'Ghana was the crime scene' - the country leading the demand for slavery reparations

Ghana's Leading Role

Ghana has positioned itself at the forefront of the global movement for reparations for the transatlantic slave trade. The country tabled the resolution at the United Nations and hosted a summit on reparations in its capital, Accra, in June, with delegates from around 80 countries, as reported by the BBC. The summit concluded that recompense was long overdue.

Foreign Minister Samuel Okuzeto Ablakwa told the BBC that Ghana's leadership role is rooted in its history: "Ghana has always been a pan-African leader. We're the first country to attain independence in sub-Saharan Africa and to prove that it is possible to fight imperial might, and win." The African Union has given Ghana special responsibility to act as "champion for reparatory justice," a role the country's political leadership is taking seriously.

Part of the motivation is demographic: an estimated 10-15% of the roughly 12 million Africans forcibly removed from their homes during the slave trade were from what is now Ghana, with even more shipped from its shores. Ablakwa described Ghana as "the crime scene where these atrocities took place," adding that "Ghana cannot afford to be silent on ensuring that we hold perpetrators accountable."

Reparatory Justice Demands

Ablakwa has called for a system of reparatory justice that funds educational grants, venture capital for young African entrepreneurs, and research into enduring health issues that some argue trace their roots to the malnutrition and inhumane conditions of enslavement. He insists the campaign is not about direct financial gain for African leaders, but one demand laid out at the recent summit specifically called for debt relief and debt cancellation.

The minister also wants individual institutions that benefited from the slave trade to pay compensation. Among them is the Church of England, whose missionary wing in the 18th century ran plantations and owned hundreds of slaves, helping to fund its work across the Americas and beyond. Many Church of England clergy independently owned slaves, and a recent report by the Church's endowment fund detailed large investments in enterprises tied to slavery.

In July, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, visited Cape Coast Castle in one of her first international visits in the role. She prayed in a chapel above the dungeons and described the slave trade as "depth of evil." The Church of England has since apologised for its part in the slave trade and established a £100m social impact fund.

Acknowledging Ancestral Involvement

Resistance to reparations often includes the argument that some Africans were complicit in the slave trade. Ablakwa rejects this narrative, arguing that the architecture of chattel enslavement was curated by Western powers and that "no African was at the table" when the laws were drafted.

However, some African leaders have acknowledged ancestral involvement. King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the Ga Mantse, publicly apologised for his ancestors' participation in the slave trade, and apologised on behalf of all traditional authorities and his ancestors for their part.

Criticisms of the Diaspora Campaign

Yaw Asare, a Ghanaian PhD student, criticised the commercialisation of the diaspora campaign, telling the BBC that it "started to become more about tourism quotas than 'repair'." Asare argued that the campaign viewed returning diaspora members as a means of foreign cash flow, raising prices and negatively altering local economies so that local people cannot afford basic things.

He also questioned why diaspora visitors are required to pay entrance fees at the same rates as European tourists at coastal castles where slaves were trafficked. Asare noted that in Jamestown, houses are huddled together because of the historical fear that if people lived far away, they could be taken.

US Opposition to UN Resolution

President John Dramani Mahama expressed disappointment with the United States for voting against a UN resolution recognising the transatlantic slave trade and racialised chattel enslavement as the gravest crime against humanity. Speaking to TRT World on Friday, August 21, Mahama said he did not expect the US to oppose the resolution, arguing that European powers played the leading role in transporting enslaved Africans to the Americas.

"I was disappointed that they did because I don't hold the US accountable for slavery," he said. The President explained that most Africans taken to what later became the United States were transported by European powers at a time when the US was still a colony. He acknowledged, however, that slavery continued in the country after independence and was eventually abolished following the Civil War.

While acknowledging the economic benefits the US gained from slavery, Mahama said he believed European countries that organised and facilitated the transatlantic slave trade should bear greater historical responsibility. "I don't think that they should bear the guilt, in a certain sense, for it because I would have thought that the European countries that brought the slaves there would feel more adverse to the resolution," he said. He also questioned why the US voted against the resolution while several European countries with direct historical links to the slave trade abstained. "Even they abstained," he noted.

The UN General Assembly voted on the resolution on March 25, 2026, with 123 countries in favour, the US, Israel and Argentina against, and 52 abstentions, including Britain and EU member states. The resolution, championed by Mahama in his role as African Union Champion for advancing justice and reparations, calls for dialogue on reparatory justice and the restitution of cultural property. It is not legally binding.

Mahama said the campaign aims for truth, healing and reconciliation, and the issue is expected to remain a key part of Ghana's international diplomatic agenda.