Slavery resolution vote: This is just the beginning – Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has stated that the adoption of the resolution that declared the transatlantic trade as the gravest crime against humanity is just the beginning of the struggle to have reparatory justice for the over 13 million people who were enslaved.
“This is not the end. It is the beginning,” he stressed in his victory speech at a meeting with the coalition of countries and groups who backed the approval of the resolution at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, USA, on Wednesday.
“What we have achieved today creates the platform for the struggle for reparatory justice and so we must not rest because we have achieved this success. We must take this success and begin to work so that those who denied our ancestors their humanity and dignity can accept the truth that this is what happened,” he stated.
The next steps of the struggle, he said, would be demand for reparations, justice, and apology from persons who visited the horror on the enslaved Africans between the 15th and 19th century, stressing the need for unity of purpose to achieve their targets.
“We need to keep this coalition. We can’t achieve it alone. This victory is not for Ghana. We did it for the whole of Africa and all people of African descent. We’ll take the next steps together and I’m sure that the unity that we have shown will lead us to the end so that at the time we would have gotten to the desired destination, our ancestors’ humanity and dignity will be restored,” he said.
President Mahama recounted that before moving the motion on Wednesday, the coalition paid a visit to the African burial ground where prayers were offered for the spirit of the ancestors to stand behind them and “they answered our call and we achieved success.”
“Our ancestors must be rejoicing in their graves. [Despite] all the torture and adversity they went through, they must be happy that the world has recognised that they are not forgotten and that the pain and torture they went through has been recognised by the UN, the world’s highest body that we all ascribe to.
“Today’s victory is to ensure that we do not forget and we’ll never forget. As long as this resolution has been passed, our ancestors will never be forgotten,” he said to loud applause.
President Mahama, leading Africa’s reparatory justice motion, secured a historic victory for the continent by getting the resolution adopted by the global body.
After the votes, 123 member states including all AU members, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and Asia Pacific countries voted yes. Three countries – the USA, Israel, and Argentina – voted no to oppose the motion with 52 states including two permanent Security Council members, France and UK, abstaining.
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