Accra, March 19, — The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) has declared its support for Ghana’s proposed resolution at the United Nations General Assembly seeking to recognise the trafficking and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.
The Union is urging African countries and the international community to support the resolution when it comes up for debate on March 25, 2026, which also marks the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Historic moment for reparatory justice
The proposed resolution was announced by John Dramani Mahama during the General Debate of the UN General Assembly in September 2025, and is being advanced on behalf of the African Union.
In a solidarity statement issued from Arusha, Tanzania, PALU described the resolution as a historic opportunity to advance truth, justice and reparatory dialogue for Africans and people of African descent worldwide.
The Union said the transatlantic trafficking and enslavement of Africans was not merely a historical episode but a system that reshaped global political, economic and legal systems.
It described the system as a “foundational rupture that reshaped the world for all peoples and constituted a definitive break in world history.”
Global reparations agenda
According to PALU, the transatlantic slave trade functioned as the world’s first global industrial enterprise and generated wealth that contributed to the development of modern global economic systems.
The Union noted that the consequences of slavery continued to affect African countries and people of African descent across the world and that recognition of the crime would be an important step toward justice, reconciliation and sustainable development.
PALU also highlighted growing cooperation between the African Union and the Caribbean Community in advancing the global reparations agenda, including initiatives such as the Transcontinental Partnership in Pursuit of Reparatory Justice.
The Union called on African states, diaspora communities and international partners to support the resolution, stressing that a unified vote would demonstrate a collective commitment to confronting historical injustice and advancing reparatory justice.
It warned that failure to support the resolution could perpetuate historical distortions and delay efforts toward reconciliation and recognition of the historical impact of slavery on African peoples and their descendants.
GHBUSS
March 19, 2026
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