On December 22, 2018 the United Nations General Assembly adopts resolution 73/262 (A global call for concrete action for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action) in which, [...] welcoming the call upon all the former colonial Powers for reparations, consistent with paragraphs 157 and 158 of the Durban Programme of Action, to redress the historical injustices of slavery and the slave trade, including the transatlantic slave trade, [...] encourages the Special Rapporteur […] to submit reports in this regard to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly […].
On October 29, 2019 the United Nations Special Rapporteur Tendayi Achiume therefore presented the report A/74/321 (Contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and racial intolerance) to the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) of the United Nations General Assembly. After an in-depth analysis of contemporary forms of racial discrimination inherited from transatlantic slavery and colonialism she clarifies that the human rights obligations of Member States in relation to reparations derive, just to mention the most important ones, from the Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, from the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, from the Resolution about Responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts and from the Resolution adopted on Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law. After highlighting some examples and models as well as political and legal resistance she then lists a series of recommendations for the implementation of colonialism and slavery reparations by the Member States.
On December 31, 2020 the United Nations General Assembly adopts resolution 75/237 (A global call for concrete action for the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action) in which […] welcoming the call upon all the former colonial Powers for reparations, consistent with paragraphs 157 and 158 of the Durban Programme of Action, to redress the historical injustices of slavery and the slave trade, including the transatlantic slave trade, […] decides to hold a one-day high-level meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, at the level of Heads of State and Government, on the second day of the general debate of the seventy-sixth session, on the theme “Reparations, racial justice and equality for people of African descent” […].
On July 12, 2021 United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet presents report A/HRC/47/53 (Promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Africans and of people of African descent against excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officers) in which she states that […] Measures taken to address the past should seek to transform the future. Structures and systems that were designed and shaped by enslavement, colonialism and successive racially discriminatory policies and systems must be transformed. Reparations should not only be equated with financial compensation. They also comprise measures aimed at restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition, including, for example, formal acknowledgment and apologies, memorialization and institutional and educational reforms. Reparations are essential for transforming relationships of discrimination and inequity and for mutually committing to and investing in a stronger, more resilient future of dignity, equality and non-discrimination for all. […]
See also the article Condemnation: United Nations - Colonialism
