By Sharon Zoe Williams
President John Dramani Mahama has issued a stirring call to the international community to move beyond symbolic gestures and embrace a “strategic and international commitment” to reparatory justice.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly today, March 25, 2026, to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the President formally presented an African Union-backed resolution seeking to declare the trafficking and chattel enslavement of Africans as the “gravest crime against humanity.”
The President’s address was anchored in a profound reclamation of dignity, specifically challenging the historical lexicon used to describe the victims of the trade.
“There was no such thing as a ‘slave’,” President Mahama asserted, emphasizing that the 18 million men, women, and children stolen from the continent were human beings who were trafficked and then systematically enslaved.
He argued that the very foundation of the trade was a “racial hierarchy” designed to strip Africans of their humanity, a legacy that continues to fuel global inequalities today.
A cornerstone of the President’s presentation was the formal submission of the AU resolution, which serves as a pathway for global recognition and redress.
He noted that the time for “hide-and-seek with language” has ended. “The legal foundations are sound; the moral imperative is undeniable,” the President stated, representing a unified voice from the African continent, the Caribbean, and the wider Diaspora.
He characterized the resolution not merely as an act of commemoration, but as a necessary step toward healing the wounds of “racialized chattel enslavement.”
Beyond the moral argument, President Mahama highlighted the economic extraction that fueled the development of many Western nations at the expense of African lives and resources.
He urged UN member states to transition from rhetoric to action by establishing national reparations commissions and engaging in formal dialogue with historical perpetrator states.
“Reparatory justice will not be handed to us,” he reminded the assembly, calling for the same courage that fueled the struggle for political independence to now be applied to the quest for restitution.
Linking the past to the present, the President reiterated his demand for a fundamental “reset” of the United Nations to reflect the realities of the 21st century.
He argued that true justice includes permanent African representation on the Security Council and a reform of the global financial architecture, which he described as “rigged against Africa.” He warned that the “town square of our global village” risks irrelevance if it continues to operate under systems designed when the continent had no voice.
President Mahama also called on the current generation of global leaders to be remembered for their courage rather than their hesitation.
He urged the passing of the resolution as a safeguard for the future, ensuring that the history of African ancestors is honored through tangible justice. “The world is watching,” he concluded, “and the era of reparatory justice has officially begun.”
