2026 Remembrance Programme
¡°Justice in Action: Confronting History, Advancing Dignity, Empowering Futures.¡±
The transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans was one of the gravest crimes in history. Millions of men, women and children were violently taken from their homes, denied their humanity and forced to endure generations of exploitation. The racist ideologies that justified this crime became embedded in institutions and societies, shaping inequalities that continue today.
This year¡¯s theme, Justice in Action, calls on the global community to confront this history with honesty and to acknowledge its enduring impact. Advancing dignity requires transforming the systems that perpetuate discrimination and ensuring that the rights of Afro?descendant communities are protected and upheld.
Empowering futures requires expanding opportunities, strengthening participation, and supporting measures that promote repair, inclusion and justice. By translating remembrance into action, we can help build a world where every person can live in equality, dignity and hope.
Calendar of Events
24 March 2026
UN Headquarters Hosts Exhibit on Enslavement of Africans in Canada
The Â鶹APP Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery, in collaboration with the Government of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, organized the opening of the exhibition A History Exposed: The Enslavement of Black People in Canada on 24 March 2026 in the Â鶹APP Visitors¡¯ Lobby.
Calling the exhibit ¡°powerful¡±, Â鶹APP Secretary-General Ant¨®nio Guterres ¨C who was represented at the opening by his Chef de Cabinet Courtenay Rattray ¨C that the exhibit ¡°sheds light on the complex realities and long-silenced histories of enslavement. It honours the resilience, creativity and enduring cultural traditions of communities who sustained their humanity in the face of profound injustice and unimaginable hardship.¡±
Welcome remarks at the opening were delivered by Under?Secretary?General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming. Referring to the relatively unknown history of slavery in Canada, USG Fleming said the exhibition ¡°restores historical truth, challenges long-standing silences, and ensures this history can no longer be denied or forgotten¡±.
Additional remarks were made by H.E. Mr. David Lametti, Permanent Representative of Canada to the Â鶹APP, and Mr. Dan Conlin, an exhibition curator, representing the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.
The programme ended with a spoken?word performance by Toronto¡¯s first Youth Poet Laureate, Ms. Shahaddah Jack, who performed her poem We Are Free.
A History Exposed: The Enslavement of Black People in Canada reveals more than two centuries of slavery in Canada under French and British colonial rule, examining the country¡¯s involvement in the enslavement and trade of Africans within the larger system of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. It was on display at UNHQ New York until 20 April 2026.
Learn more about the exhibition
25 March 2026
Poet Laureates Honour Victims of Slavery at Ark of Return
Ahead of their keynote addresses at the 2026 commemoration of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade at the Â鶹APP General Assembly, Ms. Esther Phillips and Ms. Shahaddah Jack paid tribute to the victims of slavery at the Ark of Return ¨C the Â鶹APP Memorial honouring the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.
A native of Barbados, Ms. Phillips is the country¡¯s first Poet Laureate and is widely acclaimed for her work exploring the enduring legacies of slavery, colonialism and identity in the Caribbean. Ms. Jack, a young Canadian human rights activist and spoken word artist with family roots in St. Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica, is Toronto¡¯s first Youth Poet Laureate. The two distinguished poet laureates reflected on their shared ancestry and the powerful symbolism of the UN memorial.
Ms. Shahaddah Jack (left, red) and Ms. Esther Phillips at the Ark of Return. Photos: Millien Maharjan
25 March 2026
General Assembly Observance of the 2026 International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
On Wednesday, 25 March 2026, the General Assembly convened its annual plenary meeting to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Speakers included the President of the 80th Session of the General Assembly, Ms. Annalena Baerbock; the Secretary-General of the Â鶹APP, Mr. Ant¨®nio Guterres; keynote speaker and Barbados Poet Laureate Ms. Esther Phillips; Toronto's first Youth Poet Laureate Ms. Shahaddah Jack; regional groups and representatives of Member States.
At this year¡¯s commemoration, the General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution recognizing the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity. Resolution 80/250, titled Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime Against Humanity, was led by Ghana and received 123 votes in favour. Three countries ¨C Argentina, Israel, and the United States ¨C voted against the resolution, while 52 member states abstained.
Watch the General Assembly meeting on
Read the UN News Story about Resolution 80/250
Annalena Baerbock (on screen), President of the Â鶹APP General Assembly, chairs the commemorative meeting on 25 March. UN Photo/Manuel Elias
Remarks by the President of the General Assembly
Remarks by the Secretary-General
Remarks by the Keynote Speaker
Remarks by the Youth Speaker
25 March 2026
Hundreds of Students Attend Â鶹APP International Day Commemoration
More than 300 students from across the New York Tri-State area attended the Â鶹APP General Assembly commemoration marking the International Day and stayed on campus for additional events organized by the Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery.
The programme continued in the afternoon with a workshop led by Ms. Shahaddah Jack, the youth speaker at the General Assembly commemoration. After performing one of her own poems, she invited the participants ¨C who were between the ages of 12 and 18 ¨C to develop their own poetic responses to prompts such as ¡°The world I want to see is¡¡±. The room was alive with creativity and connection as students shared their work and responded to one another with snaps, stomps, and murmurs of ¡°mmm¡±. One chaperone noted, ¡°Ms. Shahaddah Jack led a wonderful workshop that engaged and pushed our students while making them feel included and safe to share their poetry.¡±
Meanwhile, Ms. Esther Phillips, the keynote speaker at the General Assembly commemoration, engaged in an informal conversation with 100 university students. Joined by H.E. Mr. Fran?ois Jackman, Permanent Representative of Barbados to the Â鶹APP, she responded to questions and shared insights from her work. Ms. Phillips also read a line from Hard Love, a poem she shared earlier that day at the General Assembly Hall, which reflects a mother¡¯s voice: ¡°She knows he must endure the searing of the branding iron deep into his flesh, when he is marked, not with the name his father gave him, but as the property of the enslavers.¡±
Commenting on the day¡¯s programme, one student noted that ¡°what stood out most was the balance between reflection and action. The roundtable, especially Esther Phillips¡¯ reading, grounded the conversation emotionally, while the broader programme challenged us to think about what accountability looks like beyond the room.¡±
