Mahama: Slave trade resolution a pathway to healing and justice
President John Dramani Mahama has stated that the resolution declaring the Transatlantic Slave Trade the gravest crime against humanity marks a critical step toward healing and reparative justice for millions affected by centuries of historical injustice.
Speaking at a High-Level Special Event on Reparatory Justice at the United Nations Headquarters, themed “Reparatory Justice for the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and the Racialised Chattel Enslavement of Africans,” on Tuesday, March 24, President Mahama said the resolution acknowledges the suffering of more than 12.5 million people whose lives were disrupted over hundreds of years.
“This resolution allows us as a global community to bear witness to the plight of more than 12.5 million men and women and children whose homes, community names, families, dreams, and futures were stolen from them over the course of 400 years,” he said.
Mahama said his remarks reflected not only the position of Ghana but also that of Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the wider diaspora.
“I speak these words today not only for the people of Ghana, but also for the rest of Africa and the Caribbean, Latin America and the entire community of the diaspora, and indeed all people of good conscience throughout the world,” he added.
He described the resolution as a significant moral and historical milestone.
“This resolution is a pathway to healing and reparative justice. This resolution is a safeguard against forgetting,” Mahama said.
The president’s comments come amid growing global calls for acknowledgment of historical injustices and renewed discussions around reparations and collective memory.
