UN rights chief: Legacy of slavery and colonialism is still fuelling racism

The legacy of enslavement and colonialism continues to shape the lives of Africans and people of African descent, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Thursday, calling for urgent action to deliver reparatory justice beyond financial compensation.Over 30 million people were violently uprooted from Africa and condemned to a life of slavery.Yet no country involved in enslavement or colonialism has fully confronted this past.Speaking at a high-level dialogue on reparatory Justice in Geneva, Mr. Türk said the transatlantic trade was an organised system of domination that treated tens of millions of African men, women and children as commodities.Women and girls suffered particularly grave abuses, including sexual and gender-based violence, he underscored.Reiterating that the legacy of these injustices lives on today, Mr. Türk told delegates that “their consequences – together with those of colonialism more generally – continue to shape who has opportunity, security, and power – and who does not.”Calls for reparatory justice have been growing, said High Commissioner Türk. Some States, universities, religious groups and businesses have begun to confront their historic role in African...