Israel explains why it voted against Ghana’s UN resolution on slave trade

The Israeli Embassy in Ghana has explained why the country voted against a United Nations resolution describing the trans-Atlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity.

The resolution, adopted on Wednesday, March 25, saw Israel, United States and Argentina vote against it, while 52 countries, including the United Kingdom, abstained. A total of 123 countries voted in favour.

Ghana’s resolution seeks to formally recognise the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.

In a statement shared on social media on Friday, March 27, Israel said it supported efforts to acknowledge the historical impact of slavery but had reservations about specific wording in the text.

“While we fully recognize the unparalleled scale and cruelty of these crimes, we cannot accept language that effectively establishes a hierarchy among crimes against humanity,” the statement said in part.

Israel argued that such wording could undermine the significance of other atrocities, including the Holocaust.

“Such formulations risk diminishing the gravity of other atrocities, including the Jewish Holocaust by the Nazis, as well as other crimes that have caused immense human suffering,” it added.

The embassy stressed that the decision to vote against the resolution was not a rejection of the history or legacy of slavery, but rather a principled stance on how crimes against humanity are classified.

It further expressed regret that concerns raised during negotiations were not addressed, noting that revisions could have secured broader international support.