President Mahama discusses US role in slavery and UN resolution vote

However, he believes the US should not bear the guilt for the transatlantic slave trade itself, as European powers were primarily responsible for transporting enslaved Africans when the US was still a colony. President Mahama made these remarks in an interview on August 21, 2026, while addressing the US vote against a Ghana-backed United Nations resolution that declared the transatlantic slave trade the greatest crime against humanity. The US, Israel, and Argentina voted against the resolution.

President Mahama noted that Ghana was not surprised by the US position, as Washington had previously indicated it would not support the resolution, arguing that "you cannot create a hierarchy of crime." While expressing disappointment over the vote, he reiterated that he does not hold the US accountable for the transatlantic slave trade, though he acknowledged that slavery continued in the US after its independence until the Civil War and emancipation.