Month: April 2026

The Malagasy academic community is in mourning following the passing of Professor Jacqueline Ravelomanana-Randrianjafinimanana, renowned historian, researcher and lecturer.

A passionate educator, she dedicated her life to teaching and research, mentoring many generations of students. A specialist in gender issues, her work made a significant contribution to our understanding of the history of education and the status of young girls in Madagascar, particularly during the colonial and pre-colonial periods.

Beyond her intellectual rigour, those who knew her remember her as an attentive and generous woman, deeply committed to academic life. She also developed her artistic side through painting, offering a personal perspective on Malagasy culture.

Professor Jacqueline Ravelomanana-Randrianjafinimanana leaves us with memories of a devoted teacher and a researcher whose commitment will continue to inspire Malagasy academic life.

In 2025, the Villèle History Museum had the honour of inviting her to contribute to the collection of academic texts on its website, dedicated to the history of slavery in the Indian Ocean. Her article, entitled ‘Slavery in Madagascar: forgotten royal slaves’, was published on the museum’s digital portal to mark the commemoration of the abolition of slavery in Réunion on 20th December.

On 25th March 2026, the United Nations adopted a resolution recognising the transatlantic slave trade and the enslavement of Africans as “the gravest crime against humanity”. Proposed by Ghana on behalf of African countries, this resolution received broad support from the international community: 123 states voted in favour, whilst 3 countries (the United States, Israel and Argentina) voted against, and 52 abstained, including many European countries such as France.

With this vote, the international community has taken a further step towards recognising the historical violence associated with slavery – globally in general, and concerning Africans in particular.

For more than four centuries, millions of African men, women and children were torn from their homeland, deported and exploited as part of a global economic system based on their dehumanisation. The repercussions from these events are not confined to the past, as they continue to shape and influence contemporary social, economic and racial inequalities.

Although this resolution is not legally binding, it nonetheless expresses both a duty to remember and a desire for justice. It encourages countries to take concrete steps: official recognition, remembrance, restitution and even reparations.

However, this text did not meet with unanimous approval. The United States justified its opposition by arguing that describing the transatlantic slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity” risked establishing a hierarchy among historical atrocities, to the detriment of other crimes recognised under international law, such as genocide or war crimes. Washington also expressed concerns regarding the potential legal implications of this wording, particularly with regard to reparations.

For their part, several European countries who abstained shared some of these reservations. Whilst they fully recognise the historical and moral gravity of slavery, they emphasised the need to maintain a universal and non-hierarchical approach to crimes against humanity. Some also highlighted the complexity of issues of historical responsibility and the risks of legal or political disputes that such a classification might give rise to.

These differences reflect the persistent tensions surrounding issues of remembrance and the legacies of the colonial past. However, they do not prevent scientific, educational and public awareness work on the history of the slave trade and slavery from continuing.

UN Résolution