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	Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade by Ken Kanda UN General Assembly   25 March 2013   The United Nations today honoured the memory of over 15 million innocent victims who suffered over four centuries as a result of the transatlantic slave trade, while highlighting the plight of millions more who still endure the brutality of modern slavery.   Speaking at the commemoration of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, held in the General Assembly Hall, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cited the words of renowned Martinique-born poet Aimé Césaire, who cautioned against the risks of complacency and “spectatorship” when faced with the evils of human bondage.   “We must be more than spectators. While we recall slavery’s horrors, we must also address the lingering consequences. While we remember the victims, we pledge to fight for equality, justice and peace,” Mr. Ban urged, as this is “the most meaningful way” to honour the memory of those victimized by slavery.   Original copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, the two documents credited with ending slavery in the US, were placed on public display at UN Headquarters.   Mr. Ban highlighted the importance of memory in fighting future instances of slavery.   “We are here to recall the struggle of the victims of the transatlantic slave trade,” he stated. “We remember their degradation and deaths. And we teach future generations to remember as well.”   In his address, Ken Kanda, Ambassador of Ghana and General Assembly Vice President, warned that the “profound social and economic inequality, hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice,” which many people of African descent around the world continue to endure today was “a distressing and stubborn legacy of this heinous trade in human beings.”   In particular, he underscored that today’s meeting was an opportunity to reflect on the past without losing sight of the present, in which “the unspeakable horror of slavery persists” in numerous forms around the world.   “Forced labour and child labour, the trafficking of persons, the recruitment of child soldiers, the sexual exploitation of women, have all been identified by the United Nations as contemporary forms of slavery,” Mr. Kanda declared.   He pointed out that although modern enslavement was neither as systematic nor institutionalized as its historic incarnation, it remained difficult to eradicate due to its clandestine nature.   “The majority of those people who suffer belong to the poorest, most vulnerable and marginalized social groups in society,” he remarked.   “This meeting of nations of the General Assembly, must play an active role to ensure slavery is ultimately eradicated once and for all time.”   The Secretary-General, noted that this year not only marks 150 years since the freeing of slaves in the US but also other milestones.   In 1833, slavery ended in Canada, the British West Indies and the Cape of Good Hope. Some 170 years ago, the Indian Slavery Act of 1843 was signed. Slavery was abolished 165 years ago in France; 160 years ago in Argentina; 150 years ago in the former Dutch colonies; and 125 years ago in Brazil. Visit the related web page
	Russians raid Amnesty headquarters by David M Herszenhorn and Andrew Roth New York Times   March 25, 2013   Russian authorities raided the local headquarters of the human rights group Amnesty International in Moscow on Monday, the latest in a continuing series of office searches aimed at putting pressure on non-governmental groups.   The head of Amnesty International"s office in Russia, Sergei Nikitin, said in a telephone interview that officials from the general prosecutor"s offices and from the tax police arrived Monday morning unannounced to conduct what they described as an "audit" and demanded a list of documents, most of which Mr Nikitin said were already on file with the government.   "They"re sitting and waiting for me to bring the originals and copies," Mr Nikitin said. "This is ongoing because we, of course, were not expecting them today."   He added, "They don"t have any concrete complaints. They say it"s a regular check and other cliche phrases."   Last week, the authorities conducted a similar raid at the offices of Memorial, an international historical society and human rights group that has operated in Russia and other post-Soviet states for more than two decades.   Pavel Chikov, a member of Russia"s presidential "human rights" council, said that dozens of non-profit organisations had been searched in regions across Russia in March, including at least 20 on Monday.   "We can definitely say it"s been the most active day for these searches so far," he said in a telephone interview.   The Kremlin has taken a series of steps in recent months aimed at clamping down on nonprofit organisations, particularly those that receive financing and other support from abroad, and the Russian parliament has adopted a battery of legislation including various new restrictions and requirements.   Depending on how they are financed, certain groups, for instance, are now required to register as "foreign agents". And certain types of nonprofit groups working in the political realm are barred from employing foreigners in leadership positions.   A representative for the Ministry of Justice told the Interfax news service on Monday that information from the raids would be used to check compliance with the new law on foreign agents. The ministry has not made any charges under the new law since its adoption last year.   Some groups that received financing from abroad, including organisations that worked with the US Agency for International Development, have moved their offices out of Russia. In September, the Kremlin ended its cooperation with USAID, which had included more than 20 years of partnership on various projects, including public health and civil society campaigns in Russia.   In the past, Russian officials have used a number of bureaucratic tactics, including complex registration schemes and even accusations of software piracy, to disrupt the activities of non-profits they do not like.   In February, President Vladimir Putin cautioned top officials in Russia"s security services, the FSB, to beware of nongovernmental organisations that may "meddle" in the country"s internal affairs.   Mr Nikitin said that the prosecutors and tax police were accompanied by a crew from the government-controlled NTV television channel, which is known for producing salacious reports about critics of the Russian government.   "Right behind them came employees from the state television NTV who aren"t leaving and are trying to break in. They"re knocking, calling and this is creating additional difficulties for us in this unpleasant situation," Mr Nikitin said. He added that the officials on site professed no knowledge of how NTV learned of the raid.   On Thursday, NTV aired footage from a raid at the offices of the internationally respected Memorial, in a segment titled: "Memorial is hiding its revenue from the general prosecutor."   Mr Nikitin said the government"s actions were concerning. "All of this is a form of scaring us, it"s a way for them to show that they aren"t taking their eyes off of us," he said.   "You can call it a toughening of the government"s relationship to rights organisations, because in the past we have never faced these smear campaigns."   European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement on Tuesday that she was "concerned with the ongoing actions of the authorities against the NGO community" in Russia. She said what she described as "raids" on NGOs, as well as legislation "that curtails the civil freedoms of Russian population, an upsurge in prosecution of civil society activists" and other issues "constitute a trend that is deeply troubling".   UN Committee against Torture concerned at reprisals against NGOs: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13417&LangID=E   * Ben Judah, a Visiting fellow at the European Stability Initiative, and the author of Fragile Empire on the first post-Soviet generation which could build a future Russia, is feeling smothered. Radio feature: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/putin27s-fragile-state/4717282 Visit the related web page
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