President John Dramani Mahama used Ghana’s 69th Independence Day platform on Friday to formally reaffirm that the country will submit its landmark resolution to the United Nations General Assembly this month, setting March 25 as the date on which Ghana will call on the world to formally recognise slavery and the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crimes against humanity.
The announcement, made at a ceremony at Jubilee House in Accra, carries added weight from its timing and its audience. Seated among the guests was Prime Minister Terrance Drew of Saint Kitts and Nevis, whose presence Mahama specifically highlighted as a symbol of the Africa-Caribbean bond forged through the shared pain of the transatlantic slave trade.
“The dungeons of Cape Coast and Elmina castles remind us of the dark chapters of history when millions of Africans were forcibly transported across the Middle Passage to the so-called New World,” he said. Despite that history, the President said the descendants of those enslaved Africans had shown extraordinary resilience, creativity and cultural brilliance that continue to influence the world today. He welcomed Prime Minister Drew’s visit as more than diplomacy, describing it as a historic reconnection between Ghana and its brothers and sisters in the Caribbean.
The resolution is scheduled for submission on March 25, intentionally aligned with the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, a date chosen to connect memory with action.
The draft resolution was adopted unanimously by the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly in Addis Ababa in February, marking the culmination of a year-long consultative process involving the AU Committee of Experts on Reparations, a Reference Group of Legal Experts, and extensive engagement with diaspora organisations and the Caribbean Community.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has confirmed that the resolution will seek a UN vote to declare the transatlantic slave trade the greatest crime against humanity and to demand reparations for all people of African descent who were victims of slavery.
The motion is expected to face significant resistance from Western nations historically opposed to formal reparations processes, who have argued that current governments cannot be held accountable for historical actions. African leaders counter that ongoing economic relationships continue to perpetuate historical advantages and disadvantages rooted in slavery and colonialism.
Mahama, who serves as the African Union Champion for Advancing the Cause of Justice and the Payment of Reparations, framed the initiative as consistent with Ghana’s historic identity. “Ghana, the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence, will once again lead the global call for dignity and restoration,” he said.
The AU has designated the period from 2026 to 2036 as the AU Decade of Reparations, signalling a shift from symbolic advocacy to structured, long-term implementation of the continental reparations agenda.
