By James Amoh Junior
Accra, June 20, GNA – Experts at a high-level panel discussion on reparatory justice have called for a comprehensive framework that goes beyond apologies and financial compensation to include educational reform, cultural restoration, legal accountability, economic transformation and the assertion of African sovereignty.
They argued that while the recent adoption of the landmark United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/80/250 represented a major diplomatic victory, the real challenge now was translating recognition of historical injustices into concrete measures that address their enduring consequences.
The speakers, including Professor Verene Shepherd of the University of the West Indies, Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr., Managing Editor of The Insight newspaper, and Dr. Panashe Chigumadzi, Rapporteur of the African Union Committee of Experts on Reparations, made the call during a panel discussion on “Unpacking Reparatory Justice” at the High-Level Next Steps Conference on Reparatory Justice in Accra.
The High-Level Next Steps Conference on Reparatory Justice was convened under the auspices of President John Dramani Mahama, African Union Champion on Reparatory Justice, following the adoption of UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/80/250 in March 2026.
The conference sought to develop a common framework for implementing the resolution and advancing the global reparations agenda through dialogue among governments, scholars, legal experts, civil society organisations and members of the African diaspora.
The meeting forms part of broader continental and international efforts to move the reparatory justice movement from recognition to implementation, including initiatives related to cultural restitution, historical truth-telling, legal redress, economic justice and the restoration of human dignity for Africans and people of African descent worldwide.
The panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Samson Lardy Anyenini, a Ghanaian legal practitioner and broadcaster.
Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr. described the resolution as a historic breakthrough in the centuries-long struggle to secure global recognition of the transatlantic slave trade as a crime against humanity.
He said the international community must now move beyond symbolic recognition and pursue practical measures aimed at repairing the damage inflicted on Africa and people of African descent across the world.
“Recognition, however historic, is not enough. The task before us is to move from recognition to repair,” he stated.
According to him, the transatlantic slave trade was one of the most brutal systems of organised violence in human history, involving the kidnapping, transportation, exploitation and dehumanisation of millions of Africans over several centuries.
He argued that the system was not accidental but deliberately organised and sustained by governments, merchants, banks, insurance companies, churches and other institutions that profited from slavery and colonial exploitation.
Mr. Pratt maintained that reparatory justice should not be understood as charity or a sentimental appeal but as a legal, political and historical necessity.
He said genuine reparations must encompass acknowledgement, apology, restitution, rehabilitation, institutional reform, truth-telling, cultural restoration and guarantees of non-repetition.
“Reparatory justice demands restitution, rehabilitation, truth-telling, institutional reform, cultural restoration, educational correction and guarantees of non-repetition,” he said.
The veteran journalist also called for the establishment of a permanent Africa-diaspora reparations mechanism to coordinate research, advocacy, negotiations and monitoring efforts globally.
He advocated a comprehensive educational campaign to correct historical distortions and ensure that future generations understand the true causes of Africa’s underdevelopment and the role slavery and colonialism played in shaping contemporary global inequalities.
Professor Verene Shepherd underscored the importance of education as a central pillar of the reparatory justice movement.
She said one of the most enduring legacies of slavery and colonialism was the distortion of history and the systematic marginalisation of African contributions to global civilisation.
According to her, reparatory justice must include a deliberate effort to re-engineer educational systems to ensure that historical truths are accurately taught and that Africans and people of African descent understand their history from their own perspectives.
Prof. Shepherd called for the integration of reparatory justice education into school curricula, research institutions and public discourse across Africa, the Caribbean and the wider world.
She stressed that education was not merely a tool for transmitting knowledge but a powerful instrument for empowerment, identity restoration and social transformation.
The historian also urged Africans and people of African descent to leverage their collective intellectual, cultural and economic power to advance the reparatory justice agenda and influence global conversations on justice and equality.
Dr. Panashe Chigumadzi challenged participants to move beyond discussions centred solely on development and compensation and focus more deliberately on issues of sovereignty, power and global political relations.
Drawing on African traditions of restorative justice, she argued that meaningful reconciliation could not occur without accountability and consequences for wrongdoing.
“There must be consequences,” she said, explaining that guarantees of non-repetition could only be achieved when historical injustices were properly addressed.
Dr. Chigumadzi noted that international precedents for reparations already existed, citing compensation paid to former slave owners, Holocaust survivors and Japanese-Americans who were interned during the Second World War.
She argued that the issue was therefore not whether reparations were possible but whether there was sufficient political will to extend similar principles to Africans and people of African descent.
“The West already has a reparations framework,” she noted.
The AU expert described the trafficking and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as a “world-breaking crime” that fundamentally altered global political, economic and social systems.
She said the institution of slavery transformed African people into property and created structures of racial capitalism whose effects continued to shape global inequalities.
Dr. Chigumadzi also highlighted the specific experiences of African women under slavery, noting that Black women’s reproductive capacities were transformed into instruments of capital accumulation and economic exploitation.
She argued that many of the inequalities affecting African women and communities today could be traced to those historical systems of exploitation.
The writer and policy contributor urged African countries to identify and utilise their strategic leverage in global negotiations on reparatory justice.
She pointed to Africa’s vast reserves of critical minerals essential for the global energy transition and emerging technologies as a source of bargaining power that could strengthen Africa’s position in international discussions.
“Africa has leverage and must understand how to use it,” she said, calling for a united global African position on reparations.
The speakers agreed that the landmark UN resolution represented a significant milestone but cautioned that it must not be allowed to become merely a ceremonial document.
Instead, they said, it should serve as a foundation for legal action, educational reform, institutional accountability, economic transformation and international cooperation aimed at achieving justice for Africans and people of African descent.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba
Reporter: James Amoh Junior
Email: [email protected]