Ghana Pushes UN to Recognise Transatlantic Slave Trade as Gravest Crime Against Humanity

Samuel Yao Kumah urged support for a UN resolution recognising the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity to boost reparations efforts. The proposal, to be presented by John Dramani Mahama at the United Nations General Assembly, is a political acknowledgement aimed at addressing lasting global inequalities.

Ghana’s permanent UN representative, Samuel Yao Kumah, on Monday called on member states to support a draft resolution that seeks to recognise the transatlantic slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity.” He explained that such recognition would help strengthen ongoing efforts aimed at securing reparations for affected communities.
According to Kumah, the resolution is mainly intended to support reparations initiatives being championed by Caribbean nations, whom he described as “our Caribbean brothers and sisters.” He made this known during an African Group press conference held ahead of John Dramani Mahama presenting the proposal before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.
He clarified that the purpose of the resolution is not to rank human suffering or diminish the significance of other historical tragedies. Instead, it seeks to highlight what he described as a major historical turning point—one that reshaped human society and created systems and structures that continue to fuel global inequality in the present day.
Kumah stated that acknowledging this reality would enable the international community to better confront modern challenges that are deeply rooted in that shared past. He added that such recognition is essential for building a more just and equitable global system.
He further explained that the resolution recognises the trafficking and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as a profound historical rupture that gave rise to the modern global order defined by racial hierarchies. According to him, this period fundamentally altered the course of history and continues to influence social, economic, and political systems across the world.
Kumah emphasised that resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly are primarily declaratory political tools rather than legal judgments. As such, they do not create legally binding classifications or hierarchies of crimes. Instead, the proposed measure is meant to serve as a form of political and historical acknowledgement rather than a judicial ruling.
Although the resolution does not provide specific details regarding reparations, Kumah noted that Ghana and its partners intend for it to serve as a foundation upon which further reparative measures can be developed. He also pointed out that legal systems were historically manipulated to justify the enslavement of Africans and to enforce racial segregation for more than five centuries.
He warned that efforts to formally recognise this aspect of history are often hindered by legal technicalities, which, he said, risk suppressing important voices and distorting historical truth. Kumah concluded by stressing that the law should never again be used as a tool to avoid confronting the truth, insisting that it must instead serve justice and historical accountability.