Keypoints:
- AU-backed meeting calls for legal recognition of colonial-era crimes
- Leaders push for reparations and return of stolen artefacts
- Algeria highlights unresolved colonial legacy across the continent
AFRICAN leaders meeting in Algiers have renewed a coordinated push for the formal recognition of colonial-era crimes and the creation of legal pathways for reparations, arguing that the continent can no longer accept silence over historical injustices. The call follows months of diplomatic groundwork within the African Union (AU) and builds on a resolution adopted earlier this year urging global bodies to classify colonialism as a crime.
At the opening of the gathering on November 30, Algeria’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf told delegates that countries across the continent were united by a shared historical trauma that continues to shape their political and economic realities. He argued that restitution for colonial-era abuses should be treated as a right, not a discretionary gesture from former colonial powers.
‘Africa is entitled to demand the official and explicit recognition of the crimes committed against its peoples during the colonial period,’ Attaf said, describing recognition as ‘an indispensable first step toward addressing the consequences of that era’. He stressed that much of the continent still lives with the structural inequalities and socio-economic barriers imposed through colonial rule.
AU resolution pushes for legal clarity
While international law condemns forms of racial domination such as apartheid and prohibits the seizure of territory by force, it does not classify colonialism itself as a crime against humanity. AU officials say this legal gap has allowed former colonial powers to avoid accountability for systemic abuses, forced labour, mass killings and economic exploitation carried out across Africa for more than a century.
Delegates in Algiers argued that a modern legal framework is essential to support restitution, whether through financial reparations, institutional apologies, or the return of cultural artefacts taken during imperial occupation. Leaders emphasised that without legal recognition, any restitution remains discretionary and inconsistent.
Speakers highlighted the devastating economic cost of colonialism: the extraction of natural resources such as gold, diamonds and rubber, the destruction of indigenous systems of governance, and the enduring marginalisation of communities whose livelihoods were dismantled. The conference also underscored the need for the restitution of Africa’s looted heritage, much of which remains in European museums and private collections.
Algeria’s symbolism and the politics of memory
Algeria’s role as host carries deep symbolic significance. The country endured one of the most violent colonial occupations on the continent, culminating in a brutal war of independence in the 1950s and 1960s. Attaf told participants that Algeria’s experience represented ‘a rare model’ in the history of colonisation, marked by the scale of violence, displacement and cultural suppression.
The government also used the forum to renew attention on Western Sahara, which Algeria describes as Africa’s last colony. Though African views on the disputed territory differ, Algeria argues that the struggle over self-determination there demonstrates that the work of decolonisation remains incomplete.
Restitution and the road ahead
Delegates stressed that reparations should extend beyond symbolic gestures. Many pointed to cultural treasures still held abroad, including the sixteenth-century Algerian cannon Baba Merzoug, which remains in Brest. Others called for mechanisms enabling African states to reclaim property seized during colonial occupation.
For now, African leaders hope the AU-backed effort will bring global debate closer to legal accountability. The Algiers meeting marks the most coordinated continental push yet to elevate the issue from historical grievance to actionable international policy. As AP notes, African officials insist that without recognition, restitution and the return of stolen heritage, the continent cannot fully close the chapter on colonial-era injustices.
