The Slave Route
Ignorance or concealment of major historical events constitutes an obstacle to mutual understanding, reconciliation and cooperation among peoples. UNESCO has thus decided to break the silence surrounding the slave trade and slavery that have affected all continents and have caused the great upheavals that have shaped our modern societies.
The Slave Route Project, launched in Ouidah, Benin, in 1994, has three objectives, namely to:
- Contribute to a better understanding
of the causes, forms of operation, issues and consequences of slavery in the world (Africa, Europe, the Americas, the Caribbean, the
Indian Ocean, Middle East and Asia);
- Highlight the global transformations and
cultural interactions that have resulted from this history; and
- Contribute to a culture of peace by promoting reflection on cultural pluralism, intercultural dialogue and the construction of new identities and citizenships.
The project has played a significant role in securing recognition by the United Nations, at the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban in 2001, of the slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity.
Marcus Miller: Slave Route Project Spokesperson
On 22 March Marcus Miller, UNESCO Artist for Peace and the Slave Route Project Spokesperson, performed at the United Nations General Assembly in a concert as part of events leading up to The International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (25 March). The theme of the 2013 International Day -- "Forever Free: Celebrating Emancipation" -- pays tribute to the struggle for emancipation of enslaved peoples across the world, including in the United States, celebrating this year its 150th anniversary.