African reparations have been demanded by President John Dramani Mahama, who has called on the United Nations and the international community to legally proclaim the transatlantic slave trade to be the greatest crime against humanity.
More than 12.5 million Africans were forcibly taken and transported across the Atlantic to create wealth for Western nations, he claimed, and the continent suffered centuries of economic exploitation and violence.
The need for justice should also apply to colonial authority, he continued, since it deprives Africa of its natural resources and cultural legacy.
Yesterday, Thursday, September 25, Mahama spoke at the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he declared Ghana’s intention to present a motion to support this proposal.
“The slave trade must be recognised as the greatest crime against humanity. As African Champion on reparations, Ghana intends to introduce a motion in this August body to that effect. More than twelve and a half million Africans were forcibly taken against their will and transported to create wealth for the powerful Western nations,” he said.
The President emphasised that in addition to plundering Africa’s natural riches, European nations also stole valuable antiques and cultural objects, many of which are still outside the continent.
Mr Mahama urged the world leaders, “We must demand reparations for the enslavement of our people and the colonisation of our land that resulted in the theft of natural resources, as well as the looting of artefacts and other items of cultural heritage that have yet to be returned in total.”
He also chastised earlier colonial governments for compensating slave owners for the “loss of property” following the abolition of slavery, calling it an injustice that still plagues Africa.
Source: newsthemegh.com