Africa (Commonwealth) _ Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo called on African leaders on Tuesday to form a united front in demanding compensation for transatlantic slavery and colonial-era harms.
At a meeting in Ghana, Africa is seeking an action plan in response to mounting requests for reparations for the past slavery of millions of its people. Meanwhile, in the Central African Republic, the UN Security Council has approved a resolution to extend the country’s local peacekeeping force, MINUSCA, for another year.Finally, African technology is gaining traction at the Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town, South Africa.
Financial reparations to Africans and the diaspora for the slavery of people of African heritage are long overdue, Ghana’s President stated on the opening day of a conference on how to redress such historical crimes.
The conference is anticipated to generate an African-led action plan to advocate for reparatory justice, as well as to form an African committee of experts to supervise the plan’s execution and to strengthen engagement with the larger diaspora.
There is no amount of money that will undo the devastation done by the transatlantic slave trade… But this is a subject that the world must address and cannot ignore, Akufo-Addo said at the start of the four-day reparations conference in Ghana’s capital, Accra.
Slavery hampered our economic, cultural, and psychological advancement for the duration of the time. There are countless tales of families ripped apart, according to Akufo-Addo. Such tragedies cannot be quantified, but they must be acknowledged. Akufo-Addo said he appreciated what he called an unambiguous appeal for restitution from Caribbean nations.
To the enthusiasm of the audience, which included several African and Caribbean heads of state and other high-level delegations, he stressed that Africa must cooperate with them to promote the cause.
From the 15th to the 19th centuries, at least 12.5 million Africans were abducted, forcefully transported, and sold into slavery by European ships and traders. Those who survived the perilous trip were forced to work on harsh plantations in the Americas, mostly in Brazil and the Caribbean, while European settlers and others benefited from their labor.
Advocates have long campaigned for reparations or other forms of restitution for slavery, but the movement has lately gained traction globally, with increased support from African and Caribbean countries.
Some Western governments have recently attempted to acknowledge the colonial era’s wrongs in Africa, and museums have begun recovering stolen African riches and artifacts. However, the notion of paying financial reparations for a slave trade that transported millions of people from West and Central Africa remains hazy.
Azali Assoumani, President of the Comoros and African Union Chairperson, described slavery and colonialism as “Africa’s dark phase,” adding that the consequence “wreaks havoc in our population.” Germany’s President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, expressed “shame” last month for atrocities perpetrated during his country’s colonial authority in Tanzania.
A United Nations study issued in September stated that nations might explore cash reparations, among other types of compensation, but cautioned that legal claims are complicated by the passage of time and the difficulties in identifying offenders and victims.
Following an independent investigation, the owner of the British newspaper The Guardian apologized for the involvement of its founders in transatlantic slavery and launched a “decade-long programme of restorative justice” earlier this year.
While the argument over reparations for slavery continues, the restitution of stolen valuables and artifacts has made steady progress. Nigeria is in the process of reclaiming thousands of metal plaques, sculptures, and items taken from the ancient Kingdom of Benin and sold to museums and art collectors in the United States and Europe.
Many of the artifacts were plundered when a British military expedition stormed and destroyed Benin City in 1897. Benin, Nigeria’s neighbor, unveiled an exhibition of its artworks and artifacts recovered by France after two years of discussions last year.
