Int'l Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery today

Kathmandu, March 25: It is the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade today. 

The Day is being marked globally by renewing commitment to human rights, equality and social justice today. A special memorial programme is being held at UN Headquarters, New York.

In 2006, the UN General Assembly had recognized the slave trade and slavery as the worst violations of human rights. It then designated March 25, 2007 as the International Day for the Commemoration of the Two-hundredth Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. 

A year later, 2008, was the first such Day observed globally.

It is worth noting that the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed in the United Kingdom on March 25 in 1807. “All manner of dealing and reading in the purchase, sale, barter, or transfer of slaves or of persons intending to be sold, transferred, used, or dealt with as slaves, practiced or carried in, at, or from any part of the coast or countries of Africa shall be abolished, prohibited and declared to be unlawful,” it stated. 

The Day is being marked under the slogan 'Justice in Action: Confronting History, Advancing Dignity, Empowering Futures' today.(RSS)