UNGA81: Mahama calls for structural action to address legacy of slave trade

President John Dramani Mahama has renewed Ghana’s call for reparatory justice for the transatlantic slave trade and the racialised chattel enslavement of Africans, insisting that historical acknowledgement must lead to meaningful action.

Addressing the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, September 24, 2026, President Mahama said Ghana’s campaign for justice was not intended to reopen old wounds but to promote healing and address the lasting consequences of slavery.

“Some cautioned that we were reopening old wounds. But we came not to provoke division or render empty judgment. We came to seek healing. True healing requires truth; truth requires acknowledgement; and acknowledgement must lead to meaningful repair,” he said.

President Mahama recalled Ghana’s role in bringing the issue before the UN General Assembly, noting that on March 25, 2026, Ghana tabled Resolution A/RES/80/250, which received the support of 123 countries.

He said the resolution represented more than a symbolic acknowledgement of historical injustice, arguing that the effects of slavery continue to shape economic and social relations today.

“That resolution was not a mere gesture. It was adopted because the structural legacies of those historic crimes continue to fuel systemic racism, economic marginalisation, and a global financial architecture weighted against Africa and people of African descent,” he stated.

According to President Mahama, genuine reparatory justice must therefore address the structural inequalities that continue to disadvantage Africa and people of African descent.

“But real repair demands structural transformation. It requires dismantling the persistent engines of exploitation: unfair global trade regimes, predatory resource extraction, discriminatory credit ratings, unsustainable debt burdens, and the continued export of raw materials from Africa while real value addition and job creation occur elsewhere,” he said.

He welcomed what he described as positive moves by countries and institutions towards dialogue on reparatory justice and restitution, specifically mentioning the Netherlands, Germany and France.

President Mahama, however, stressed that the conversation must ultimately result in structural changes that address the continuing economic consequences of historical injustices.

Ghana has taken a leading role in the international campaign for recognition and reparatory justice for the transatlantic slave trade and chattel enslavement of Africans.

In his address, President Mahama linked the historical injustice to contemporary challenges facing Africa, including systemic racism, economic marginalisation, unequal global financial arrangements, resource extraction and the export of raw materials without sufficient value addition.