Ghana Urges UN General Assembly to Recognize Transatlantic Slave Trade as Gravest Crime Against Humanity

Ghana has taken a leading role at the United Nations, urging member states to support a draft resolution that would formally designate the transatlantic slave trade and the racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.

On the eve of the resolution’s tabling at the UN General Assembly on March 25, 2026 – coinciding with the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade – Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Samuel Yao Kumah, has briefed the press on behalf of the African Group.

Ambassador Kumah emphasised that the resolution does not seek to “rank suffering” or establish a legal hierarchy among historical atrocities. Instead, it acknowledges the unique scale, duration, racialised nature, and enduring consequences of the transatlantic trafficking and enslavement of Africans, describing it as a “historical rupture” that laid the foundations for modern racial hierarchies and global economic disparities.

The initiative, initiated by Ghana in late 2025 and advanced under President John Dramani Mahama – designated as the African Union Champion for Reparations – builds on years of advocacy by African and Caribbean nations. Ghana, home to numerous slave forts and castles such as Elmina and Cape Coast through which millions of Africans passed, has positioned itself as a moral leader in the global reparatory justice movement.

The zero draft of the resolution has been circulated for consultations, with strong backing from the African Union (AU), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and a broad coalition across the Global South. The AU has declared 2026 – 2035 the Decade of Action on Reparations and African Heritage, aligning the push with broader continental priorities.

The resolution’s proposed title – “Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialised Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime Against Humanity” – highlights not only the crime’s brutality but its legalized, systematic character over four centuries. It draws on precedents such as the 1993 Abuja Proclamation and the 2023 Accra Proclamation, which affirmed the enslavement and trafficking of Africans as unprecedented crimes demanding repair.

Historians estimate that between 1501 and 1866, approximately 12.5 million Africans were forcibly embarked on slave ships destined for the Americas, with about 10.7 million surviving the horrific Middle Passage. Millions more perished during raids, forced marches to the coast, or in seasoning camps. European powers – Portugal, Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and others – dominated the trade, transporting captives primarily from West and West-Central Africa to labour on plantations producing sugar, cotton, tobacco, and other commodities that fuelled the rise of Western economies.

The trade’s legacy extends far beyond those centuries. Studies link it to persistent intergenerational effects, including wealth gaps, underdevelopment in affected African regions, and structural racism in the diaspora. The Economic Commission for Africa and other bodies have documented how the extraction of human capital contributed to long-term economic divergence between Africa and the West.

Ghana has secured notable endorsements. The US Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has offered “100% support,” announced by Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa following engagements in Washington, DC. CARICOM nations, which have long pursued reparations through their Reparations Commission, are key partners. Civil society groups and experts on reparations have also rallied behind the initiative.

However, resistance is anticipated from some Western nations, particularly in Europe and potentially parts of the United States government, which have historically been cautious about formal reparations frameworks. Ghanaian officials have criticised such positions, urging countries to stand “on the right side of history and justice.”

Ambassador Kumah clarified that the resolution aims to catalyse dialogue on recognition and repair without creating new legal obligations or establishing a hierarchy among historical crimes. Supporters argue it addresses a gap – the UN has marked the remembrance day annually since 2007 but has never passed a comprehensive resolution of this nature on the slave trade itself.

The push occurs amid a global resurgence of interest in historical justice. The AU’s 2025 theme, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” underscores the view that unresolved historical injustices impede contemporary development and equity.

Proponents, including President Mahama, argue that true healing requires not only remembrance but structured processes for repair – ranging from apologies and education to economic cooperation and restitution of cultural heritage.

As the General Assembly prepares to consider the text on March 25, the world watches whether this symbolic yet substantive declaration can bridge divides or deepen debates over the past’s place in the present. Ghana’s leadership reflects a growing assertiveness from African nations in international forums: no longer content with mere commemoration, they seek formal acknowledgment as a foundation for meaningful global dialogue on justice.

The resolution, if adopted, would not bind states legally but could shift the moral and diplomatic landscape, opening avenues for bilateral and multilateral reparatory initiatives. For millions descended from the enslaved – and for nations still grappling with the trade’s shadows – it represents a long-sought step toward truth-telling and repair.