By Love Wilhelmina Abanaonave
President John DramanMahama has announced that, he is set to submit a landmark motion to the United Nations (UN) declaring slavery and the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity. This move, aims to seek justice and restitution for the atrocities committed during the slave trade.
The motion, scheduled for submission later this month, represents a significant step towards acknowledging the historical injustices faced by Africans and seeking reparations. Ghana, being the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence, is taking the lead in calling for global recognition and restoration of dignity for the victims of the slave trade.
“Later this month, Ghana will submit a motion to the UN declaring slavery and the trans-atlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity. this motion will represent the justice and restitution that is long overdue and Ghana the first sub saharan african nation to gain independence will once again lead the global call for dignity and restoration”, he noted.
Delivering his Independence speech during Ghana’s 69th Independence Day Celebration at Jubilee house today, March 6, President Mahama emphasized that the slave trade has had a lasting impact on global inequalities, contributing to economic disparities and racial injustice still visible today. He urged world leaders to support the motion, not as a symbolic act, but as a moral imperative towards building a more just world.
The proposed resolution seeks formal international recognition that the trafficking in enslaved Africans constitutes the gravest crime against humanity. Ghana’s initiative has already received endorsement from the African Union and is expected to spark wide-ranging diplomatic debate among UN member states.
