Ghana has welcomed a groundbreaking report by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which unambiguously concludes that perpetrators of transatlantic enslavement are bound to provide reparatory justice.
The UN Committee issued authoritative guidance establishing that States are obligated under the 1965 Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to provide reparatory justice for the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel slavery. Importantly, the Committee dismissed the long-standing defense that these atrocities were legal at the time they occurred, labeling the decision a major paradigm shift.
Reacting to the development, Ghana described the report as the solid legal foundation beneath the moral authority of UN Resolution A/RES/80/250. With this ruling, recognition is turning into obligation, making apology, restitution, compensation, and guarantees of non-repetition matters of duty rather than mere goodwill.
The landmark announcement comes as President John Dramani Mahama presented a comprehensive report at an African Union Extraordinary meeting in Angola regarding the Ghana-led UN Resolution, which declared transatlantic enslavement as the gravest crime against humanity.
Following the Next Steps Summit in Accra, President Mahama—who serves as the African Union Champion for Reparations—is scheduled to host a high-level side event on Restitution in New York during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly next month.
Underscoring the enduring pursuit of accountability, Ghanaian officials emphasized: “A crime does not rot. It was in this spirit that Ghana carried the cause of the enslaved to the United Nations. Today that conviction stands affirmed in international law.”
Ghana reaffirmed its commitment to advancing the campaign alongside key allies across the continent and abroad, adding: “Under the visionary leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, African Union Champion for Reparations, and in unity with our kith and kin across the African Union, CARICOM and the diaspora, our just cause advances. The blood that binds us is stronger than the oceans that appeared to separate us.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
