Ghana to Present UN resolution seeking recognition of slavery as crime against humanity
On March 25, before the United Nations General Assembly, Ghana will present a resolution with significant political weight, aiming to have slavery recognized as the most serious crime against humanity. Spearheaded by President John Dramani Mahama, this initiative is part of a structured strategy, backed by the African Union’s mandate and supported by several Global South blocs.
The text rests on a rigorous articulation between historical truth and international law. It affirms the imprescriptible nature of slavery and highlights its systemic effects on contemporary inequalities. In doing so, Accra is not limiting itself to symbolic recognition.
Ghana seeks to establish a political framework conducive to broader reparations, including the restitution of heritage, the rewriting of historical narratives, and consideration of inherited economic imbalances.
This approach produces direct effects on the country’s positioning. It strengthens its diplomatic credibility and consolidates its role as an intellectual pivot on matters of memory and international justice.
On the economic front, this visibility can stimulate strategic sectors. Memorial tourism, already structured around the coastal forts and castles, benefits from renewed interest. Diaspora attraction policies, initiated in recent years, find here a coherent extension, capable of generating investments and skills transfers.
However, the impact will depend on the ability to translate this recognition into concrete mechanisms.
The absence of binding commitments at the international level limits, in the short term, the financial fallout.
Ghana will therefore need to convert this symbolic capital into operational levers, by mobilizing alliances and appropriate economic instruments.
Through this initiative, Accra imposes a demanding reading of history and makes it a tool for strategic projection. Thus, memory ceases to be an inherited burden to become an instrument of asserted sovereignty.
Abla Messanh
