Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has met with an international delegation pressing African leaders to intensify calls for reparations for transatlantic slavery and colonial rule, as the African Union works to shape a common position on the issue.
The talks, held in Accra, brought together experts from Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. The group urged Mahama to encourage fellow African heads of state to support the reparations campaign and to place unity at the center of the effort, according to a statement released Friday.
The delegation presented Mahama with priority proposals aligned with the African Union’s reparations agenda. Earlier this year, the AU launched an initiative aimed at building a shared framework for what reparations could involve, ranging from financial redress and official acknowledgments to institutional and policy changes.
Advocates say a coordinated African position is essential as the debate gains global attention but also faces resistance. Many European governments have opposed formal discussions on reparations, arguing that present day states should not be held liable for historical injustices.
Historians estimate that at least 12.5 million Africans were abducted and forcibly transported across the Atlantic between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Campaigners argue that the legacy of slavery and colonial exploitation continues to shape economic inequality and racial discrimination today.
While Ghana has long played a leading role in reparations advocacy, the delegation stressed that progress will depend on broader political alignment across the continent. They called on African leaders to show resolve and to stand with civil society groups and affected communities both in Africa and across the diaspora.
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Alongside the meeting with Mahama, the delegation also held discussions this week with Ghana’s foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and with Ekwow Spio Garbrah, the president’s envoy on reparations.
Momentum on the issue has been uneven internationally. At a recent European Union and African Union summit in Luanda, leaders from both regions acknowledged the suffering caused by slavery and colonialism but stopped short of endorsing reparations. During that gathering, Ghana’s vice president, Jane Opoku Agyemang, urged European states to back a United Nations resolution Ghana is preparing that would recognize slavery as one of the gravest crimes against humanity.
