Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservatives, has questioned the United Kingdom’s decision to abstain from the landmark United Nations resolution declaring slavery and the transatlantic slave trade as one of the greatest injustices against humanity.
The resolution was adopted with 123 votes in favour and three against – the United States, Israel and Argentina.
The UK was among 52 countries which abstained from voting.
While abstention is a public signal of neutrality, its ambiguous intent can also make it a distinct form of political expression.
Ghanaian President John Mahama, who led the resolution, said it was necessary because the consequences of slavery, including racial disparities, still persist.
Historians estimate that between 10 and 15 million Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic between 1500 and 1900.
British ships are reported to have ferried at least 3 million Africans from the continent.
West African nations, including Senegal, Benin, Ghana, and Nigeria—where Badenoch hails from—suffered the heaviest losses.
The UN resolution, passed on Wednesday, urges member states to consider apologising for the transatlantic slave trade and contributing to an unspecified reparations fund.
However, Badenoch criticised the UK for not rejecting the vote in an X post on Thursday.
“Russia, China and Iran vote with others to demand trillions in reparations from UK taxpayers…and the Labour government abstain!” she said.
“Britain led the fight to end slavery. Why didn’t Starmer’s representative vote against this? Ignorance…or cowardice?
“We shouldn’t be paying for a crime we helped eradicate and still fight today.”
These are not the first remarks by Badenoch to court controversy on slavery, a topic many Africans, including the continental bloc, have persistently sought acknowledgement on.
In 2024, the politician was criticised for a speech in which she contested the claims that Britain’s industrial and commercial wealth were built on slavery and colonialism.
She has also called reparations demands a “scam” pushed by nations that also participated in slave trading.
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