Ghana to table UN resolution declaring slave trade a crime against humanity on March 25
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that President John Dramani Mahama will table a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly to declare the Transatlantic Slave Trade as the gravest crime against humanity.
The resolution is scheduled to be presented on March 25, 2026, aligning with the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
According to the Ministry, Ghana is leading the initiative in its role as the African Union Champion on Reparations, in collaboration with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and other stakeholders.
The draft resolution seeks to formally recognise the trafficking and enslavement of Africans as a defining atrocity in world history, citing its scale, brutality, and enduring global consequences.
The statement noted that, if adopted, the resolution would be the first comprehensive United Nations resolution on slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the organisation’s history. It is expected to preserve historical truth while advancing calls for reparatory justice, accountability, and healing.
The Ministry emphasised that recognising the Transatlantic Slave Trade as a crime against humanity would also address longstanding structural inequalities linked to global development gaps, debt imbalances, and climate vulnerabilities.
Ahead of the tabling, a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the African Burial Ground in New York on March 24, followed by a high-level event on reparatory justice at the UN Conference Room.
Ghana further called on all UN member states to support the resolution, urging them to stand on the “right side of history and justice.”
The Ministry expressed appreciation to international partners, including the African Union, UNESCO, and CARICOM, as well as experts and institutions that contributed to drafting the resolution.
