President John Dramani Mahama has called for a renewed global commitment to reparatory justice, urging the international community to move beyond acknowledgment of historical wrongs to concrete action, truth-telling, and reconciliation.
Speaking at the opening of the Next Steps High-Level Consultative Conference on Reparatory Justice in Accra, President Mahama described the transatlantic slave trade as one of the gravest crimes against humanity, noting that its effects continue to shape global inequalities and social systems today.
He reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to advancing the global reparations agenda and announced the establishment of three international panels to deepen work on reparatory justice, the restitution of cultural artefacts, and legal frameworks for redress.
According to him, these initiatives are intended to guide the next phase of international engagement on historical accountability and restorative justice.
President Mahama stressed that although present generations were not responsible for the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade, there remains a shared responsibility to confront its enduring consequences through dialogue, remembrance, and meaningful partnership.
The conference attracted a wide range of global leaders and dignitaries, including the Presidents of Senegal, Namibia, Liberia, and São Tomé and Príncipe; the Prime Minister of Barbados; the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea; the Speaker of the Algerian Parliament; senior representatives from more than 80 countries; and former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
The gathering is seen as a major milestone in the international conversation on reparatory justice and reinforces Ghana’s position as a key voice in global discussions on healing, historical accountability, and cooperation.
“Future generations will judge us not by the resolutions we adopted, but by the progress we achieved,” President Mahama said, underscoring the need for tangible outcomes from global commitments.
The conference is expected to shape ongoing international efforts to address the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade and strengthen cooperation on reparatory justice frameworks worldwide.