The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination published General Recommendation-40 on August 31, directing the 182 states parties to the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to implement comprehensive reparatory measures for people of African descent. The guidance references the transatlantic slave trade, during which at least 12.5 million Africans were taken and sold between the 15th and 19th centuries. The European Union and Britain abstained from a related UN resolution on slavery in March.