International Day for Remembrance of Slave Trade & Abolition 2025 observed on August 23.
Important Days
The United Nations (UN) observes the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition every year on 23rd August. The day honours the memory of millions of people who suffered under the transatlantic slave trade during the colonial era.
- The annual observance is coordinated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which leads global efforts to preserve the history of the slave trade and highlight its abolitionist struggles.
- The proclamation of this international day was made during the 29th session of the UNESCO General Conference in 1997, when Resolution 29 C/40 officially declared 23rd August as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
Main Point :- (i) Following this, on 29 July 1998, UNESCO’s Director-General issued Circular CL/3494, inviting Ministers of Culture from member states to actively promote the observance of the day. The first official commemoration was held in Haiti on 23rd August 1998.
(ii) The choice of 23rd August is symbolic, marking the night of 23rd August 1791 when enslaved Africans in Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic) rose in revolt against French colonial rule, which ultimately became a turning point in the global movement towards the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
(iii) This observance serves as a reminder of the struggles and resistance of enslaved people, reinforcing the commitment of the international community to combat racism, racial discrimination, and modern forms of slavery.
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