CERD recommendations 2024, paragraph 58
Plain English recommendation
Government should:
(a) Work harder to acknowledge past wrong and raise awareness of colonialism and the trafficking of enslaved people. This past is linked to current systemic racism. Government should consult closely with relevant stakeholders, especially people of African descent;
(b) Properly include the history of slavery and colonialism in the British Empire throughout its school curricula;
(c) Consider making a formal apology for its role in slavery and historic trafficking in enslaved African people. It will take action to address lasting consequences, including reparations;
(d) Consider the report on reparations for colonialism and slavery by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, which includes information on the human rights obligations of Member States related to reparations for racial discrimination rooted in slavery and colonialism.
Original UN recommendation
The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Redouble its efforts to acknowledge past wrongs and raise awareness of the legacies and impacts of colonialism and trafficking in enslaved people and their connection with present-day manifestations of systemic racism, in close consultation with relevant stakeholders, in particular people of African descent;
(b) Adequately reflect, in school curricula in all its jurisdictions, the history of colonialism, trafficking in enslaved Africans and chattel enslavement in the British Empire;
(c) Consider making a formal apology for its role in chattel enslavement and the historic trafficking in enslaved Africans, adopt specific measures to address their lasting consequences and commit to reparations;
(d) Take into consideration the report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, which addresses the human rights obligations of Member States in relation to reparations for racial discrimination rooted in chattel slavery and colonialism.
Date of UN examination
24/09/2024
Original UN document
Download the original CERD concluding observations 2024 on the UN website.
Last updated on 11/04/2025