Each year on 23rd August, the United Nations invites everyone to observe the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
In late August 1791, an uprising began in Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) that would have a major effect on abolishing the transatlantic slave trade. The slave rebellion in the area weakened the Caribbean colonial system, sparking an uprising that led to abolishing this form of slavery and giving the island its independence. It marked the beginning of the destruction of the slavery system, the slave trade and colonialism.
International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition was first celebrated in many countries, in particular in Haiti, on August 23, 1998, and in Senegal on August 23, 1999. This date pays tribute to those who worked hard to abolish slave trade and slavery throughout the world. The commitment and the actions used to fight against this system of slavery had an impact on the human rights movement.
We are aware that the old crime of slavery still happens in new forms in all countries throughout the world – human trafficking, domestic servitude, exploitative labour, sex slavery, organ harvesting etc. Let us continue to support those groups and agencies that are working still to combat modern-day slavery in all its forms.
“Human trafficking is an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ. It is a crime against humanity”. Pope Francis