Ghana has formally tabled a landmark draft resolution at the United Nations seeking to declare the transatlantic slave trade and racialised enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. 

The initiative, led by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is scheduled for debate on March 25, coinciding with the International Day of Remembrance for Victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The proposal, championed by President John Dramani Mahama in his role as African Union Champion for Reparations, seeks to move global discourse beyond symbolic recognition towards legal accountability. 

It calls for a formal declaration that acknowledges the transatlantic slave trade as a crime of unparalleled scale and impact.

Mr Ablakwa emphasised that the resolution is not a plea for sympathy but a demand grounded in international law. 

“This is not about ceremony or sentiment; it is about accountability and justice rooted in legal principles,” he noted.

He further argued that the legacy of slavery continues to affect people of African descent globally, stressing that time has not erased the consequences. 

“The passage of time has not diminished the enduring impact of these injustices,” he said.

If adopted, the resolution is expected to lay the groundwork for structured global engagement on reparatory justice, signalling what Ghana describes as a historic turning point in addressing one of humanity’s gravest wrongs.