Ghana’s President Calls For Slavery Reparations From The West At UNGA

Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo delivered a powerful address at the UN General Assembly, emphasizing the need for reparations as a recognition of the profound crimes committed during the transatlantic slave trade and centuries of colonial exploitation. He argued that Africa’s current economic and social challenges are intricately linked to historical injustices that shaped the global structures we see today.

Akufo-Addo noted that much of Europe and the US prospered through the exploitation of African labor and resources, leading to the struggles faced by African nations today. While acknowledging that modern Europeans and Americans are not responsible for the slave trade, he stressed that it was state-sponsored and deliberate, with enduring economic consequences.

The president insisted on the importance of reparations, not as a way to fully compensate for the horrors of the past but as a symbolic acknowledgment of the evil perpetrated and the millions of Africans whose labor was stolen without compensation. His call for reparations was met with applause.

A dedicated conference on reparations will be held in Accra, Ghana, under the African Union’s auspices in November to further address this issue. Akufo-Addo’s speech coincided with Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, a celebration of Ghana’s first prime minister and president, who played a crucial role in the country’s fight against colonialism.

Additionally, the UN recently issued a report advising countries on measures, including financial compensation, to address the legacy of colonialism and the enslavement of African descendants. The report highlighted that no state has adequately accounted for these past atrocities and their contemporary impacts, emphasizing that the passage of time should not absolve legal obligations to address these historical injustices.