Ghana preparing UN resolution on slavery reparations – foreign minister

The document asks for the recognition of historical injustices and the return of looted artifacts, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has told RT

Ghana is preparing to submit a resolution to the UN General Assembly declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity and calling for reparations, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said.  

Speaking to RT, the minister said the draft is designed to bring the issue before the international community and push for meaningful redress. He emphasized the scale of the tragedy and its legacy, noting that millions of Africans were subjected to inhumane treatment. 

According to Ablakwa, the resolution seeks to declare the slave trade “the gravest crime against humanity,” noting that “more than 12.5 million Africans were forcibly removed,” and calls for compensation for “people of African descent and all Africans for this atrocious crime.” 

He also raised the issue of looted cultural heritage, noting that “there are also millions of artifacts that were stolen. We are demanding that they are returned to the continent.” 

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The top diplomat pointed to limited progress so far, noting that “recently, the UK returned some artifacts to us, but that’s not all. We have the full list,” and stressed the deeper significance of the issue: “It is about our identity. It’s about the soul of a people.” 

Addressing the issue of reparations, Ablakwa stressed the focus should be on development rather than political elites: “Reparations we seek is not financial support to go to political leaders,” pointing instead to “educational endowment funds” and “funding for African entrepreneurs, the young people.” 

Ablakwa rejected claims that Africa benefited from the slave trade, saying such arguments had been widely discredited. “We totally disagree.  Africa did not benefit from this whatsoever,” he said. 

The minister described the suggestion as offensive, pointing to the brutal conditions endured by enslaved Africans. “Pets had more rights than our brothers and sisters who were forcibly removed from the continent,” he said. 

READ MORE: African lawyers urge global backing for UN resolution on slave trade

Ghana is set to present the resolution to the UN General Assembly on March 25, with backing from the African Union. According to the minister, all 54 member states supported the initiative. Separately, the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) has urged countries worldwide to endorse the proposal.