Key facts
- Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said Western countries are increasingly supporting reparations for the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
- The initial focus of the reparations campaign is the restitution of looted artifacts.
- Later stages may include formal apologies, debt relief, and financial compensation.
- The UN recognized trans-Atlantic slavery as "the gravest crime against humanity" in March with 123 votes in favor.
- The US, Israel, and Argentina voted against the UN resolution; EU members and the UK abstained.
- France, Germany, and the Netherlands have pledged to return artifacts to Ghana.
Ghana, a leading voice in the campaign for reparations for the trans-Atlantic slave trade, announced on Wednesday that support from Western countries is increasing. Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa stated that the initial focus of the effort will be the restitution of looted artifacts, with subsequent phases potentially including formal apologies, debt relief, and financial compensation.
The campaign's 19-point plan, adopted by the African Union and the Caribbean Community Commission on Reparatory Justice in June, outlines these broader goals. This development follows a UN resolution passed in March that recognized trans-Atlantic slavery as "the gravest crime against humanity." The resolution garnered 123 votes in favor, with the US, Israel, and Argentina voting against it, while 52 countries, including EU members and the UK, abstained.
Ablakwa noted that many European nations that abstained on the UN vote have since reached out to Ghana, expressing their commitment to collaborate on the reparations journey. Specifically, the UK and Portugal have offered their support, and the US has also indicated a willingness to engage with Ghana's initiative. France, Germany, and the Netherlands have pledged to return artifacts, a step Ablakwa emphasized as crucial for the restitution process.
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, approximately 12.5 million Africans were enslaved and transported across the Atlantic, primarily to South America, the Caribbean, and North America, where they labored in mines and on plantations. This forced labor generated significant wealth that contributed to the development of Western powers, while simultaneously inflicting enduring economic and social harm on the enslaved populations and their descendants. According to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, Portugal and Britain were responsible for transporting over 70% of all enslaved Africans during this period.