By Prensa Latina
United Nations : The UN commemorated Tuesday, for the first time ever, the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reminded slavery is a global tragedy that claimed thousands of victims and left a terrible legacy that insists on dehumanizing and oppressing peoples over the world today.
The forced movement of Western Africans across the Atlantic occurred with a huge degree of brutality, massive abuse and the untraceable murder of millions.
That chapter of humanity is even more censurable because it stalled prosperity in the countries where slavery was perpetuated by the law of color that helped consolidate racism.
Those states did not pay for their development and helped racism grow roots we still fight today, added the South Korean diplomat.
Slave trade left a lasting mark not just because it offended human conscience but because it was the result of the creepy complicity of the countries involved for 400 years.
On behalf of the Caribbean Community, Ambassador Cristopher Hackett of Barbados, reminded that Latin America and the Caribbean know well what is slavery.
He added that the CARICOM insists to demand compensation for the violation of human rights, and invest those funds in economic, social and cultural programs to help the societies that still suffer the sequels of slavery.