Canada’s abstention from historic UN vote on reparations for slavery is a missed opportunity to defend human rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Canada’s abstention from historic UN vote on reparations for slavery is a missed opportunity to defend human rights

April 02, 2026

Canada’s abstention from a historic United Nations vote on reparations for the harms caused by the transatlantic slave trade is a missed opportunity to defend the rights of people of African descent.

Amnesty International Canada and the Black Canadians Civil Society Coalition (BCCSC) welcomed the adoption of a landmark resolution by the United Nations General Assembly formally declaring the transatlantic trafficking and enslavement of African people over four centuries as the gravest crime against humanity. However, the organizations expressed disappointment that Canada was among the 52 states that abstained from the vote.

“Canada’s abstention is deeply discouraging,” said Melak Gebresilassie, racial justice campaigner with Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section. “This was not a neutral act. It was a choice to step back from a moment of accountability, to prioritize political comfort over moral clarity.”

Adopted on 25 March, on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the resolution is a long-overdue acknowledgment of the catastrophic and enduring harms of enslavement and colonialism. Ghana spearheaded the resolution, which UN member states overwhelmingly endorsed in a 123-3 vote.

While not legally binding, the resolution carries significant moral and political weight. It calls on states to engage in inclusive, good-faith dialogue on reparatory justice, including apology, restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, guarantees of non-repetition, and measures to address systemic racism, and discrimination.

“We recognize this resolution for what it is: a powerful, necessary, and long-overdue acknowledgment of truth — one that survivors, descendants, scholars, and activists have demanded for centuries and should never have been in question,” said Hodan Ahmed, co-founder of the Black Canadians Civil Society Coalition. “As Barbados poet laureate Esther Philips reminded world leaders at the UN General Assembly: ‘There are spirits of the victims of slavery present in this room at this moment, and they are listening for one word only: justice.”

For Black communities in Canada, including descendants of enslaved Africans, Black Loyalists, and people with direct and living ties to the legacies of plantation slavery, Canada’s abstention from the reparations vote sends a troubling message, said Ahmed.

“Recognizing the transatlantic slave trade as a crime against humanity is not symbolic; it is foundational to advancing reparative justice, confronting anti-Black racism, and upholding the very principles Canada claims to champion on the global stage.

“Canada was not a passive bystander to the transatlantic slave trade,” Ahmed added. “As part of the British Empire, it was complicit in and benefited from systems of racialized enslavement and colonial exploitation that continue to shape its economic, social, and institutional foundations today. To abstain from a vote on a resolution that names this system as one of the gravest crimes against humanity is a refusal to confront the truth and a failure to reckon honestly with our history.”

In response to the UN General Assembly vote, Amnesty International Canada and the Black Canadians Civil Society Coalition call on the Government of Canada to:

• Formally acknowledge Canada’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and slavery under British colonial rule;

• Publicly support and advance international efforts toward reparatory justice for Africans and people of African descent;

• Engage meaningfully and transparently with global reparations frameworks, including the African Union’s Decade of Reparations and the UN’s Second International Decade for People of African Descent;

• Partner directly with Black communities in Canada to address the enduring harms of anti-Black racism rooted in slavery and colonialism, through concrete policy, investment, and accountability measures.

“People of African descent deserve more than silence, hesitation, or symbolic gestures from their government,” Gebresilassie said. “Canada must choose clarity over comfort, acknowledge the truth, commit to reparatory justice, and stand in meaningful solidarity with Black communities in the pursuit of dignity, healing, and justice.”

Media contacts:

—Cory Ruf, Media Officer, Amnesty International Canadian Section (English-Speaking), media@amnesty.ca

—Hodan Ahmed, Co-Founder, Black Canadians Civil Society Coalition, contact@bccsc.ca