President John Dramani Mahama is set to spearhead a historic global initiative at the United Nations to formally recognize the Transatlantic Slave Trade as the gravest crime against humanity.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the resolution will be tabled for consideration and adoption at the UN General Assembly on March 25, 2026. The move fulfills a pledge made by President Mahama during his address to the Assembly last year.
Ghana, acting in its role as the African Union’s Champion on Reparations, is collaborating with the African Union and the Caribbean Community, alongside people of African descent globally, to push for the resolution’s adoption.
The proposed resolution seeks to formally declare the trafficking of enslaved Africans and the system of racialized chattel enslavement as the gravest crime against humanity.
It highlights the immense historical scale, systemic brutality, and enduring global consequences of the slave trade, which continue to shape socio-economic inequalities and structural imbalances across the world.
If adopted, the resolution would mark the first comprehensive UN declaration on slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the organization’s 80-year history. It is expected to serve as a foundation for justice, reconciliation, and a renewed global commitment to reparatory justice, accountability, and healing.
The timing of the resolution is symbolic. March 25 is internationally observed as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Ghana’s initiative aims to transform this remembrance into concrete global recognition and action.
Ahead of the UN session, a series of commemorative and high-level events will be held in New York. These include a wreath-laying ceremony at the African Burial Ground on March 24, followed by a high-level forum on reparatory justice later that day at the UN.
The Ministry also acknowledged the contributions of various institutions and experts, including the African Union Commission, CARICOM, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and other global reparations advocates, whose efforts have helped bring the initiative to this stage.
Ghana is urging all UN member states to support the resolution, describing it as an opportunity for the international community to stand on the right side of history and advance justice for the descendants of enslaved Africans.
Following the anticipated adoption, Ghana says it will continue to lead multilateral efforts on reparations within the framework of the African Union’s Decade of Action on Reparations and African Heritage (2026–2036).
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/Ahotoronline.com | Ghana 🇬🇭