The desire to have Europe and the Americas compensate Africa for the atrocities of the trans-Atlantic slave trade is gaining momentum.
On Tuesday, November 14, 2023 Africans in the Diaspora and those at home gathered in Accra to commence a four-day international conference on reparations.
Co-organised by the African Union (AU) Commission and Ghana, the gathering is discussing crucial steps towards addressing historical grievances.
The African Reparations Conference 2023, which ends on Friday, November 17, 2023 is themed: “Building a united front to advance the cause of justice and the payment of reparations to Africans.”
The dialogue has brought together heads of state and governments from Africa and the Diaspora, alongside academia, legal experts and civil society organisations.
ONE VOICE
President Akufo-Addo, who is a co-convener of the conference, spoke of the importance of the subject and urged for one voice to pursue the cause.
Courting togetherness as Africans, he cited parts of the lyrics from Jamaca’s renowned reggae musician, Peter Tosh, which said: “Don’t care where you come from. As long as you are a black man, you are an African.”
According to President Akufo-Addo, the call for payment of reparations should not be misconstrued as Africa begging for alms.
He stressed that no amount of money could make up for the “barbaric and inhumane” acts meted out to Africa, but for the sake of justice.
And even before the payment, he believed Africa deserved a formal “apology” from countries of the Western world that were part of the slave trade.
However, he charged Africans to derive the maximum dividends from their relations with the Diaspora in mutually beneficial cooperation for shared growth and prosperity.
President Akufo-Addo made the point clearly to the gathering that the calls for payment of reparations were justified, but he hoped Africa would work to better the lives of its people.
“That is why I am excited about the holding of the conference, largely the renewed enthusiasm around building Africa together,” he remarked.
Ghana forms about 71% of the entire slave trade, giving meaning to the nation obtaining the opportunity to host the maiden edition of the Africa Reparations Conference.
MORAL
The Africa Union’s deputy chairperson, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, said at the conference that the reparations were not merely financial transactions but rather moral and ethical obligations.
The Deputy AU chair opined that the reparations represented Africa’s acknowledgement of past wrongs and more importantly, the resolve to make amends.
EFFECT
Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, remarked that evidence from history abounds that the detrimental effects of slavery, apartheid, and colonialism among others, continue to impact the socio-economic development of Africa.
According to her, the demand for a global African identity had not been greater, adding that it was crucial to recognise how slavery, colonialism and racism impact the lives of Africans.
“It is only in this way that we will be able to advocate for reparations, promote restitution, and restore the dignity of the African continent and its people,” she noted.
CONFERENCE BACKGROUND
The conference, co-organised by the Africa Union Commission and the Government of Ghana is to promote dialogue, knowledge sharing and actionable strategies among diverse and relevant stakeholders on the way forward, regarding addressing historical injustices against Africans and peoples of African descent through the slave trade and colonialism among others.
The conference is bringing together all ongoing and past efforts on the topic of reparations in order to forge a unified front to advance the cause of reparatory justice.
An African committee of experts on reparations, drawn from relevant fields, including law, will be established for the purpose of developing a common African position on reparations and incorporating therein an African reparatory programme of action.
The committee, among other things, will collaborate with the Caribbean Community to establish an African Caribbean Joint Mechanism on Reparatory Justice based on the resolve of the Global African Diaspora Summit held in South Africa in 2012.
To assist the Committee in the discharge of its mandate, a global reparations fund will also be created.
ATTENDANCE
Several dignitaries such as Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of Comoros and Chairperson of the AU; Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca of Burundiattended, with some addressing the gathering.Mia Amor Mottley,former Prime Minister of Barbadosspoke virtually.
