By Hannah Dadzie
The African Group at the United Nations has stepped up diplomatic efforts to secure backing for a landmark resolution on the trafficking and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans, as objections from some member states force the issue toward a vote in the General Assembly.
At a media briefing ahead of expected action on March 25, Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Samuel Yao Kumah, said the African Group was compelled to engage member states directly after one delegation indicated its intention to call for a vote and questions emerged over the final wording of the text.
The draft resolution, submitted by Ghana on behalf of the African Group, seeks to declare the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans a crime against humanity, in what supporters describe as a major moment in the global push for historical justice and reparatory recognition.
Ambassador Kumah said the briefing was intended to clear up misunderstandings and ensure that countries go into the vote with “a full and accurate understanding of the resolution’s purpose, scope, and intent.”
The move signals that despite broad African backing, the resolution is facing resistance from some delegations, particularly over language describing the enslavement of Africans as a uniquely grave historical crime.
Addressing that criticism directly, Ambassador Kumah rejected suggestions that the text creates a hierarchy of suffering among historical atrocities.
“Respectfully, that interpretation is misplaced,” he said, insisting that the resolution does not diminish other crimes such as genocide, apartheid or colonial violence, but instead identifies the transatlantic slave trade and racialised enslavement of Africans as a defining historical system that reshaped the modern world.
The African Group argues that the issue goes beyond symbolism, framing the resolution as part of a broader effort to win international acknowledgement of the enduring consequences of slavery, colonialism and racial exploitation.
According to Ambassador Kumah, the initiative is rooted in African Union decisions adopted at the highest political level, including the designation of 2025 as the year for “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations.”
He said President John Dramani Mahama, who serves as the African Union Champion for Reparations, announced during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2025 that Ghana would lead the tabling of the resolution.
The envoy also pushed back against any suggestion that the draft had been rushed through the UN system, saying it had undergone seven rounds of informal consultations and extensive engagement with regional and political groupings.
“The text now before the Assembly is therefore the product of sustained dialogue, compromise, and good faith multilateral engagement,” he said. Still, the decision by at least one delegation to force a vote highlights the sensitivity surrounding how the international community confronts the legacy of slavery and its continuing impact on global inequality.
In an appeal, Ambassador Kumah said legal arguments should not be used to avoid moral responsibility or historical truth.
“The law must never again serve as a shield to avoid truth,” he said. “It must instead stand where it belongs, on the side of justice, memory, and the dignity of humanity.”
He urged member states to back the resolution, saying support should be seen not as an act of accusation, but as an affirmation that the United Nations can confront painful history with honesty and courage.
The expected vote on March 25 is now shaping up as more than a procedural step. It is likely to serve as a measure of how far the international community is prepared to go in recognising slavery and racialised enslavement as foundational crimes whose consequences still echo through today’s global order.
