Mahama pushes for permanent UN system for restitution of African artefacts
President John Dramani Mahama has called for the establishment of a permanent international system under the United Nations to facilitate the return of African cultural properties taken during colonial conquest. He said existing restitution efforts are too dependent on individual countries or institutions voluntarily returning selected objects, creating what he described as a piecemeal approach…
President John Dramani Mahama has advocated for the creation of a permanent international framework under the United Nations to tackle the return of African cultural artifacts seized during colonialism. He criticized the current approach, which depends on individual countries or institutions making voluntary decisions to repatriate specific items.
This piecemeal strategy, he argues, falls short of a comprehensive solution necessitating a coordinated international effort. At the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Mahama proposed that nations collaborate with the UN to craft standardized legal and diplomatic protocols encompassing provenance research, archive access, and restitution claims.
He emphasized the need to make archives more transparent, streamline provenance investigations, and alleviate legal hurdles obstructing unconditional returns. Mahama contended that the emphasis should shift from individual acts of goodwill to established mechanisms that empower countries and communities to reclaim their cultural heritage.
For Ghana, restitution is viewed not solely as the recuperation of physical objects but as the restoration of historical memory and dignity for communities whose cultural assets were forcibly removed.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
