Ghana to Table Historic UN Resolution Declaring Transatlantic Slave Trade as ‘Gravest Crime Against Humanity
Ghana is set to introduce a landmark resolution at the United Nations General Assembly seeking to formally declare the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the resolution will be tabled for consideration and possible adoption on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 — the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
The initiative is being led by President John Dramani Mahama in his capacity as the African Union Champion on Reparations. It is being advanced in collaboration with the African Union, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and people of African descent worldwide.
According to the ministry, the resolution would officially recognise the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialised Chattel Enslavement as the gravest crime against humanity “by reason of the definitive break in world history, scale, duration, systemic nature, brutality and enduring consequences.”
If adopted, it would become the first comprehensive United Nations resolution on slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the organisation’s 80-year history.
The statement described the move as an effort to “preserve historical truth as a foundation for justice and reconciliation” and to respond to growing global calls for reparatory justice, accountability, and healing.
As part of the events leading up to the tabling, a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the African Burial Ground in New York on Tuesday, March 24, followed by a high-level event on reparatory justice at the United Nations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed appreciation to UNESCO, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and various African Union bodies for their technical contributions to the drafting of the resolution.
Ghana has called on all UN member states to support the initiative, describing it as a defining moment in the global pursuit of justice and the acknowledgement of the long-term consequences of slavery.
The country is expected to continue advocating for reparatory justice as part of the African Union’s Decade of Action on Reparations and African Heritage (2026–2036).
This diplomatic move represents one of Ghana’s most significant interventions on the international stage in recent years regarding historical justice and reparations.
