President Mahama Heads to New York for UN High-Level Event on Reparatory Justice – Will Push Landmark Resolution on Slavery as ‘Gravest Crime Against Humanity’

President John Dramani Mahama departs Accra today, Monday, March 23, 2026, for New York City to lead Ghana’s high-profile participation in United Nations activities marking the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (observed annually on March 25).

The visit centres on advancing the global push for reparatory justice, with the President scheduled to deliver a major keynote address and champion a landmark resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement as the gravest crime against humanity.

Presidential Spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu confirmed the details in an official statement:

“President Mahama will convene and deliver the keynote address at a High-Level Special Event on Reparatory Justice at the United Nations Headquarters,” themed “Reparatory Justice for the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and the Racialised Chattel Enslavement of Africans.”

The event is expected to convene world leaders, high-level dignitaries, diplomats, scholars, and civil society representatives to confront this enduring historical injustice and explore concrete pathways toward accountability, healing, and restitution.

Key Engagements in New York

• Wednesday, March 25, 2026: President Mahama will address the United Nations General Assembly, presenting Ghana’s position — fully endorsed by the African Union — on the Draft Resolution. The resolution formally designates the transatlantic slave trade and chattel slavery as the gravest crime against humanity, invoking jus cogens norms and demanding full reparation under international law.
• High-Level Special Event: As convenor and keynote speaker, the President will set the tone for discussions on formal apology, compensation, restitution, rehabilitation, return of cultural artefacts, education, memorialisation, and guarantees of non-repetition.
• Wreath-Laying Ceremony: The President will participate in a solemn wreath-laying at the African Burial Ground National Monument in Lower Manhattan, honouring the thousands of enslaved Africans buried there — a powerful symbol of remembrance and continuity.

Beyond UN Headquarters, President Mahama will travel to Pennsylvania for diaspora engagement:

• Keynote Address at Lincoln University — one of the oldest historically Black universities in the United States, known for its legacy of educating African-American leaders and its historic ties to the struggle for freedom and justice.
• Community Engagement at Temple University — where he will meet and interact with members of the Ghanaian diaspora in Philadelphia and surrounding areas.

These engagements underscore Ghana’s strategy of building bridges between continental leadership, the global African diaspora, and international institutions in pursuit of reparatory justice.

The trip builds directly on Ghana’s September 2025 notification to the UN General Assembly of its intention to table the Draft Resolution. It aligns with:

• The African Union’s 2025 Year of Reparations and African Heritage
• The 2026–2035 Decade of Action on Reparations
• Deepening AU–CARICOM collaboration, including the Accra Declaration

President Mahama, serving as the African Champion for Advancing the Cause of Justice and Payment of Reparations, has consistently framed reparatory justice as a legal imperative — not charity — rooted in existing international law and the moral obligation to address history’s gravest crime.

The President’s delegation includes senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and key advisors coordinating Ghana’s reparations advocacy.

Further updates on the UN debate, outcomes of the high-level event, and diaspora engagements will be shared as the visit unfolds.