Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has been urged by an international delegation of reparations advocates to rally African leaders behind a continental push seeking redress for transatlantic slavery and colonialism, as the African Union works on a shared approach to the issue. Reuters reported the meeting took place in Accra in mid-December.
Ghana reparations push and the Accra meetings
Ghana’s foreign ministry said its minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, met a group of experts and advocates for reparations on December 17, including representatives linked to the African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) as well as other Africa- and diaspora-based organisations.
ECOSOCC said the delegation also met Mahama and discussed steps to strengthen coordination between governments and civil society groups working on reparatory justice within Africa and across the diaspora. The delegation also met Ghana’s presidential envoy on reparations, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, ECOSOCC said.
African Union framework for reparatory justice
The African Union’s 2025 theme focuses on “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” and AU communications describe reparatory justice as encompassing measures that can include acknowledgements of wrongdoing, policy reforms, restitution and other forms of redress linked to slavery, colonialism and racial discrimination.
Advocates say the transatlantic slave trade involved the forced removal of millions of Africans over several centuries, with long-term social and economic impacts that remain visible in discrimination and unequal development patterns, according to the delegation’s public messaging and related AU materials.
International debate and Europe’s resistance
Calls for reparations have expanded in recent years across Africa, the Caribbean and diaspora communities, but European governments have generally resisted compensation claims and, in some cases, wider talks about liability, the Reuters report said.
Separately, the Associated Press reported that African officials and diplomats meeting in Algiers last month renewed calls for recognition of colonial-era crimes and reparations, as the AU seeks a more unified legal and diplomatic approach.
Diplomatic next steps and Ghana’s stated role
In late November, Ghana’s vice president, Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, used an AU–EU meeting in Luanda to urge support for a planned United Nations resolution linked to reparations and the historical recognition of the transatlantic slave trade, according to Ghanaian media reports.
The delegation’s appeal to Mahama focuses on building common positions among African governments to back the AU agenda and align it with diaspora initiatives, as discussions continue on what forms reparations could take and how claims might be pursued through diplomacy, policy and international legal pathways.
