African and Caribbean nations call for formal apology for transatlantic slavery

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. African and Caribbean nations call for formal apology for transatlantic slavery2 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleYvette TanReutersGhana's President John Dramani Mahama, Barbados' Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and other dignitaries attend a wreath-laying event at the Christiansborg Castle, a former slave post, during a high-level consultative conference on the next steps to the landmark United Nations resolution on the trafficking of enslaved Africans, in Accra, Ghana, June 19, 2026African and Caribbean countries have called for a formal apology and reparations from countries that benefited from the transatlantic slave trade. The demands come at the end of a three day conference in Ghana which looked to advance the push for reparatory justice. It follows a landmark UN resolution earlier in March which recognised transatlantic slavery as the "gravest crime against humanity", urging UN member states to contribute to a reparations fund.

Around 12-15 million African men, women and children were captured and trafficked to the Americas to work as slaves from the 15-19th century. A 19-point reparations plan has been endorsed as part of the "Next Steps" conference in the Ghanaian capital of Accra. It calls for comprehensive debt relief, the restitution of looted cultural property, and the establishment of a global reparations fund, though no specific amount was stated.

The Details

It also addresses the disproportionate impact of slavery on African women and girls. The conference leaders also called on countries formerly involved in the slave trade to offer their "full, formal and unconditional apologies". Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama told delegates: "History does not ask us to inherit guilt, but it asks us to inherit responsibility".

French President Emmanuel Macron also gave a virtual note at the conference, where he recognised that enslaved people were "dehumanised and treated as goods". However, he cautioned against reducing reparations for slavery to financial compensation alone, saying they should not be seen as a "cheque written to bring the story to a close". The UN General Assembly vote took place in March, with 123 votes in favour, and three votes - the United States, Israel and Argentina - against declaring the transatlantic slave trade a crime against humanity.

52 countries, including the United Kingdom and European Union member states abstained. Unlike UN Security Council resolutions, those from the General Assembly are not legally binding. The UK has long rejected calls to pay reparations, saying today's institutions cannot be held responsible for past wrongs.

"No single set of atrocities should be regarded as more or less significant than another," UK ambassador to the UN James Kariuki had then said. The US ambassador to the UN echoed this, saying his country did not "recognise a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred".

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.