President John Dramani Mahama will hold a High-level Next Steps Conference on Reparatory Justice in Accra on June 17-19, 2026.
This comes after the United Nations General Assembly passed a historic resolution designating the enslavement of Africans across the Atlantic as the worst crime against humanity.
In his role as African Union Champion for Reparations, President Mahama will host the conference, which aims to further international efforts to confront historical injustices and create practical frameworks for reparatory justice.
The event would be a strategic follow-up to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/80/250, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that was copied to the Ghana News Agency.
123 member states overwhelmingly supported the resolution.
It stated that the resolution highlighted the necessity for organised worldwide action on reparations and was a major turning point in the world’s recognition of the transatlantic slave trade and the racialised chattel enslavement of Africans.
Heads of State and Government, Foreign Affairs Ministers, scholars, historians, jurists, members of civil society, and representatives of regional and international organisations are anticipated to attend the conference in order to discuss practical measures for putting the resolution into practice.
“The High-Level Next Steps Conference is intended to sustain the momentum generated at the multilateral level by providing a dedicated platform for participating States and stakeholders to deliberate on the next phase of the reparations agenda,” the statement said.
The resolution’s translation into a shared and implementable global framework, including coordinated policy approaches, institutional structures, and mechanisms for ongoing international participation, will be the main topic of discussion.
It is anticipated that the meeting will produce an outcome document that will include recommendations and plans for future continental and international reparatory justice initiatives.
A special Juneteenth celebration will take place at the historic Christiansborg Castle, a location strongly associated with the Transatlantic slave trade, as part of events commemorating the Conference.
In addition to encouraging recollection, healing, and justice, the commemoration—described as the first-ever combined observance with Africans in the United States—is anticipated to give participants a chance to consider the historical background supporting the reparations discourse.
According to the Ministry, the Conference would also improve engagement with the African diaspora and foreign partners, strengthen Africa’s collective voice on reparatory justice, and promote closer cooperation among participating governments.
Using its historical relevance in the transatlantic slave trade as well as its diplomatic ties to the African Union and the larger international community, Ghana has taken the lead in the global reparations debate in recent years.
The nation’s support for justice, acknowledgement, and compensation for Africans and people of African origin has been bolstered by President Mahama’s appointment as the African Union Champion for Reparations.
The UN resolution’s ratification is generally regarded as the result of persistent lobbying by African nations, civil society organisations, and diaspora groups demanding official recognition of slavery as a crime against humanity as well as specific reparations.
Therefore, it is anticipated that the next conference in Accra will solidify these advances by moving the global discourse from recognition to execution, including institutional, legal, and economic channels for reparations.
The government has stated that it is certain that the conference will build on the tremendous momentum created by the UN resolution and help shape a unified worldwide perspective on reparatory justice.
Source: newsthemegh.com