AU human rights memorial dialogue focuses on slavery

Participants in a civil society network supporting the development of the African Union Human Rights Memorial (AUHRM) project gathered in Dakar, Senegal, to discuss the slave trade and slavery, together with representatives of the African Union Human Rights Memorial Interim Board. The deliberations were coordinated under the auspices of the AU Department of Political Affairs, by a partnership between La Maison des Esclaves (House of Slaves), Senegal’s Ministry of Culture, the Directorate of Senegal’s Cultural Heritage and Justice Africa. The meeting was part of a series of consultations designed to inform the development of an AUHRM at the AU headquarters and to promote the remembrance of mass atrocities in the interests of human rights promotion across the continent.

The first day of the conference opened with a statement from Dr. Hamady Bocoum, Director of the Directorate of Senegal’s Cultural Heritage who emphasised: ‘human rights are the cornerstone on which our globalised world will have to be built. Slavery is one of the worst examples of deprivation of liberty, but new forms of denial of basic rights have appeared and we will have to mobilise to fight against them.’ He deplored the limits on freedom of movement in the era of globalisation, leading to tragedies such as human trafficking and the associated loss of African migrants lives in the Lampedusa boat tragedy, as well as gender-based violence and other ‘new forms of slavery’ on the continent.

Anti-slavery activists recounted their struggles to combat contemporary slavery in Mali, Niger and Mauritania. They called for slavery memorials to be established in their countries, whose histories and social and political relations are marked by practices of slavery and entrenched discrimination. They demanded particular recognition of the trans-Saharan slave trade. They also asked for the African Union to condemn ongoing slavery in the region and to support their struggle to overcome it. Other participants spoke of the scale and brutality of the slave trade in Senegal and other coastal areas. Mr. Eloi Coly, chief curator of La Maison des Esclaves emphasised that for every slave captured in the slave trade at its height in 16-17th Century, at least six or seven more were affected directly or indirectly. He underlined the role of Africans as merchants as well as victims of the trade; a point elaborated upon by Mr. Mayo Adediran, president of the International Council of African Museums who stated: ‘We haven’t talked about domestic slavery, we have focused on international slavery and part of this incapacity is that the fear of those who sold slaves in the past; there are powerful families who are still living today with the same legacies of the past.’

Mr. Eshete Woldeyes, Director at the Ethiopian Permanent Representative office to the African Union, commented on the ‘incalculable damage’ which is a long term consequence of slavery, adding: ‘injustices of this nature are living wounds in our society.’

The final day of the consultation on 12 November included presentations from Ms. Bonita Bennett of District Six Museum in South Africa and Dr. Faraj Najem of the Center for Africa Research and Studies in Libya. The speakers discussed their work on the memorialisation of atrocities in South Africa and Libya to be commemorated at the AUHRM, whilst also making references to histories of slavery in both contexts. In the final session, participants will identify recommendations for the AUHRM and for the remembrance of slavery at the continental level, and members of the AUHRM Interim Board, including its chair, Professor Andreas Esheté, shared their reflections.

For further information see: www.auhrm.org Contact: Justice Africa coordinator in Addis Ababa: Mekdes Mezgebu, [email][email protected] or Justice Africa acting director in London, Rachel Ibreck, [email][email protected]