Message from

Irina Bokova,

Director-General of UNESCO,

on the occasion of International Day for the Remembrance of the

Slave Trade and its Abolition

UNESCO, 23 August 2014

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is

particularly significant in 2014, year of the 210th anniversary of Haiti’s

independence and the 20th anniversary of UNESCO’s educational and cultural

programme the Slave Route Project, a pioneering project that has helped to

accelerate research and raise awareness of the history of slavery and its

consequences.

The history of the slave trade tells not only of the suffering endured but also of the

ultimately victorious struggle for freedom and human rights, symbolized by the

slave uprising in Saint-Domingue on the night of 22 to 23 August 1791. That

struggle has lastingly strengthened awareness of the equality of all men and

women, which we have all inherited directly. That emancipatory vision should guide

us in our efforts to build a culture of tolerance and respect. UNESCO’s educational

and cultural programmes and support for historical research are intended to

highlight the wealth of the traditions that African peoples have forged in the face of

adversity – in art, music, dance and culture in its broader sense, creating

indissoluble ties between peoples and continents and irreversibly transforming the

face of society. This heritage is invaluable for living in peace in our globalized world

on the eve of the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024).

Transmission of this history is an essential condition for any lasting peace based on

mutual understanding among peoples and full awareness of the dangers of racism

and prejudice. It also helps us to continue mobilizing against modern forms of

slavery and trafficking in human beings that still affect more than 20 million people

worldwide. DG/ME/ID/2014/023 – page 2

True to the words of Aimé Césaire, who said of the Citadel in Haiti: “for these

people brought to their knees, a monument was needed to make them stand”,

UNESCO is contributing actively towards the design of a Permanent Memorial to

and Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, to

be established at the United Nations Headquarters. I call on all Member States and

partners of UNESCO, in schools, universities, the media, museums and places of

memory, to mark this International Day and redouble their efforts to ensure that the

role played by slaves in winning recognition of universal human rights is better

known and taught more widely.

Irina Bokova