Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

Rio Group welcomes declaration on 200th anniversary of trans-Atlantic slave trade abolition
12-01-2006

GEORGETOWN, Guyana: The Latin American Rio Group of countries has welcomed the United Nations (UN) General Assembly decision unanimously declaring March 26 2007 a day for the worldwide commemoration of the two-hundredth anniversary of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

The Assembly on Wednesday also took an historic decision to hold a plenary meeting on the International Day to honour the memory of those who died as a result of slavery, including through exposure to the horrors of the Middle Passage and in revolt against and resistance to enslavement.

Charge D’Affairs at the Permanent Mission of Guyana to the UN, George Talbot, speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, said that his delegation unreservedly condemned slavery and servitude in all its forms and manifestations and urged the international community to increase its vigilance and take all necessary measures to eliminate such practices.

He said that the forced transportation of millions of Africans to the Americas as slaves continued to have a grave impact on the lives of the slaves’ descendents in his part of the world. The legacy of that nefarious trade was still manifested in many ways, including through economic and social inequalities, social exclusion and discrimination based on race.

The Rio Group has supported the initiative of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to commemorate the two-hundredth Anniversary of the Abolition of the transatlantic Slave Trade, he said.

"That date represented a significant milestone, while also giving pause to honour the memory of slaves, who, although subjected to the most barbaric and inhumane conditions, never lost the will to be free and live in dignity," Talbot stated