News
Kenyan students attend panel on slavery and racial discrimination
UNIS, UNESCO, and IOM jointly organized a panel discussion for primary and high school students to raise awareness about the root causes of racial discrimination and its detrimental effects on society.
The event, held on March 20, aimed to commemorate both the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the International Day for the Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Newton Kanhema, Deputy Director of the United Nations Information Services (UNIS), Mrs. Cynthia Meru from IOM, and Ngandeu Ngatta Hugue, Programme Specialist for Social and Human Sciences at the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, delivered insightful presentations to the audience.
Following the presentations, the students had the chance to watch UNESCO鈥檚 documentary: 鈥楽lave Route: the Soul of Resistance,鈥 offering profound insights into the slave routes and historical struggles against slavery and oppression.
The screening was followed by a Q&A session. During the exchanges, a heated debate arose about the question of 鈥渞eparations鈥. Arguments included discussions on the role the United Nations should play in ensuring compensation. This was particularly emphasized considering historical instances where many enslavers were compensated at the abolition of the slave trade. For example, in Haiti, where the first successful rebellion over the slave trade occurred, the country was forced to pay compensation for the loss caused by the abolition.
The event concluded with a guided tour of the exhibition 'Slavery: Ten True Stories of Dutch Colonial Slavery,' providing students with a deeper understanding of this dark chapter in human history.
