African and Caribbean nations support a plan for slavery reparations during a meeting held in Ghana
African and Caribbean nations on Friday called for formal apologies from countries that profited from transatlantic slavery, along with debt relief and financial compensation, as part of a growing movement for reparations.
The demands formed a component of a 19-point reparations plan that received endorsement following a three-day conference in Ghana. This plan was linked to a U.N. resolution that recognized transatlantic slavery as the “gravest crime against humanity,” which was approved in March despite opposition from Europe and the United States—nations with a historical connection to the extensive human trafficking system that resulted in millions being forcibly removed from their homelands.
The African Union and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Commission on Reparatory Justice adopted the plan. It does not specify which particular countries should offer an apology.
It advocates for the creation of a global reparations fund, extensive debt relief and cancellation for impacted nations, along with reforms to international financial institutions to guarantee more equitable representation for countries in the Global South.
It also calls for the return of stolen cultural artifacts and ancestral remains, the provision of climate justice funding, and measures to confront the particular atrocities suffered by African women and girls during the era of slavery.
It calls on African nations to provide the right of return and citizenship options for African diaspora, while also pledging to maintain the coastal forts and castles as memorials.
The U.N. resolution in March received 123 votes in favor; however, the United States, Israel, and 52 other countries, including members of the European Union and Britain, either opposed or abstained from the vote.
Both the EU and the U.S. expressed worries that the resolution might suggest a hierarchy among crimes against humanity, implying that some are more serious than others.
ACCOUNTABILITY, NOT SHAME
Between the 15th and 19th centuries, over 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported by European ships. Advocates emphasize the necessity of taking action to address persistent legacies, such as racism and economic inequality.
CARICOM had earlier established its reparations framework, whereas the African Union was formulating a distinct plan. The conference in Ghana enabled the two organizations to consolidate their efforts into a unified document for presentation at the upcoming U.N. General Assembly.
During the conference, numerous leaders adopted a harmonious tone.
“None of us gathered in this hall today can be held personally responsible for the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade,” stated Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama to the delegates. “History does not demand that we bear guilt, but it calls upon us to embrace responsibility.”
Heads of state from Namibia, Liberia, Senegal, Barbados, and Sao Tome and Principe were in attendance, along with the vice president of Equatorial Guinea.
Speaking virtually from the Elysee Palace, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that enslaved individuals “were torn from their homelands, deported, dehumanized, and treated as goods.”
He also stated that reparations should not be viewed “as an end point, or a check written to bring the story to a close.”
Last month, French lawmakers voted to officially repeal slavery-era laws that classified the legal status of enslaved individuals as “movable property” and sanctioned abuse and corporal punishment, although they did not include calls for reparations.
