Calls for reparations over the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism dominated the 80th United Nations General Assembly, as Global South leaders issued an unprecedented demand for justice while criticizing Western nations for their silence on historical crimes.
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama, serving as the African Union’s Champion for Reparations, called the slave trade “the greatest crime against humanity,” citing the forced displacement of more than 12.5 million Africans. He condemned Western governments for compensating former slave owners while ignoring the victims and their descendants.
“We must demand reparations for the enslavement of our people and the colonisation of our land,” Mahama declared. “We recognise the value of our land and the value of our lives.”
Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadera echoed the demand, stressing that “the era of Africa’s dependence is over.” He condemned worsening poverty in Africa alongside growing wealth in the Global North, calling instead for “sovereignty, not subordination; partnership, not exploitation.”
Bolivian President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora proposed a UN reparations commission to address slavery, apartheid, genocide, and colonialism, outlining financial restitution, environmental restoration, and the return of stolen cultural property. He urged contributions of “billions of dollars” into a global reparations fund and called for African and Latin American unity in pursuing justice.
Across the board, leaders expressed deep frustration with Western nations’ refusal to engage meaningfully on reparations, framing their coordinated stance as a historic escalation in the global justice movement.
The statements came during the general debate of the 80th UN General Assembly session.
Source: Angel No Lie
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