Keypoints:
- Mahama urges UN to back slavery reparations
- Demands return of stolen African artefacts
- Plans UN motion declaring slave trade a crime
GHANA’S President John Mahama on Thursday told the United Nations General Assembly that the world must recognise the transatlantic slave trade as ‘the greatest crime against humanity’ and begin a formal process of reparations for Africa.
Speaking at the 80th UN session in New York, Mahama said more than 12.5 million Africans were forcibly taken to enrich Western nations during centuries of slavery and colonial exploitation.
‘We must demand reparations for the enslavement of our people and the colonisation of our land that resulted in the theft of our natural resources as well as the looting of artefacts and other items of cultural heritage that have yet to be returned in total,’ Mahama said, calling the practice ‘a historic theft that built the wealth of the powerful’.
He argued that while colonial powers enriched themselves through forced labour, many of those same governments later paid compensation to former slave owners when slavery ended. ‘The people who were enslaved received nothing, while their owners were rewarded for the “loss of property”,’ he told delegates.
Call for UN action
Mahama announced Ghana’s plan to introduce a motion at the UN recognising the slave trade as a crime against humanity and pressing for a global reparations framework.
‘This august body must not turn away from its moral duty,’ he said, urging member states to back the motion and support the return of stolen African cultural treasures still held in Western museums.
The Ghanaian leader tied the reparations call to wider economic reforms, insisting that African nations must gain a greater share of revenue from their natural resources and a stronger voice in international finance. ‘The days of parcelling out vast concession areas to foreign interests for exploitation must end,’ he said.
Global resonance
Mahama’s remarks echo a growing campaign among African governments and diaspora communities for restitution and compensation. Last year, the African Union set up a committee on reparations, while countries such as Barbados and Jamaica have also sought talks with European governments.
The president framed reparations not only as compensation but as a step towards global justice. ‘We recognised the value of our land and the value of our lives, as did our colonisers,’ he said. ‘It is time the world recognises it too.’
The United Nations has previously acknowledged the lasting impact of slavery and colonialism, but has not adopted a formal reparations mechanism. Mahama’s proposed motion is expected to reignite debate among member states over historical accountability and economic redress.
