UNESCO Forum in The Hague: Slavery Apology Is 'a Comma, Not a Full Stop' as World Demands Accountability

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, 29 October 2026 — The fifth UNESCO Global Forum Against Racism and Discrimination opened in The Hague on Thursday, with the Netherlands placing the legacy of slavery at the centre of its welcome and delegates warned that promises of equality must now be turned into measurable action.

Illustration: An international conference centre in The Hague with flags of many nations outside.

What Happened

The two-day forum, held on 29 and 30 October at the World Forum in The Hague, is hosted in partnership with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. According to UNESCO, ministers, mayors, experts and civil-society representatives from all regions of the world are taking part, under the theme "From commitment to accountability: change the system, change the future."

Opening the gathering on Thursday morning, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten returned to the national apology for slavery made in 2022. "With this apology we are writing not a full stop, but a comma," he said, according to reports of his speech, before setting out what has followed: 200 million euros for initiatives related to the history of slavery, and work with affected communities "across the countries of our Kingdom and the former Dutch colonies" on "a national roadmap towards recovery".

Jetten also told delegates that 1.6 million people in the Netherlands experience discrimination and racism in their daily lives. He warned that, in more and more places, extreme groups are pushing an agenda filled with hate, both online and in the real world, and said governments must "render account for our actions and the results we achieve" and acknowledge that they have blind spots.

King Willem-Alexander attended the opening ceremony and the first two panels on the first day, UNESCO said. Reports of the opening described the King recalling receiving forgiveness in Suriname, a former Dutch colony, as the forum turned its attention to reparatory justice — one of its three central themes, alongside accountability and systemic change.

Illustration: A diverse panel discussion in a large conference hall with an audience listening.

Background

The Global Forum Against Racism and Discrimination was created by UNESCO as a space where governments, international organisations, researchers and communities could move beyond declarations and share practical measures against racism. The fourth edition was held in Barcelona in December 2024, and the forum has since produced initiatives including a Global Alliance Against Racism and Discrimination, a network of government anti-racism officials, and research on the prevalence and consequences of discrimination worldwide.

The 2026 gathering takes place during the United Nations' Second International Decade for People of African Descent, which runs from 2025 to 2034. The decade places particular emphasis on recognition, justice and development for people of African descent, including confronting the continuing effects of slavery, colonialism and racial discrimination.

For the Netherlands, the forum arrives four years after the Dutch government's formal apology for its role in slavery, delivered in December 2022. The apology, and the funding and programmes that followed it, have remained a subject of debate in the Netherlands and in former colonies including Suriname and Caribbean nations, where communities have pressed for concrete steps on education, heritage, economic opportunity and repair — not only words of regret.

UNESCO's published programme for The Hague lists prominent speakers including Jetten; UNESCO Deputy Director-General Äsa Réger; European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib; Ibram X. Kendi, director of the Howard University Institute for Advanced Study; American actor and racial justice campaigner Viola Davis; legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw; former Costa Rican Vice-President Epsy Campbell; and Rabin Baldewsingh, the Netherlands' National Coordinator against Discrimination and Racism, who hosted the opening.

Why It Matters

The choice of theme is itself the message of this edition. UNESCO and its partners say the forum must shift from policy frameworks alone towards concrete, measurable and actionable outcomes, because lived realities continue to reflect uneven and insufficient progress despite decades of commitments and declarations.

Reparatory justice is the sharpest test of that shift. Delegates from Ghana, Suriname and Black British campaign groups were on the programme, according to reports from the opening day, and a UN resolution earlier in 2026 urged reparations for slavery's historical wrongs. What "reparatory justice" should mean in practice — apology, education, investment, institutional reform, financial redress, or a combination of all of them — remains contested, and the Hague discussions are expected to feed UNESCO's continuing work on policies and practical measures rather than settle the question in two days.

The forum also matters for how countries measure themselves. Jetten's insistence that governments "render account" points to a wider demand running through the event: anti-racism strategies should be judged by data and outcomes — who experiences discrimination, where systems exclude people, and whether interventions close those gaps — not by the number of pledges signed.

For the Netherlands as host, the gathering places renewed attention on its own record. The government has set aside substantial funding linked to the history of slavery and says it is working with affected communities on a national roadmap towards recovery. Critics and campaigners will be watching whether that roadmap, and the forum's conclusions, produce changes that people can feel in housing, employment, education, policing and public life.

Illustration: Many different hands joined together over a map of the world, symbolising unity and remembrance.

What Happens Next

The forum continues on Friday, 30 October, with further panels, workshops and sessions for younger participants, including educational sessions and opportunities for students to engage directly with international experts and policymakers. Key sessions are being streamed live by UNESCO.

Organisers are expected to publish conclusions and follow-up commitments after the closing sessions. Those outcomes will be watched in particular for any new accountability mechanisms — shared indicators, reporting commitments or networks of officials tasked with carrying the forum's work into national policy — and for language on reparatory justice that governments are willing to endorse.

Beyond The Hague, the test will be implementation. UNESCO's network of anti-racism officials and its Global Alliance are designed to keep the conversation going between forums, but campaigners have long argued that the movement's credibility depends on what changes in the months after the delegates leave. The Hague forum's own theme — from commitment to accountability — sets that bar explicitly, and its second day will show how far ministers and mayors are prepared to go towards meeting it.

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FAQ

What is the UNESCO Global Forum Against Racism and Discrimination?

It is UNESCO's international gathering of ministers, mayors, experts and civil-society representatives working against racism and discrimination. The fifth edition is being held in The Hague on 29 and 30 October 2026, hosted in partnership with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

What did Prime Minister Rob Jetten say at the opening?

Jetten said the Dutch apology for slavery was "not a full stop, but a comma". He pointed to 200 million euros for initiatives related to the history of slavery and said the government is working with affected communities on a national roadmap towards recovery.

What is the theme of the 2026 forum?

"From commitment to accountability: change the system, change the future." The theme reflects a push to translate anti-racism pledges into measurable results, with attention to accountability mechanisms, inclusive policymaking, systemic inequalities, digital change and reparatory justice.

Who attended the opening in The Hague?

King Willem-Alexander attended the opening ceremony and the first two panels on day one, according to UNESCO. Prime Minister Rob Jetten opened the forum, hosted by Rabin Baldewsingh, the Netherlands' National Coordinator against Discrimination and Racism. Prominent speakers listed in the programme included Viola Davis, Ibram X. Kendi, Kimberlé Crenshaw and Epsy Campbell.

What happens after the forum ends?

Organisers are expected to publish conclusions and follow-up commitments. UNESCO's anti-racism networks and alliance are intended to carry the work into national policy, but the real test, as the forum's theme makes clear, will be whether governments report measurable progress.

Sources

UNESCO, "5th UNESCO Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination" and "The Fifth UNESCO Global Forum Against Racism and Discrimination to take place in The Hague", 29-30 October 2026, World Forum, The Hague; JAM Radio News, "UNESCO forum on racism opens in The Hague: slavery apology 'a comma, not a full stop'", 29 October 2026; Government of the Netherlands, speech by Prime Minister Rob Jetten at the opening of the forum, as reported 29 October 2026; United Nations #RememberSlavery Newsletter, October 2026 edition.