auditorium)

Commemorative Ceremony

3.00 pm ¨C 4:30 pm

The President of the General Assembly will convene a special commemorative meeting of the General Assembly, on the occasion of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, on Thursday, 25 March 2010, at 3 p.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, under agenda item 116 (Follow-up to the commemoration of the two-hundredth anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade).
Statements will be made by the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly, regional groups and the Permanent Representative of Haiti. There will be readings, and a musical recital.
(Trusteeship Council Chamber)
 

Friday 26 March

Student Videoconference

9:00 a.m. ¨C 12:00 p.m.

Organized by the DPI Outreach Division¡¯s Education Outreach Cluster, in collaboration with UNESCO
The event will feature, via video conference, over 400 middle and High school students, who will gather at UNHQ and be connected via satellite with student audiences in three regions: Africa (Ghana and Gambia); the Caribbean (Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago); and Europe and North America (United Kingdom and Denmark). An important criterion for the participation of schools at sites away from Headquarters is access to videoconference facilities, and at each site the students will make presentations in the context of the theme for the year. The event will be webcast live and the participating students will have the additional opportunity to send questions and comments remotely and simultaneously through the UN Cyberschoolbus website. It will also feature a live feed by Amistad America from Havana, where a UNESCO school will make a presentation relating to the theme of the commemoration.
Venue: Conference Room 4, North Lawn Building

Promotional Materials

Poster

The poster, of a woman dancing joyously while breaking out of shackles, reads "Expressing Our Freedom Through Culture".