PHOTOS: President Mahama addresses high-level UN event on reparatory justice

President John Dramani Mahama has spoken about the injustices that defined the transatlantic slave trade, noting that its foundation was built on the denial of African humanity.

Delivering an address at a high-level event on reparatory justice for the trafficking and enslavement of Africans, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, he emphasised the need for international efforts to confront these injustices.

“This resolution allows us, as a global community, to collectively bear witness to the plight of the 18 million men, women, and children whose homes, communities, names, families, hopes, dreams, futures, and lives were stolen from them over the course of four centuries,” he said.

LIVESTREAMED: President Mahama convenes high-level event on reparatory justice

President Mahama also underscored the enduring moral clarity surrounding slavery, stating that wrongdoing is not defined by its prevalence or acceptance in history.

“Just because everybody is doing something doesn’t make it right. Slavery is wrong now, and it was wrong then. For as long as Africans have been trafficked and enslaved, there have been abolitionists who have spoken up against it,” he noted.

He further urged a conscious effort to reclaim humanity in the face of dehumanizing narratives.

“We must also remember to reclaim our own humanity… when we absorb too much of the language of violence and erasure, our minds become enslaved,” he added.

The event forms part of ongoing global discussions aimed at addressing the lasting impact of slavery and advancing reparatory justice for affected communities.

See the photos below:

JKB/MA

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