Ghana Hosts International Conference to Advance Reparatory Justice After Historic UN Resolution

Ghana is hosting an international conference to advance reparatory justice for Africa, following the historic UN resolution that declared the transatlantic slave trade a crime against humanity.

The conference, titled Next Steps, runs for three days starting Wednesday in the capital Accra. It brings together heads of state, ministers, civil society representatives, historians, researchers, and legal experts from more than 80 countries. This is the largest gathering on the issue since the resolution was adopted.

A notable event during the conference is a Juneteenth commemoration on June 19, held at Osu Castle—a 17th-century Danish-built fort that once served as a hub for the transatlantic slave trade.

Speakers expected include African Union Commission Chair Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, and presidents John Mahama, Joseph Boakai, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, and Emmanuel Macron from Ghana, Liberia, Namibia, Senegal, and France respectively.

According to organizers, the conference focuses on five main goals, including building a framework to advance the UN resolution's objectives globally and establishing global councils for reparatory justice and restitution. The aim is to "translate political momentum into concrete, shared institutional commitments for reparatory justice."

The conference comes nearly three months after the UN General Assembly voted to adopt a proposal by Ghana on behalf of African Union member states, recognizing the transatlantic slave trade and racial slavery as the gravest crime against humanity.

The vote saw 123 countries support the proposal, three (the US, Israel, and Argentina) oppose it, and 52, including the UK and all EU members, abstain.

The transatlantic slave trade spanned roughly 400 years from the early 16th to the late 19th century. Previous African initiatives to address historical injustices were often fragmented. The UN resolution is seen as a turning point following efforts such as the 1993 Abuja Proclamation, which called for reparations for colonialism and the slave trade and laid the groundwork for the reparatory justice campaign.

In the concept note, Ghana states: "This resolution marks a fundamental shift in the international community's response to the transatlantic slave trade, replacing commemorative gestures with the pursuit of historical truth and dialogue aimed at reconciliation and justice."

The resolution acknowledges the enduring legacy of slavery and calls on UN member states to engage in "good-faith, inclusive dialogue" on reparatory justice and the "expeditious, unencumbered" restitution of cultural property and other assets valuable to countries of origin.

The Accra conference seeks to build on the UN's success by discussing mechanisms to turn the resolution's potential into concrete action commitments.

The resolution has already triggered ripple effects. Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron called on France to face its role in enslaving Africans, using the term "reparations" for the first time—a term previous French presidents avoided. Also last month, Pope Leo XIV issued a historic apology for the Vatican's role in legitimizing slavery and its delay in condemning the practice.

Kyeretwie Osei, head of programs at the Economic, Social, and Cultural Council (an AU civil society policy body), said the global discourse on reparatory justice is gaining momentum and is at its most promising stage. He stated: "There is a slow but substantive movement toward a global reckoning on this issue. The conference will allow Africa to ensure necessary structures are in place and the political will we have seen is properly leveraged and channeled to give the most practical meaning to this unique moment."

The conference includes representatives from outside Africa, such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Caricom Reparations Commission, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Liliane Umubyeyi, co-founder and CEO of African Futures Lab, a nonprofit raising awareness about racial injustice, described the event as an opportunity for the reparatory justice movement to expand into a broader alliance with countries outside Africa and the Caribbean—a region with a growing reparations movement. She added: "This will significantly boost the reparations agenda, especially if other international organizations that were previously hesitant start to engage."