Mahama Calls for ‘New Phase’ of Global Action on Reparatory Justice
President John Dramani Mahama has called on the international community to move from acknowledgement of the transatlantic slave trade to concrete action, urging a “new phase of global engagement on reparatory justice” focused on truth-telling, reconciliation, and redress.
Speaking at the opening of the Next Steps High-Level Consultative Conference on Reparatory Justice in Accra on June 17, 2026, President Mahama described the transatlantic slave trade as “one of the gravest crimes against humanity,” with consequences that continue to shape societies, institutions, and inequalities across generations.
“Future generations will judge us not by the resolutions we adopted, but by the progress we achieved,” the President stated.
To advance the global reparations agenda, President Mahama announced Ghana’s commitment to lead the next phase of international engagement through the establishment of three international panels.
The panels will focus on reparatory justice, restitution of cultural artefacts, and legal pathways for redress.
The President emphasised that while today’s generation did not commit the atrocities of the slave trade, it bears a collective responsibility to address its enduring legacy.
He said this must be done through justice, dialogue, remembrance, and partnership.
The Accra conference brought together an unprecedented gathering of global leaders and dignitaries.
Attendees included 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; ministers and senior representatives from more than 80 countries; and former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
The gathering marks what organisers called a significant milestone in the global conversation on reparatory justice.
It also reinforces Ghana’s leadership in promoting dialogue, healing, and international cooperation on issues arising from the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade.
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