Israel Opposed UN Resolution on Slave Trade Over ‘Gravest Crime’ Wording, Ambassador Tells Ghana Foreign Ministry
Israel’s Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Roey Gilad, has explained why his country voted against a United Nations General Assembly resolution on the trafficking of enslaved Africans, citing concerns over language describing the transatlantic slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity.”
Speaking at a briefing session between Foreign Affairs Minister and members of the Diplomatic Corps in Accra, Ambassador Gilad said Israel’s “major problem” with the resolution was not the adoption of the General Assembly declaration itself, but the specific phrasing.
“Our major problem was defining the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity,” Gilad said. He referenced Israel’s founding in 1948 “on the foundation of the Holocaust,” noting that six million Jews were killed between 1939 and 1945.
Choosing his words “very carefully against my nature,” the Ambassador suggested an amendment to the text. “Wouldn’t it be better for your team in New York to change the draft resolution from ‘the gravest crime’ into ‘one of the greatest crimes’?” he asked.
Gilad argued that such a change could have broadened support for the resolution. “I believe, by making this amendment, you could bring… much more support for this resolution,” he said. He clarified he was speaking only on behalf of his government, not the EU, Armenia which abstained, or the USA and Argentina which also voted against.
The briefing session was convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ahead of a High-Level Consultative Conference on next steps following the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the resolution on the trafficking of enslaved Africans.
The Ambassador acknowledged Ghana’s stated approach of “not for confrontation, but for participation,” but maintained that the wording was a sticking point for Israel.
Israel was among the countries that voted against the resolution. The transatlantic slave trade, which lasted over 400 years, forcibly transported an estimated 12-15 million Africans to the Americas.
