Mahama outlines three pillars for global reparatory justice

President John Dramani Mahama has outlined three key pillars under Ghana’s “Next Steps” framework aimed at advancing the global campaign for reparatory justice for the descendants of enslaved Africans.

The President presented the framework in New York on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, following the High-Level Consultative Conference on Reparatory Justice held in Accra in June 2026.

President Mahama recalled that on March 25, 2026, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 80/250, with 123 member states declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans a gravest crime against humanity.

He described the resolution as a significant moment of global truth and called for the prompt and unhindered restitution of cultural property, sacred artefacts and national archives taken from Africa.

“But the truth is not a destination. Truth is the starting line. In June this year, Ghana convened a High Level Consultative Conference in Accra,” he stated.

According to President Mahama, the conference brought together leaders from Africa, the Caribbean and the African diaspora to deliberate on the question of what should follow the historic UN resolution.

“Our answer was clear. We must move from acknowledgement to action and from commitments to implementation. And so, the adoption of the Accra Next Steps, commitment for Reparatory Justice, provides that blueprint,” President Mahama said.

He said the first pillar focused on acknowledging progress already made towards the restitution of African cultural heritage.

The President expressed appreciation to the Netherlands for cataloguing 2,000 Ghanaian artefacts for return and also acknowledged Germany’s engagement with the Kpando traditional area.

He further recognised France’s legislative efforts and the return of the Gigi Ayokui talking drums, which he described as sacred talking drums of Cote d’Ivoire.

President Mahama also acknowledged apologies and recognition by church institutions, including the Catholic Church, over their historical roles in slavery.

He called on UNESCO, the United Nations and countries holding African artefacts to develop clear and standardised legal and diplomatic procedures to facilitate provenance research and the return of cultural property.

The second pillar, he said, centred on creating institutions capable of receiving, preserving and showcasing returned cultural treasures.

President Mahama said the African Union’s Agenda 2063 flagship projects included efforts to advance the Great African Museum, which would provide a facility for receiving and preserving returned artefacts.

He added that Ghana was also constructing a state-of-the-art national and traditional institution dedicated to preserving, researching and exhibiting returned treasures.

The third pillar, according to the President, was to recognise cultural heritage as an important contributor to economic and social development rather than treating it as an issue to be addressed only after economic growth.

“And thirdly, cultural heritage is not a luxury item to be addressed after economic development. Heritage itself is an engine of development. Properly preserved and showcased heritage fuels education, identity, international tourism, and a booming creative economy,” President Mahama added.

He urged multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, global foundations and private-sector partners to increase investment in Africa’s cultural infrastructure.

Such support, he said, should be directed towards regional archives, conservation laboratories, digitisation programmes and professional training for a new generation of African curators and historians.

“We cannot rewrite the history of conquests, but we can possess the absolute power to write how we heal from it,” he said.

President Mahama maintained that Africa’s cultural heritage should not be defined solely by its historical removal from the continent, but by efforts to secure its return.

He said the 81st UN General Assembly should therefore be remembered not only as a gathering that acknowledged the past, but also as a platform for building a future in which Africa’s cultural heritage is restored and preserved.