ACCRA – Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama engaged with a global delegation pushing for slavery and colonialism reparations, who called on him to unite African leaders in choosing “courage over comfort” against historical injustices. The diverse group, from Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, and the US, outlined priority actions under the African Union’s February reparations agenda, seeking financial compensation, acknowledgments, and policy shifts. They stressed “strategic coherence and unity” after meeting Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Mahama’s envoy Ekwow Spio-Garbrah.
Advocates highlight legacies of the transatlantic slave trade, which forcibly shipped 12.5 million Africans from the 15th to 19th centuries, fueling modern racism. Ghana leads continental efforts, but faces European resistance claiming current states bear no historical liability. Momentum builds despite backlash; last month’s EU-AU summit in Luanda acknowledged slavery’s “untold suffering” but dodged commitments. Ghana’s Vice President Jane Opoku-Agyemang pressed for a UN resolution branding slavery a “gravest crime against humanity.”