Accra, March 25, – President John Dramani Mahama delivered a passionate UN address declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at New York's African Burial Ground National Monument honoring 20,000 buried Africans.
UN Reparations Appeal
At a High-Level Event on Reparatory Justice, President Mahama rejected the term "slave": "There were human beings trafficked and enslaved by those who believed they could own them as chattels." He condemned the racial hierarchy denying African humanity, which justified centuries of atrocities across plantations and mines.
The resolution, he said, bears witness to 18 million victims over four centuries. "This pathway to healing and reparative justice safeguards against forgetting," stated the AU Champion on Reparations, speaking for Africa's 1.4 billion citizens, the Diaspora, and global conscience.
Burial Ground Tribute
At the 17th-18th century cemetery—largest colonial-era African burial site—President Mahama highlighted African mourning traditions as communal acts. "We mourn as families, communities, sometimes nations," he said.
He detailed Coromantee history from Fort Kormantine, noting 419 exhumed skeletons (many children) showed malnutrition and harsh labor. Burials faced west toward Africa, with beads symbolizing lost lives, wrapped in white shrouds. "Through death, they finally receive what life denied them."
Legacy of Resistance
The President honored the site's 1712 rebellion leaders, whose revolts spanned the Americas. "We lay this wreath for those who resisted domination and pursued freedom."
GHBUSS
25 March 2026
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