Ghana to host high-level UN General Assembly side event to advance reparations agenda — Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans for Ghana to host a high-level side event during the 81st United Nations General Assembly Session in September to advance the global campaign for reparatory justice.

The event will provide an opportunity for Ghana’s newly established panels on reparations and cultural heritage restitution to present progress reports on their work.

Mahama, who is the African Union Champion for Reparations, said he had invited Heads of State to participate in the event as Ghana seeks to build international support for justice and restitution for Africans and people of African descent.

The President disclosed this in a social media post on Monday, August 31, after briefing fellow African leaders at the 21st Extraordinary AU Summit in Luanda, Angola.

“As a follow-up, Ghana will host a high-level side event during the 81st UN General Assembly Session this September to receive progress reports from our established panels," he said.

The planned event is part of Ghana’s efforts to build on the landmark UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/80/250, which was adopted on March 25.

The resolution, spearheaded by Ghana, declared the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as “the gravest crime against humanity”.

It was adopted by 123 countries, with three voting against and 52 abstaining.

Following the UN resolution, Ghana convened a High-Level Consultative Conference on the Next Steps in Accra in June to develop a practical roadmap for advancing reparatory justice.

The three-day conference brought together heads of state and government, ministers, diplomats, academics, legal experts, civil society organisations and representatives of the African diaspora.

It produced the “Accra Next Steps Commitments on Reparatory Justice”.

Mahama also announced the establishment of three global panels to drive the next phase of the campaign.

These include a High-Level Advisory Council on Reparatory Justice, a Global Experts Panel on the Restitution of Cultural Heritage and a Global Legal Panel on Reparatory Justice.

According to the President, Ghana has also expanded the reparations agenda to include indentured labour as a historical injustice.

He said the global debate had shifted significantly, with the return of looted African artefacts, legislative changes and historic acknowledgements by international institutions signalling growing momentum.

“A topic once considered taboo is now reshaping global diplomacy," said Mr. Mahama.