The trap of the “gravest crime”: When condemnation replaces reparation

Honoring the victims of the past is a hollow commitment if it serves as a pretext for evading the reality of today’s global hierarchies

The statement by the United Nations asserting that the trafficking of enslaved Africans constitutes “the gravest crime against humanity” and “the most inhumane and enduring injustice against humanity” invites a rigorous interrogation. What looks like a simple moral statement hides a complex way of thinking that needs to be examined very carefully.