President John Mahama has clarified that Africa’s renewed push for reparations over the transatlantic slave trade is not currently centred on financial compensation, but on securing global acknowledgement of historical injustice.
Speaking at the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, Mahama emphasised that the immediate objective is to obtain formal recognition at the United Nations that the trafficking and enslavement of Africans constituted one of the gravest crimes against humanity.
“Yes, people have done research on value,” he said in response to questions about potential compensation figures.
“But our resolution has nothing to do with quantum for now.”
According to him, discussions about monetary sums are premature. The continent’s priority, he stressed, is truth and formal acknowledgment.
“The first step towards healing is truth,” Mahama stated.
