President Mahama to file motion on slavery at UN March 25
President John Dramani Mahama is to file a consequential resolution on the historic Transatlantic Slave Trade at the United Nations (UN) on March 25 this year, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has said.
“The resolution will be seeking a UN vote to declare the transatlantic slave trade as the greatest crime against humanity, and to demand reparations for all people of African descent,” he said, adding that it would also demand reparations for all people of African descent who had been victims of slavery.
The minister made this known in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra last Friday.
Background
March 25 is a date set aside by the UN to be observed globally as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
According to the UN, the slave trade, which spanned 400 years, forcefully took more than 15 million men, women and children from Africa to other parts of the world, especially North and South America, the Caribbean and Europe as labour for plantation farms and industries.
An estimated one to two million slaves died and were thrown into the oceans en route to their respective destinations.
European and American slave owners were compensated for losing their slaves after the abolition of slavery and the slave trade between the 1830s and 1900s across the world, while the victims and countries born after independence had not been duly recognised and paid reparations.
This had left Africa with scars, with the UN calling for the establishment of an outreach programme to mobilise educational institutions, civil society and other organisations to inculcate in future generations the "causes, consequences and lessons of the transatlantic slave trade, and to communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice".
President Mahama’s decision to file the resolution, therefore, would be the first time an African Head of State would formally call for a vote at the UN on slavery and the seeking of reparations.
Consultations
The minister said President Mahama, who was appointed the AU Champion for Reparations last year, would continue to seek the support of other African Heads of State and Heads of Government as he files the resolution.
“This is a very defining and consequential resolution for Africans everywhere. This month, when he addresses his colleagues at the AU Summit, he will talk about it and seek support.
“This is what he's decided to do to leave a lasting legacy and to move the agenda forward for reparations.
“We have a team of experts and scholars from the AU, the Caribbean, the AU Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), and the Caribbean Community. We have consulted experts across the globe, and we are working together. So, it's a monumental effort,” he said.
AU Chairmanship
Mr Ablakwa expressed gratitude to African leaders for the great honour bestowed on President Mahama to lead the continental body, following a motion last year at the ECOWAS Ministerial Council to endorse President Mahama as West Africa's sole candidate for the AU Chairmanship.
“The unanimous endorsement meant authoritatively that President Mahama is the AU Chairman in waiting, as next year, it would be the turn of the West African bloc to lead the continental body, headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“What you can expect is a visionary, dynamic, Pan-African leadership, which puts the concerns of the African people at the centre,” he added.
The minister further said that, as part of the President’s vision, intra-African trade would be prioritised to boost development and the economies of the continent.
He said President Mahama would champion industrialisation and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) policies to the benefit of Africa’s youth.
