Montenegro abstained from voting at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on the Declaration on the African slave trade and racial slavery as the most serious crime against humanity, following the common position of the European Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MVP) said, explaining that the text was not precise enough and did not leave room for open dialogue towards consensus.
The resolution, proposed by Ghana, was adopted on 25 March with 123 votes in favour. The majority of countries in the Global South (Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and some Asian countries) voted in favour. The United States of America (USA), Israel and Argentina voted against, and 52 countries abstained. The abstentions included the United Kingdom, many members of the European Union, as well as Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia, while 15 countries did not vote.
The resolution, as stated in the text, emphasized "the trade in enslaved Africans and the racially based enslavement of Africans as the most serious crime against humanity, due to its decisive interruption in world history, scale, duration, systemic nature, brutality and long-lasting consequences that continue to shape the lives of all people through racially colored regimes of labor, property and capital."
It affirmed the importance of addressing historical injustices affecting Africans and people of the diaspora in a way that promotes justice, human rights, dignity and healing, emphasizing that “reparations demands represent a concrete step towards correcting injustice.” The text does not mention a specific amount of money for reparations.
President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama Speaking ahead of the vote on behalf of the 54-member African Group – the largest regional bloc at the UN – he said they were coming together in solemn solidarity to affirm the truth and find a path to healing and reparative justice.
Previously, his foreign minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakva told the BBC that they were seeking compensation, but that "African leaders are not seeking money for themselves."
“We want justice for the victims and support for specific causes, educational funds and endowment funds, funds for training and skills acquisition,” he said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to a question from "Vijesti" about why they abstained from voting for the Declaration, said that at the session of the United Nations General Assembly where the Declaration was discussed, Montenegro followed the common position of the European Union and supported the explanation of the EU's abstention during the declaration of the member states.
"With this, Montenegro unequivocally acknowledged and expressed regret for the unspeakable suffering of millions of people that was a result of the slave trade, colonialism and apartheid, and confirmed its commitment to shedding light on the history of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, its causes, consequences and long-term impact, including on the descendants of victims of the slave trade," Ervin Ibrahimović's department responded.
However, as they said, certain historical and international legal inaccuracies in the proposed text of the Declaration, along with the lack of space for open dialogue towards consensus, "did not leave room for a positive attitude of Montenegro." The department did not explain what historical and international legal inaccuracies in the proposed text of the Declaration were.
They emphasize that Montenegro shares the EU's position that shedding light on one of the most heinous periods in human history, during which horrific crimes occurred, is, at the same time, an important part of the fight against racism and modern forms of slavery, and that confronting the past is a shared responsibility.
The UN General Assembly website states that, for more than 400 years, millions of people were abducted from Africa, "put in chains and transported to the New World to work on cotton, sugar and coffee plantations, under the scorching sun and the blows of whips."
"Deprived of their basic humanity and even their own names, they were forced to endure generations of exploitation, the consequences of which still reverberate today, including persistent anti-black racism and discrimination," the UN website states.
The United Kingdom, one of the major powers involved in the transatlantic slave trade, said it recognised the immense harm and suffering caused to millions of people over decades. But its ambassador to the UN James Kariuki told the General Assembly that the resolution was problematic in terms of wording and international law.
“No set of crimes should be considered more or less significant than another,” he said.
Similar arguments were made by the US ambassador to the UN. Den Negrea stating that his country “does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical injustices that were not illegal under international law at the time they were committed.”
In addition, he said that the US opposes "the cynical use of historical injustices as leverage to redistribute modern resources to people and states that are only remotely connected to historical victims," the BBC reported.
In addition to the "legal issues" regarding reparations, the US ambassador said the resolution is also unclear when it comes to "who would be the recipients of 'reparative justice'."
Negrea also responded to Mahama's earlier criticism of the administration Donald Trump because of the “normalization of the erasure of black history”.
Since returning to power, the US president has focused attention on American cultural and historical institutions for promoting what he calls "anti-American ideology."
Trump's orders have led to moves such as the return of Confederate statues and the attempt to remove a slavery exhibit in Philadelphia.
The return of cultural artifacts is also sought.
The resolution also calls for the return of cultural artifacts stolen during the colonial era to their countries of origin.
"We want the return of all those looted artifacts, which represent our heritage, our culture and our spiritual significance," Ablakva said.
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