Ghana to lay wreath at New York burial ground ahead of UN reparations resolution
Ghana will lay a wreath at the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York City on March 24 2026, as part of events leading to the presentation of a slavery resolution at the United Nations General Assembly, President John Dramani Mahama has announced.
The President announced this on Sunday, February 15, 2026, during a press conference held on the margins of the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly in Addis Ababa, where he spoke in his role as the African Union Champion for Reparations.
Mr Mahama said the ceremony would take place a day before Ghana tables the resolution at the General Assembly.
“On March 24, Ghana will host a high-level side event at the United Nations, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York,” he said. “What cannot be undone can be acknowledged, and acknowledgement is the first step toward justice.”
The monument, located in Lower Manhattan near City Hall, is described by the United States National Park Service as the oldest and largest excavated burial ground in North America for free and enslaved Africans. Historical records indicate that about 15,000 people were buried at the site between the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The location was rediscovered in 1991 during excavation works for a federal office building.
Mr Mahama said the wreath laying formed part of diplomatic engagements linked to the resolution. From February 20 Ghana will hold meetings in New York with the Caribbean Community, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Group of 77 and China, the European Union and other regional groupings. Informal consultations on the draft text are scheduled between February 23 and March 2026.
On March 25 2026, observed internationally as the day of remembrance for victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, Ghana will table the resolution at the General Assembly with co-sponsors and backing from the African Union.
Mr Mahama clarified that the submission is intended for the Assembly rather than the Security Council, correcting earlier references made during summit proceedings.
The resolution bears the title “Declaration of the Trafficking in Enslaved Africans and Racialised Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime Against Humanity.” Mr Mahama said the wording reflects the scale of trafficking, the racial basis of chattel enslavement and the lasting effects of those actions.
The African Union Assembly adopted the decision to endorse the resolution by consensus at its session, giving Ghana what Mr Mahama described as “a clear and unified continental mandate.” Earlier in February, Ghana hosted a meeting in Accra bringing together African Union experts and legal advisers who reviewed the draft text.
Mr Mahama said the initiative draws on historical record, legal grounding and alignment between Africa and the diaspora. He referred to the prohibition of slavery under international law as a peremptory norm from which no derogation is permitted.
“The initiative is not directed at any nation. It is directed toward truth, recognition and reconciliation,” he said.
“African enslavement and racialised chattel enslavement were foundational crimes that shaped the modern world, and their consequences continue to appear in structural inequality, racial discrimination and economic disparity. Recognition is not about division.”
Ghana’s next engagement is scheduled for the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community later in February. Mr Mahama said support from Caribbean states reflects shared historical ties between Africa and the region.
The African Union assigned Ghana the reparations mandate following the adoption of Decision 884 in February 2024, which declared 2025 the Year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations. In September 2025, Mr Mahama announced Ghana’s intention to present the resolution at the United Nations session in New York.
The African Burial Ground National Monument stands at 290 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, New York City, and is administered by the United States National Park Service.
