By Dickson Omobola
Coalition of Global South leaders has demanded reparations for affected countries over the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism, while proposing the creation of a formal United Nations, UN, mechanism to address the issue.
The demand was made at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, where the leaders condemned Western countries for their continued silence on historical crimes.
President John Mahama of Ghana, who serves as the African Union Champion for Reparations, described slave trade as “the greatest crime against humanity,” referencing the forced displacement of over 12.5 million Africans to generate wealth for Western nations.
He said: “We must demand reparations for the enslavement of our people and the colonisation of our land that resulted in the theft of natural resources.”
Mahama expressed dismay over the historical irony that Western governments “happily paid reparations to former slave owners as compensation for the loss of their property, the enslaved people themselves. We recognise the value of our land and the value of our lives.”
Also speaking, President Faustin Touadera of the Central African Republic said: “The era of Africa’s dependence is over,” calling for a fundamental shift towards “sovereignty, not subordination; partnership, not exploitation.”
He condemned the persistent global inequality, stating it is “unacceptable to see poverty worsening in Africa while wealth accumulates in the Northern countries,” while confirming his nation’s full support for the pan-African reparations initiative.
Meanwhile, President Luis Catacora of Bolivia proposed the establishment of a dedicated UN commission on reparations covering “slavery, apartheid, genocide and colonialism. This commission must establish effective mechanisms to restore historical justice.”
He identified three core components, including “financial reparations, environmental restoration and restitution of stolen cultural property.”
He called for those responsible for historical crimes to contribute “billions of dollars into a reparations fund” and urged unity between the African Union and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, in confronting colonialism’s lasting effects.
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