August 23 marks International Day for the Abolition of Slave Trade

CAIRO – 23 August 2021: The night of August 23, 1791, in Santo Domingo (today's Haiti and the Dominican Republic), saw the outbreak of an uprising that played a decisive role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

Therefore, the International Day of the Abolition of the Black Slave Trade is celebrated on August 23 of each year.  The objective of commemorating this day is to document the tragedies of slave trade.

In accordance with the objectives of the intercultural "Slave Road" project, this day is supposed to provide the peoples of the world with an opportunity to consider  the historical causes, methods and consequences of this tragedy, analyzing the interactions it has evoked between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean.

In this context, the Director-General of UNESCO calls on the Ministers of Culture of all Member States to organize annual events on this date, with the participation of all the inhabitants of their countries, especially young people, educators, artists and intellectuals.

The International Day for the Remembrance of the Black Slave Trade and Its Abolition was observed for the first time in a group of countries, led by Haiti (23 August 1998) and the island of Gorée in Senegal (23 August 1999), through the organization of a number of cultural events and discussions in this context.

By Circular Letter No. KD/3494 of July 29, 1998 to Ministers of Culture, the Director-General of UNESCO invited all Member States to organize annual events to celebrate the International Day for the Abolition of the Slave Trade on August 23.

At its 29th session, the UNESCO Executive Board adopted Resolution 29 C/40 on the International Day for the Remembrance of the Black Slave Trade and its Abolition.