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Over the course of more than four centuries, some 15 million Africans were taken from their homes across Africa and transported by force to the Americas. The number of people purchased by slave traders was even higher. Those slaves who survived were bought and sold, stripped of all dignity, denied all human rights. Even their children could be taken from them and sold for the profit of their “owners”. The Transatlantic slave trade remains a monstrous crime and a stain on human history.
在四个多世纪里，有大约1 500万非洲人被带离非洲各地的家园，强行运往美洲。奴隶贩子购买的奴隶人数还要多。幸存下来的奴隶被买卖，被剥夺一切尊严，丧失了所有的人权。连他们的孩子也可能被带离并出售，来为他们的“主人”谋利。跨大西洋贩卖奴隶一直是一种骇人听闻的罪行，是人类历史上的一个污点。
This year’s Day of Remembrance pays particular tribute to the many women who suffered and died during the slave trade. They experienced appalling violence, including sexual and reproductive enslavement, forced prostitution, repeated sexual assault, as well as forced childbearing and the sale of their own children.
今年的纪念日将特别悼念在贩卖奴隶过程中受苦并死去的许多妇女。她们遭受令人震惊的暴力侵害，包括性奴役和生殖奴役、强迫卖淫、反复性攻击以及强迫生育和出售自己的孩子。
Yet women slaves played a key role in maintaining the dignity of their communities. Too often their leadership and brave resistance have been underestimated or forgotten.
然而，女奴隶却在维护她们所属群体的尊严方面发挥了重要作用。她们的领导作用和勇敢抗争有太多时候被低估，甚至遗忘。
Tragically, slavery has still not ended. Slavery stubbornly persists in many parts of the world, in the form of forced labour, trafficking, sexual exploitation or captivity in slavery-like conditions. These despicable practices could not exist without deep-seated racism. It is absolutely vital that the dangers inherent in racism are made crystal clear to all. The Department of Public Information’s Remember Slavery Programme educates about the Transatlantic slave trade and how intolerance can easily shift from an attitude into acts of hatred and violence.
不幸的是，奴隶制仍未结束，而是以强迫劳动、贩运、性剥削或奴隶式囚禁的形式，顽固存在于世界许多地区。如果没有根深蒂固的种族主义，这些可鄙行为就不会存在。让所有人清楚了解种族主义的固有危险至关重要。新闻部的“不忘奴隶制方案”就跨大西洋贩卖奴隶行为开展教育，让人明白不容忍如何能够迅速地从一种态度转变为仇恨和暴力。
To mark this International Day, I will unveil a permanent memorial at United Nations Headquarters in New York to honour the victims of slavery and the Transatlantic slave trade. Built on the Visitors Plaza, the “Ark of Return” will bring home to people from around the world the terrible legacy of the slave trade. It will help us heal as we remember the past and honour the victims.
为纪念这一国际日，我将在纽约联合国总部为一个追思奴隶制和跨大西洋贩卖奴隶行为受害者的永久纪念碑揭幕。“返回方舟”竖立在游客广场上，将使来自世界各地的人民了解贩卖奴隶行为可怕的遗留问题，也将帮助我们在铭记过去和缅怀受害者的同时抹平伤痕。
On this important Day of Remembrance, I call for a renewal of our commitment to end modern slavery, so our children will live in a world free of racism and prejudice with equal opportunity and rights for all.
值此重要纪念日之际，我呼吁重续我们对终止现代奴隶制的承诺，让我们的孩子能够生活在一个没有种族主义和偏见的世界里，人人享有平等的机会和权利。
