'For those who think the word “colonialism” evokes a long-ago, no-longer-relevant era, think again.'
Both past and present are infusing discussions about the state of the world’s nations at the General Assembly, which wraps up Tuesday, and where leaders of ex-colonies get equal time with ex-colonizers at the planet’s most important diplomatic event.
Since the birth of the United Nations 75 years ago, its ranks have mushroomed from 51 members to 193, as territory after territory shed old-world rulers and proclaimed independence. But the scars and prejudices of colonialism slice deep. Instead of big-power bullying and small powers pleading for outside help, Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh of ex-British colony Sierra Leone called for a new era of “mutual respect and partnership” instead.“If we are to remain true to the fundamental principles of the United Nations that is fit for purpose, then it becomes absolutely necessary to relegate the chapter of colonialism to history within the period 2021-2030,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has refused to take down statues of colonial leaders, described their era as the “second wave” of globalization: “It was globalization through trade, the first openings, but also the routes of slavery, exploitation, the development of some, the enslavement of others, the first population displacements and a reorganization of our world in the light of these dominions.
Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla championed Caribbean nations’ efforts to demand reparations for “the horrors of slavery and the slave trade, in a world where racial discrimination and the repression against Afro-descendant communities have been on the rise.” The leader of Micronesia — colonized in turns by Spain, Germany, and Japan, and now dependent on the U.S. for its defense and financial support — described his South Pacific archipelago as “a product of multilateralism” that’s still working toward self-sufficiency 33 years after becoming a free state.
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