Ghana leads global demand for slavery reparations

The country tabled a resolution at the United Nations, which recognized slavery as "the greatest crime against humanity," though the United States voted against it and European nations abstained. Ghana, designated by the African Union as the "champion for reparatory justice," hosted a summit in Accra where delegates from 80 countries concluded that recompense is long overdue. Foreign Minister Samuel Okuzeto Ablakwa emphasizes Ghana's historical role as a pan-African leader and highlights that a significant portion of enslaved Africans were from or shipped from what is now Ghana, calling the country "the crime scene where these atrocities took place."

He proposes a reparatory justice system funding educational grants, venture capital for young African entrepreneurs, and research into health issues linked to enslavement, also seeking accountability and compensation from institutions like the Church of England, which benefited from slave labor. While the Church of England has apologized and established a £100m social impact fund, its creation has faced resistance. Foreign Minister Ablakwa rejects the narrative of African complicity, stating that the architecture of chattel enslavement was designed by Western powers.

However, within Ghana, some t