President Mahama welcomes UK openness to slavery apology, calls move watershed moment
President John Dramani Mahama has welcomed the United Kingdom’s openness to a formal apology for the transatlantic slave trade, describing the development as a watershed moment in the international campaign for reparatory justice.
The development follows growing international calls for reparatory justice, particularly after the adoption of a Ghana-led United Nations resolution recognising the transatlantic slave trade and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.
In a statement issued on Sunday, President Mahama commended UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham for acknowledging the atrocities committed during the slave trade and expressing the British government’s openness to a formal apology and structured dialogue.
He described the British Prime Minister’s position as a bold and honest reckoning with the UK’s history of slavery and colonialism, particularly given the country’s abstention during the vote on Ghana’s UN resolution.
President Mahama, who is the African Union (AU) Champion on Reparations and Chair of the Global Advisory Panel on Reparatory Justice, said the acknowledgement of the atrocities and a formal apology could not undo the injustices suffered by millions of Africans but would mark a departure from past denial and open the way for healing and repair.
He called for structured, good-faith dialogue involving the (AU), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the African diaspora and countries that participated in the transatlantic slave trade.
According to him, the discussions must go beyond a formal apology to address the lasting consequences of slavery through coordinated international action against systemic racism and Afrophobia, targeted investments in education, science, youth empowerment, climate resilience and healthcare, as well as the restitution of stolen cultural heritage.
He also advocated strategic development partnerships to address structural poverty and inequalities in the global economic and debt systems that continue to constrain developing countries.
President Mahama said the Accra Next Steps Commitments, the CARICOM Ten Point Plan and the African Union’s declarations on reparatory justice provided a framework for the discussions.
He commended Prime Minister Burnham and UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband for their moral leadership, saying confronting historical truth was not a sign of weakness but an act of statesmanship and justice.
President Mahama reaffirmed Ghana’s readiness to work with the AU, CARICOM, members of the global coalition and the United Kingdom to achieve lasting justice, genuine reconciliation and a world free from racism and discrimination.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
