US President Barack Obama has visited a former slaving post on the first day of his Africa tour.
He said the trip to the Senegalese island of Goree – from which Africans were shipped across the Atlantic into slavery – was a “very powerful moment”.
He was joined by his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha.
Mr Obama said that as an African American, the trip gave him even greater motivation to stand up for human rights around the world.
He also said the island is a reminder of what happens when those rights are not protected.
Earlier in the day he used a speech to say that gays and lesbians should be treated as equal under the law in Africa, where in many countries homosexuality is illegal.
“My basic view is that regardless of race, regardless of religion, regardless of gender, regardless of sexual orientation, when it comes to the law, people should be treated equal.”
Mr Obama landed in the Senegalese capital of Dakar on Wednesday night, on the first leg of a three-country visit to Africa.
It is his most extensive trip to the continent as president, and is highly anticipated, given his personal ties to Africa. His father was born in Kenya and many of his relatives still live there.
However, the president has spent just one day in Africa since taking office – a 2009 day-trip to Ghana.
In addition to Senegal, he will visit South Africa and Tanzania during this week-long visit.
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