African, Caribbean Leaders Demand Reparations for Slave Trade

African and Caribbean leaders have forged a united front to demand reparations for centuries of the transatlantic slave trade, marking a significant step toward coordinated action. At a conference in Ghana, participating nations adopted a "conclusions document" outlining a comprehensive roadmap. This plan includes demands for financial compensation, cultural restitution, debt relief, and climate justice.

The initiative gained momentum after Ghana successfully sponsored a UN resolution that declared the transatlantic slave trade a crime against humanity. However, the vote highlighted international divisions, with 52 countries, including all EU members and Britain, abstaining. The United States, Israel, and Argentina voted against the resolution, underscoring the ongoing challenges in achieving global consensus on the issue.

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For the first time, we have achieved a convergence that has eluded this movement for many centuries.

Ghana's Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, hailed the agreement as a historic convergence, stating, "For the first time, we have achieved a convergence that has eluded this movement for many centuries." French President Emmanuel Macron, addressing the conference via video link, defended France's abstention, arguing that "History cannot be reduced to a simple accounting exercise" and that reparations should not be seen as a way to "settle the bill."

The scale of the historical injustice is immense, with estimates suggesting that around 12.5 million Africans were forced onto slave ships over four centuries, and approximately 2 million died during the brutal Middle Passage. Portugal and the United Kingdom were historically the largest transporters of enslaved people. The discussions also touched upon other historical grievances, such as Namibia's ongoing negotiations with Germany for reparations related to the 1904-1908 genocide of the Herero and Nama people.

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History cannot be reduced to a simple accounting exercise. Reparations cannot in any way constitute (...) a check that will 'settle the bill' by closing the case.