President Mahama to lead high-level UN discussion on next steps for reparatory justice

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama is set to spearhead a crucial high-level discussion at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, focusing on the next steps for reparatory justice. The event, themed "From Commitments to Action on Reparatory Justice," marks the continuation of efforts following the UN's historic March resolution acknowledging the enslavement and trafficking of Africans as heinous crimes against humanity.

Co-hosted by Ghana, Germany, and France, alongside eleven other world leaders, the event aims to build upon the Next Steps High-Level Consultative Conference on Reparatory Justice, which President Mahama hosted in Accra from June 17 to 19, 2026. This conference united African and Caribbean leaders in their pursuit of a unified stance on reparations, emphasizing the need for international cooperation to address the lasting impacts of slavery and colonialism.

At the Accra conference, Mahama and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley solidified their joint commitment to reparatory justice, leading to the creation of three significant bodies: the Global Advisory Panel, the Expert Panel, and the Global Legal Panel. President Mahama's upcoming UN address is expected to further propel international collaboration on reparatory justice, with a specific focus on the return and restitution of African cultural properties and heritage.