President John Dramani Mahama, has described the Trans-Atlantic slave trade as the greatest crime against humanity.
Speaking at the Diaspora Summit 2025 at the Accra International Conference Center on Friday, December 19, 2025, he stated that he moved a motion at the UN General Assembly for next year to recognize the trans-Atlantic slave trade as the greatest crime against humanity.
He stated that Africa has suffered slavery, colonialism, genocide, and apartheid, and in view of this, we demand the establishment of reparative justice.
“We demand acknowledgment of these crimes against humanity. We demand the establishment of legal, institutional, and international mechanisms to advance reparative justice,” he stated.
He revealed that beyond the material losses that Africa suffered, there are also emotional costs to access, the various traumas that people of African descent have faced traumas that are being passed down from one generation to another and the injustices that we are currently facing.
He also highlighted some amendments, which included tangible measures such as debt cancellations, monetary compensation, the return of stolen artifacts, institutional reforms, and transformative economic redress in the global economic systems.
He hoped that the motion would be supported and accepted by the entire African continent and the diaspora.
“I know this motion will enjoy the utmost support from the entire African continent and the diaspora,” he said.
Source: Christabel Opare
