Netherlands, Germany pledge return of 2,000 artefacts to Ghana
The announcement came at the Next Steps Conference on Reparatory Justice and Restitution in Accra in June where Dutch and German ambassadors presented President John Dramani Mahama with a catalogue of items scheduled for return during a plenary session.
For decades, thousands of Ghanaian treasures have sat in European museums and private collections, far removed from the communities that made them. Officials say the latest deal marks a significant step towards restoring that heritage.
A renewed push for reparations
Speaking to delegates from more than 80 countries, Mahama pointed to a United Nations resolution on the trafficking of enslaved Africans as grounds for fresh international engagement on reparations. He argued that recognising this history brings with it a duty to act, and stressed that the legacy of slavery still shapes Africa, the Caribbean and the wider diaspora today.
German Ambassador to Ghana Frederik Landshöft framed the repatriation as evidence of Germany's willingness to reckon with its colonial past and deepen ties with Ghana, describing the return of cultural heritage to its rightful communities as central to that process.
Dutch Ambassador Jeroen Verheul struck a similar note, calling the artefacts markers of identity for Ghanaian communities rather than simple museum pieces, and describing their return as a move towards a more balanced relationship between Europe and Africa. A ceremonial cap worn by courtiers at coronations returned by the British on display at Manhyia Museum at Kumasi, Ghana.
What's being returned
The items due for repatriation include ceremonial objects and traditional regalia, among other culturally significant pieces. Ghanaian and European authorities are expected to hold further consultations before the artefacts are handed over in phases.
Ghana seeks formal UN acknowledgement of African slave trade injustice
Ghana's Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, welcomed the move as a milestone in the country's pursuit of historical justice, framing the artefacts as carriers of Ghanaian history, identity and spirituality. He also noted that Denmark's foreign minister had apologised for the country's role in the transatlantic slave trade and pledged support for preserving the former slave castles built on Ghanaian soil, part of what Ablakwa described as growing momentum among European partners since Ghana led the push for the UN resolution.
Ablakwa added that Ghana's reparations campaign extends well beyond financial compensation, encompassing the return of stolen artefacts and what he called the restoration of collective memory and dignity.
Ghana summit charts path from 'recognition to action' on slavery reparations
Building on the Asante return
The announcement follows a landmark 2024 handover, when 32 Asante treasures came back to Ghana more than 150 years after British colonial forces seized them. The British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum returned gold and silver regalia, ceremonial swords and a gold peace pipe, taken during the Anglo-Asante wars following the sacking of Kumasi in 1874.
Those items were handed to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, under a long-term loan, and are now on display at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi for an initial three-year period, with scope for extension.
That return was widely celebrated in Ghana and has fuelled continued calls for the permanent repatriation of African treasures still held across European museums and private collections.