Ghana leads global call for transatlantic slave trade reparations
Ghana is at the forefront of the global movement demanding reparations for the transatlantic slave trade, advocating for formal apologies, debt relief, and financial compensation. The country tabled a UN resolution in March recognizing slavery as "the greatest crime against humanity," and hosted a summit in Accra in June with delegates from 80 countries, concluding that recompense is long overdue. Foreign Minister Samuel Okuzeto Ablakwa states that Ghana, as the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence, has been given special responsibility by the African Union to be a "champion for reparatory justice." He emphasizes that 10-15% of the estimated 12 million Africans forcibly removed during the slave trade were from present-day Ghana, making it a "crime scene" that cannot remain silent. Ablakwa proposes a system of reparatory justice funding educational grants, venture capital for young African entrepreneurs, and research into health issues potentially linked to enslavement. He also calls for individual institutions, such as the Church of England, to be held accountable and pay compensation. The Church of England, which benefited from slave trade investments, has established a 拢100 million social impact fund, though this has met with internal resistance. While some argue African complicity in the slave trade, Ablakwa rejects this, asserting that Western slave-owning powers curated the system. However, within Ghana, the conversation is more nuanced; King Tackie Teik
