UN chief calls for slavery reparations to overcome 'generations of discrimination'

FILE PHOTO: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., February 8, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

(Reuters) - United Nations chief Antonio Guterres called on Monday for reparations over the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved people as a way to tackle its legacy in today's society, including systemic racism.

From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, forcibly transported by European ships and merchants and sold into slavery. Those who survived the brutal voyage ended up toiling on plantations in the Americas, mostly in Brazil and the Caribbean, while others profited from their labour.