Ghanaian Pan-Africanist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has charged Africa to pursue a firm, uncompromising roadmap for reparations and push for the international criminalisation of colonialism.

Speaking at the International Conference on the Crimes of Colonialism in Africa in Algiers from November 30 to December 1, he warned that the continent can no longer accept symbolic gestures that fail to address the scale of historical and ongoing exploitation.

The two-day event gathered ministers of foreign affairs from almost all African countries, alongside experts and civil society organizations committed to documenting colonial crimes and pushing for their legal redress.

“We cannot continue to manage the consequences of a crime while ignoring its authors,” Pratt noted, pointing out that Africa still labours under economic and political systems designed during colonial rule. Colonialism must
no longer be treated as a distant past, he added.

“Colonialism is not anepisode… it is a structure that mutates into neocolonialism — IMF conditionalities, illicit capital flight and climate injustice.”

Painful historical experiences show how deeply colonial rule had damaged African societies.

“Colonialism uprooted our peoples and sought to bury our memory,” he stated.

He concluded by making a bold proclamation “Colonialism was a crime. Colonialism remains a crime. And Africa will no longer tolerate its impunity.”

The International Conference was on the theme, "Crimes of Colonialism in Africa: Towards Redressing Historical Injustices through the Criminalization of Colonialism."

Pratt also presented the recently-adopted Special Accra Declaration on Reparatory Justice to high-level officials on the sidelines of the conference.

The Special Accra Declaration on Reparatory Justice outlines concrete steps for restoring justice, such as establishing a Joint Institute for the Assessment of Harm and Documentation of Colonial Legacies to develop a unified reparations framework.

Other measures include the creation of a Pan-African Restorative Justice Fund, operating on the principles of transparency and accountability, to finance and implement priority programmes in the fields of education, health, infrastructure and culture; as well as the creation of an international solidarity contribution mechanism for the Pan-African Fund.

The declaration proposes that corporations historically enriched by Africa's resources contribute up to 1% of their operational revenue from the continent toa reparations fund.

This approach is consistent with established international practice regarding solidarity fees and is aimed at ensuring sustainable financing for development and cultural restitution initiatives.

Africa's history bears the deep and indelible scars of colonisation – slavery, deportation, land dispossession and illegal exploitation of natural resources, denial of basic rights, and the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage.

Colonization destroyed traditional political a d economic structures, split African societies and left behind an indelible legacy, the consequences of which continue to affect the development of the continent. Foreign powers have conducted nuclear tests in several African countries.

They cut down a huge amount of forests and developed quarries in the most barbaric ways. All this has caused irreparable damage to both people and nature, undermining the dignity, integrity and security of entire communities. And the colonialists must answer for all!

Meanwhile, as the BBC moves the home of its Focus on Africa Podcast to Nairobi, GhanaWeb's Etsey Atisu connected with the host for an exclusive interview on The Lowdown. Watch it here: