President John Dramani Mahama is intensifying Ghana's push for reparatory justice, calling on the international community to renew its commitment to reparatory justice.

He has also called for concrete action to address the lasting consequences of slavery and colonial exploitation, urging the international community to formally acknowledge the full horrors of the transatlantic slave trade.

Addressing a high-level Special Event on Reparatory Justice at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on March 24, 2026, he stated," Truth begins with language, with the power that words hold to shape consciousness and to shift perspectives, to propel an action or other. I therefore offer this truth as a starting point,” he said, urging participants to recognise that enslaved Africans were treated not as human beings, but as objects to be bought, sold, and exploited.

President Mahama said the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade were rooted in a racial hierarchy designed to dehumanise African people.

This GhanaWeb article highlights two prominent figures who have declared their support for the initiative by President Mahama to have transatlantic slave trade recognised as the gravest crimes against humanity by the UN General Assembly.

Al Sharpton

Renowned US civil rights activist, Al Sharpton, has declared his full support for the initiative by President Mahama, to have the transatlantic slave trade recognised as the gravest crime against humanity.

Why Mahama is set to make strong case on slavery reparations at UN

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, announced this in a post on his X page on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

"The legendary US civil rights and social justice activist, Al Sharpton has today declared full and absolute support for President John Mahama’s UN Resolution seeking to declare the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity", the post stated.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Brazil has pledged its support for President John Dramani Mahama’s campaign at the United Nations to have the transatlantic slave trade formally recognised as the gravest crime against humanity.

The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, made this known during discussions with Okudzeto Ablakwa, on the sidelines of the CELAC-Africa Summit in Colombia on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

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