UN Stresses Crucial Role that Education Played in Combating Racism

UN Chief António Guterres stressed the crucial role that education played in combating racism.

On the occasion of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the UN chief said that education is the “most powerful weapon” in the world’s arsenal to combat the brutal legacy of racism playing out today.

“It is incumbent on us to fight slavery’s legacy of racism."

Guterres noted that the scars of slavery are still visible in persistent disparities in wealth, income, health, education, and opportunity, amid the current white supremacist hate.

He also vowed to eradicate hate speech and to increase focus on education against racism in schools.

Just as the slave trade underwrote the wealth and prosperity of the colonizers, it devastated the African continent, thwarting its development for centuries, he said.

The international day commemorates the victims of one of history’s most horrific crimes against humanity that was legalized for more than 400 years, well into the 19th century, resulting in the forced deportation of over 15 million men, women, and children. The theme of this year is "Education".