Akufo-Addo renews calls for appropriate slave trade reparations

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reaffirmed Ghana's commitment to demand payment of the appropriate slave trade reparations, emphasising the critical role the country played in transatlantic slave trade.

He stated that 75 percent of the slave castles for which the trade passed through were situated in Ghana, underscoring the country's involvement.

According to a report by 3news.com, he made these remarks at an event organised by the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the site of the Ark of Return, a permanent memorial that was erected to honour victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade at the United Nations (UN) headquarters.

He said with the full support of the African Union (AU) following the Accra Reparation Conference, which was held in 2023 in Ghana, he was hopeful that a global commission will soon be set up to champion the efforts.

“Ghana has quite a big responsibility for the slave trade. 75 percent of the slave castles for which the trade passed through are situated on Ghana soil, so we are particularly involved in the events and what has happened since. This is why last year we convened the Accra reparations conference to focus the mind of the world on the steps that need now to be taken," he noted.

Nana Akufo-Addo further outlined the critical areas of focus in addressing the legacy of the slave trade.

“In our view, three things are critical; One, we gather the global African family together like what is happening today to say that we will not ever again experience such a barbaric and inhumane set of transactions, and we make a firm commitment never to subject the African people to this inhumane practice.

“Secondly, to use the occasion of our coming together to make a clear statement to the world as to how we see the forward movement of the African peoples as a result of this tragic experience and that is how we have now come to champion first of all, “the year of return,” that saw so many people from the global African family coming back to Ghana to reconnect."

He added “Thirdly, to make the demand, which is now on the table for reparations. The Accra reparations conference went a long way in making some important decisions about the need to establish a global commission on reparations, which will then fuel the conversation and chat a way forward in being able to arrive not just at the reparations but also at the process of healing and the process of reconciliation that is an inevitable part of the process.”

2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the UNESCO Routes of Enslaved Peoples Programme, which has significantly advanced a better understanding of the history and impact of enslavement through research, knowledge production, and awareness-raising campaigns.

Established in 1994 through the joint initiative of Benin and Haiti, the Programme has driven targeted advocacy efforts that culminated in the United Nations formally recognizing the transatlantic slave trade and enslavement as crimes against humanity.

JKB/ ADG

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