African, Caribbean Nations Demand Formal Apology, Reparations for Transatlantic Slavery
African and Caribbean nations have concluded a three-day conference in Accra, Ghana, by formally endorsing a 19-point plan for reparatory justice concerning the transatlantic slave trade. The "Next Steps" conference calls for comprehensive debt relief, the restitution of looted cultural property, and the establishment of a global reparations fund. It also highlights the disproportionate impact of slavery on African women and girls.
Conference leaders have explicitly demanded "full, formal and unconditional apologies" from nations historically involved in the slave trade. Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, stated that history demands a shared responsibility rather than inherited guilt. French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking virtually, acknowledged the dehumanisation of enslaved people but cautioned against reducing reparations solely to financial compensation.
The push for reparations follows a United Nations General Assembly resolution in March that recognised transatlantic slavery as the "gravest crime against humanity." The resolution passed with 123 votes in favour, though the United States, Israel, and Argentina voted against it. The United Kingdom and EU member states were among 52 countries that abstained.
Western powers have consistently rejected calls for reparations. The UK maintains that current institutions cannot be held responsible for past wrongs, while the US stated it does not "recognise a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred."
Historically, governments, including the UK, paid compensation to slave owners following abolition in the 19th century. The UK’s compensation to owners amounted to the equivalent of over £16 billion in current money, with no reparations paid to enslaved Africans or affected nations.
