President John Dramani Mahama has urged the African Union (AU) to assert its demand for reparatory justice or risk never attaining the justice it seeks.
“Reparatory justice will not be handed to us like political independence; it must be asserted, pursued and secured through determination and unity,” President Mahama, the AU Champion on Reparatory Justice, stated.
He made the call at the 39th General Assembly of the AU on Sunday when he reported on the implementation of Assembly Decision 884, which designated 2025 as the African Union Year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations.
The summit, which brought together leaders from across the continent, international organisations and civil society groups, was held on the theme: ‘Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.’
According to him, the decision to adopt the Decade of Reparations (2026–2036) marked a strategic shift from a time-bound observance to a sustained continental commitment.
“The Decade of Reparations provides the framework to consolidate institutional mechanisms, deepen national and regional implementation, strengthen global partnerships, and ensure that reparatory justice remains a central and irreversible pillar of the African Union’s political, legal and developmental agenda,” President Mahama observed.
“In this spirit, I call upon Member States to continue to support my mandate as AU Leader on Advancing the Cause of Justice and the Payment of Reparations,” he indicated.
He reported to the assembly that as he announced during the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September last year, “I have initiated processes to table a resolution at the General Assembly in March this year, seeking global recognition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade as the gravest crime against humanity.”
Consequently, President Mahama requested the assembly to adopt the draft UN resolution for onward tabling at the United Nations on March 25, 2026.
“All peoples of African descent have been waiting for this day. We are on the right side of history. The truth cannot be buried. The legal foundations are sound, the moral imperative is undeniable. Let this generation of African leadership be remembered not for hesitation, but for courage for advancing justice, restoring dignity, securing restitution and shaping a future grounded in truth,” he explained.
Furthermore, President Mahama acknowledged that since the declaration, engagements with United Nations systems, including UNESCO and the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, have ensured that Africa’s reparatory justice agenda is shaping global discourse.
He mentioned that the African Union had demonstrated leadership at major global fora — from Accra to Madrid, Luanda to Algiers, culminating in the 9th Pan-African Congress in Lomé.
“These engagements have fundamentally reframed the global narrative: reparations are no longer portrayed as backward-looking claims, but as forward-looking instruments for justice, development and global equity,” President Mahama emphasised.
Moreover, he urged the assembly, among other measures, to strengthen institutional capacity, including the establishment of a dedicated Reparations Division within the commission; ensure sustained and predictable funding for AU reparations mechanisms; and encourage Member States to establish national reparations commissions and report annually on progress.
President Mahama also called on the assembly to advance continental legal frameworks on cultural, economic and financial reparations; expand global alliances; engage formally with historical perpetrator states in pursuit of apologies, restitution and reparatory agreements; and leverage digital technologies to preserve African historical memory and counter distorted narratives.
FROM JULIUS YAO PETETSI, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
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