Message from Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition
联合国教科文组织总干事伊琳娜·博科娃在贩卖黑奴及其废除国际纪念日的致辞
23 August 2017
2017年8月23日
The date 23 August marks the anniversary of the 1791 insurrection of enslaved men and women in the western part of the island of Santo Domingo, which, on proclaiming its independence reverted to its original Amerindian name: Haiti. The uprising conveyed a universal demand for freedom that transcends all limits of time and space. It speaks to humanity as a whole, without distinction of origin or religion, and continues to resonate now with undiminished force.
8月23日是1791年奴隶大起义纪念日。当年的8月23日，圣多明戈岛西部被奴役的男男女女发动了一场起义。这个岛屿在宣布独立的同时，又恢复了最初的印第安语名称：海地。奴隶们揭竿而起是为了争取自由，它的普遍意义超越一切时间和空间的限制。向往自由是全人类的共性，不分种族和宗教，这次起义今天在我们心中激起的共鸣丝毫不减当年。
By means of International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition, UNESCO aims to recall the crucial importance of the transmission of history in order to shed light on the fight against all forms of oppression and racism today. The 1791 uprising triggered a shockwave that has set the course of peoples’ liberation struggles and of human and civil rights movements for over 200 years. It crystallized the issues, concepts and principles with which it is essential to be familiar in the present fight against modern slavery and human trafficking. We are counting on the teaching of this history to place tomorrow’s citizens on the path to peace and dignity.
通过“贩卖黑奴及其废除国际纪念日”，教科文组织意在强调，历史传承在今天打击一切形式的压迫和种族主义的斗争中所起的关键作用。1791年起义影响深远，决定了200多年来民族解放斗争和人权与民权运动的走向。了解这场起义中所凝聚的问题、观念和原则，对于我们今天打击现代奴役和人口贩卖起着不可或缺的作用。我们坚信，传授这段历史能让明天的公民走上和平与尊严之路。
By proclaiming the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024), the United Nations General Assembly hopes to eradicate the social injustice that is a legacy of that history and to combat racism and racial discrimination. Freedom of rights, hard-won by force, must be translated into real freedom through public policies that guarantee to people of African descent the full exercise of economic, social and political equality, and full and equal participation in society. The 1791 uprising, like so many others across the world, shows us the way, but the path ahead is still long.
通过发起“非洲人后裔国际十年”(2015‒2024年)，联合国大会希望消除这段历史所遗留的社会不平等现象，与种族主义和种族歧视作斗争。经过激烈斗争得来的法律权利上的自由，必须转化为真正的自由，这就需要公共政策保障非洲人后裔充分享有平等的经济、社会和政治权利，全面且公平地参与社会生活。就像世界各地的无数次斗争一样，1791年起义给我们指明了方向，但道路仍然漫长。
In this spirit, at its most recent session, the World Heritage Committee approved the inclusion in the World Heritage List of Mbanza Kongo, Vestiges of the Capital of the former Kingdom of Kongo (Angola) and the Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site (Brazil), thereby acknowledging their outstanding universal value. In 2015, the Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site was recognized as a site of memory associated with the UNESCO Slave Route Project: Resistance, Liberty, Heritage. Recognition of this heritage is decisive in raising the awareness of the general public, educating young people and in the processes of conciliation and social cohesion.
秉承这一精神，世界遗产委员会在上一届会议上批准将前刚果王国首都遗址姆班扎(安哥拉)和瓦隆古码头考古遗址(巴西)列入名录，由此承认两 处遗址突出的普遍价值。2015年，瓦隆古码头考古遗址已经成为与“奴隶之路：抵抗、自由、遗产”相关的记忆遗址。这处遗产的认定，对开展公众宣传和青年教育、推动和解和社会凝聚进程，都起着决定性作用。
This effort is the eternal effort for the comprehensive affirmation of human dignity, and UNESCO devotes to it the full force of its mandate, through education, culture, sharing of information and scientific research, which help to construct in the minds of all ramparts against racism and prejudice. The teaching of the General History of Africa, and the Slave Route programme are examples of this. Ignorance is our enemy: it is used as an alibi by the indifferent who state that “we cannot change anything”, and sanctions the lies of those who claim that “they did not know”. Everyone must know the scale of the crime of the slave trade, the millions of lives broken and the impact on the fate of continents up to this very day. Everyone must be fully informed of the struggle that led to its abolition, so that together we can build societies that are fairer, and thus freer.
彰显人类尊严的努力永不止息。教科文组织为此尽其职责范围内的一切力量，通过教育、文化、信息分享和科学研究，在人们的思想中筑起抵御种族主义和偏见的屏障。《非洲通史》教育和“奴隶之路”项目都是例证。我们的敌人是无知：无知是冷漠者的借口，他们声称“对此无能为力”;无知是撒谎者的托辞，他们自称“对此并不知情”。每个人都应该知道贩卖黑奴的罪行造成了多么深重的影响：数百万人的生活毁于一旦，几个大洲的命运从此改变，影响持续至今。每个人都应该全面了解争取废除黑奴贩卖的斗争，只有这样我们才能共同建设更加公正和自由的社会。
