President John Mahama has declared that Ghana will not forget, excuse or downplay the horrors of slavery, as the country prepares to push a United Nations motion to recognise the transatlantic slave trade as the greatest crime against humanity.
Speaking at the opening of the Diaspora Summit 2025 recently, he said the global conversation on reparative justice has reached a decisive moment.
He warned against attempts to erase history, insisting that Africa and its diaspora do not have the luxury of forgetting “the blood that was spilled, the lives that were lost and the years that were sacrificed in order to fight for our freedom.”
President Mahama said this was not a time for historical amnesia, especially when people of African descent continue to face racist language, discrimination and the stripping of rights they have earned.
He said the present moment demands clarity, courage and truth, not silence or excuses.
According to him, this is the time to move forward and begin what he described as a process of reclamation.
He said it is also the moment to speak clearly about what was lost and what must now be restored.
Recalling a lecture by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, he said, “the conspiracy of silence has diminished the horror of what our people faced.”
The President revealed that Ghana has already served notice at the United Nations.
“This year at the UN General Assembly, I served notice that Ghana will move a motion next year to recognise the transatlantic slave trade as the greatest crime against humanity,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the motion will enjoy strong backing across Africa and the diaspora.
He said the continent has endured slavery, colonialism, genocide and apartheid, and must now demand acknowledgement of these crimes against humanity.
President Mahama said reparative justice must go beyond symbolism. He said Africa is demanding legal, institutional and international mechanisms to advance reparations.
He listed debt cancellation, monetary compensation, the return of stolen artefacts, institutional reform and transformative economic redress within the global system as essential elements.
He also pointed to the deeper scars left by slavery and racism. Citing studies on epigenetics, he said trauma can be passed down across generations.
He questioned the impact of centuries of abuse on the health of people of African descent and the well-being of their children. He asked how healing can truly begin without justice.
Quoting Ghanaian-British actress and writer Michelle Cole, the President said fear can either block progress or drive people forward. He urged participants to keep their eyes on the future, stressing that “the future is African.”
Reiterating remarks he made at the UN, President Mahama said Africa and its diaspora hold the power to change the consequences of the past.
He called for deeper unity, saying Africans must now be more intentional about togetherness than their oppressors were about division.
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