African and Caribbean leaders have adopted a sweeping reparatory justice framework at a conference in Accra, calling on nations and institutions that benefited from the transatlantic slave trade to issue formal apologies. The 19-point document, approved following the recent UN resolution labeling the slave trade humanity’s gravest crime, also pushes for compensation for descendants of enslaved people, debt relief measures, and the return of cultural artifacts and human remains to their countries of origin. To guide the global reparations push, Ghana’s President John Mahama announced the creation of three new panels—covering advisory, restitution, and legal matters. Organizers say more than 80 countries participated, with the framework meant to translate years of advocacy into coordinated action.
The Guardian
