Brazil backs Ghana’s resolution declaring transatlantic slave trade crime against humanity

Brazil has thrown its weight behind Ghana’s push at the United Nations to declare the transatlantic slave trade a crime against humanity.

The endorsement came from Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who voiced strong support for the initiative led by Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama ahead of a planned vote at the United Nations General Assembly on March 25, 2026.

At the CELAC–Africa Summit in Bogotá, Lula emphasized the importance of unity among developing nations in advancing the resolution.

“Brazil supports the resolution of the African group in the General Assembly that declares that the African human trafficking is one of the worst atrocities of humanity. Without the cohesion and South-South cooperation, we risk paralysis,” he said.

The resolution, expected to be tabled by President Mahama, seeks formal recognition of the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity, while strengthening calls for reparatory justice for affected populations.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, explained that the effort goes beyond financial considerations and is rooted in historical accountability.

“This is a resolution seeking to declare the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity,” he stated.

He further highlighted the scale and brutality of the transatlantic slave trade, stressing the urgency of global acknowledgment.

“For more than 300 years, Africans were treated as property, were tortured, humiliated, raped and forced out of the continent, over 12.5 million of them, in dehumanizing and despicable circumstances.

The world is yet to acknowledge this. Perpetrators are yet to apologize and have not compensated the victims. This is the time to demand reparative justice,” he said.

The backing from Brazil is seen as a significant boost to Ghana’s diplomatic efforts, particularly as both nations share deep historical ties shaped by the legacy of the slave trade.

With growing international attention, the upcoming vote at the UN General Assembly is expected to test global consensus on how historical injustices are formally recognized and addressed.