All articles tagged with #slavery
Pope Leo XIV released Magnifica Humanitas, offering a historic apology for the Vatican's role in legitimizing slavery and for centuries of inaction, calling the record a 'wound in Christian memory.' The encyclical ties 15th-century papal bulls to colonial-era oppression, condemns modern forms of trafficking in the digital age, and is viewed by scholars as a meaningful step toward truth-telling and accountability.
Pope Leo XIV unveils his first major encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, urging that artificial intelligence be 'disarmed' to prevent new forms of exploitation and 'digital slaveries,' likening risks to past slavery, condemning AI use in warfare and manipulation, and stressing the ethical duties of developers and leaders; he formed a commission to guide action amid rapid AI advances.
Three Australian women who returned from Syria—Zeinab Ahmed, Kawsar Abbas and Janai Safar—have been charged in Australian courts with slavery and terrorism offenses linked to Islamic State, including membership of a terrorist organization and entering or remaining in territory controlled by one; their bail hearings were held in Melbourne and Sydney.
Two ISIS-linked Australian women aged 53 and 31 were charged with slavery offenses after arriving in Melbourne from Syria, where they allegedly kept a female slave; they face crimes against humanity charges with a maximum penalty of 25 years. A separate 32-year-old Australian woman was arrested in Sydney on terror-related offenses. The government has been repatriating families from Syrian camps, but officials say there are limits to what can be done to prevent citizens from returning, and investigations continue.
Three Australian women returning from Syria have been arrested on charges of slavery and terrorism, with prosecutors pursuing legal action over alleged involvement in extremist activities.
A BuzzFeed-style list pulls back the curtain on under-taught, dark chapters of American history—from J. Marion Sims’s brutal experiments on enslaved Black women and the evolving categories of whiteness, to the Bracero program and mass deportations, Reconstruction-era Black officeholders, convict leasing, Native boarding schools, the Tulsa massacre, Guatemala’s syphilis experiments, Jamestown cannibalism, and Chinese labor on the transcontinental railroad—showing how power, race, and exploitation have shaped the U.S. in ways history textbooks often omit.
Pope Leo XIV will visit the Church of Our Lady of Muxima in Angola, a 16th‑century fortress church once tied to the slave trade; the trip could prompt reflection on slavery, colonialism and social justice, especially given Leo’s reported Creole ancestry that includes both enslaved people and slave owners.
An 86-year-old French descendant, Pierre Guillon de Prince, issued what is believed to be France's first formal family apology for his ancestors' role in transatlantic slavery, noting Nantes shipowners transported about 4,500 enslaved Africans and owned Caribbean plantations. He urged other families to confront their past and called for reparations beyond symbolic gestures, delivering the message at a Nantes gathering alongside a descendant of enslaved people as part of an effort to break the silence on slavery and its legacies.
A federal appeals judge has ruled that the exhibits about slavery at Philadelphia’s President’s House must stay as they are for now, as lawsuits over a Trump-era executive order continue. Some panels had been reinstalled after earlier rulings, but a stay halted restoration; critics argue the online “new exhibits” update and removals amount to sanitizing history, while the National Park Service navigates the ongoing dispute.
The National Park Service released digital renderings for the President's House Site exhibit in Philadelphia that mention slavery, the Underground Railroad, and figures like Frederick Douglass, but critics say the revisions soften slavery and amount to whitewashing; the plan comes amid a long legal fight over how U.S. history is presented at federal sites, leaving the display in limbo with missing panels.
The United States, joined by Israel and Argentina, voted against a Ghana-led UN resolution that declares the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity and urges reparations. The nonbinding measure, backed by over 120 nations, ties slavery to ongoing racism and inequality and calls for apologies and compensation. Washington argued there is no legal right to reparations for historical wrongs, highlighting rifts with the Global South and fueling ongoing domestic debates on reparations despite continued advocacy at city and state levels.
The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans the gravest crime against humanity and urging reparations and restitution of cultural items; the 123-3 vote included opposition from the United States, Argentina and Israel, with the UK and EU abstaining. The measure is non-binding but signals broad international support for addressing historic injustices and reparatory justice.
A Ghana-led UN General Assembly resolution calling for reparations for slavery passed with 123 votes in favor, three against (Argentina, Israel, United States) and 52 abstentions. It labels the transatlantic slave trade as a gravest crime against humanity and urges concrete steps toward justice, healing, and addressing enduring racism; the United States questioned the legal basis for reparations. UN and African-led efforts, including the Second International Decade for People of African Descent and the African Union’s Decade of Reparations, were highlighted as frameworks to push for action and systemic change.
The UN General Assembly adopted Ghana’s resolution to label the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity, urging member states to apologise and support a reparations fund (no amount specified). The vote was 123 in favour, 3 against (USA, Israel, Argentina) with 52 abstentions including the UK and EU members. The measure ties slavery to enduring racial inequalities and backs returning looted artefacts, as reparations dialogue gains momentum among African and Commonwealth leaders.
The Trump-era push to purge or rewrite park exhibits deemed to disparage history has bogged down into a months-long, chaotic process: hundreds of items flagged across parks, a dissolved review team, staffing shortages, and unclear guidance, with some changes made (like removing the slavery exhibit in Philadelphia) but most sites still awaiting decisions.