Ghana receives US, European support for reparatory justice agenda – Ablakwa

Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has disclosed that almost all European countries and the US that abstained from the UN resolution vote to declare the Transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity have expressed their readiness to work with Ghana on its reparatory justice agenda.

Speaking at the high-level side event in New York, Mr Ablakwa said the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Portugal had communicated their willingness to engage with the movement.

He said the United States has also formally indicated its readiness to work with Ghana despite voting against the resolution.

“Virtually all the European countries that abstained during the vote have reached out and expressed their readiness to work with us on this journey. I must use this opportunity to commend the US; we have received formal notice from them that even though they voted against this resolution, they are willing to begin to work with us towards that fair and just world we all seek,” he said.

The side event co-hosted by Ghana, Germany and France focuses on international cooperation for the return and restitution of cultural properties and heritage.

Mr Ablakwa acknowledged that reparatory justice remains a sensitive and complex issue but said it requires honest but tense discussions among countries.