LONDON – Ghana plans to introduce a United Nations General Assembly resolution branding the transatlantic slave trade as “the gravest crime in human history” and demanding reparations, anticipating wide backing despite European resistance.
The West African leader in continental reparations advocacy aims to submit the measure as early as this month, its Foreign Ministry told Reuters in a statement. This push advances Africa’s quest for redress from colonial-era abuses, with Ghana expecting support from numerous member states.
The text would acknowledge the slave trade’s immense scale, longevity, legalization, and lasting impacts. Momentum for reparations has surged lately, fueled by African Union efforts last year to forge a unified stance, spanning cash payments, apologies, and reforms, endorsed at a summit last month. Caribbean Community nations, with their own reparations blueprint, are poised to back it.
Yet backlash grows, as European leaders resist even broaching the topic, insisting modern entities bear no liability for past sins. Ghana’s ministry dismissed concerns: “We anticipate no backlash against truth; this heals wounds through honesty, not reopening them.”
African and Caribbean states push for a dedicated UN reparations body, citing precedents via General Assembly or Security Council action. “We’re optimistic many will join,” the ministry added.