Ghana is calling for global backing at the United Nations for a draft resolution that would recognise the Transatlantic Slave Trade as the gravest crime against humanity.
Speaking ahead of the initiative, Ghana’s Permanent Representative, Samuel Yao Kumah, urged member states to view the resolution as a necessary step toward acknowledging the full scale and enduring impact of one of history’s most devastating systems.
Kumah addressed concerns that such wording could be interpreted as placing one atrocity above others. He rejected that view, emphasising that the resolution is not about comparing suffering or creating a legal hierarchy among crimes against humanity. Instead, he said it seeks to highlight a historical system that reshaped the modern world and continues to influence global inequalities.
He noted that other atrocities, including genocide, apartheid, and colonial violence, remain clearly condemned under international law. The focus, he stressed, is on recognition rather than comparison.
For Ghana, the resolution represents an effort to confront history with honesty while laying the groundwork for broader conversations on justice and reparative measures. Kumah added that support for the resolution should not be seen as an act of accusation, but rather one of shared global responsibility, a commitment to dignity, equality, and truth.
Between 1501 and 1867, more than 13 million Africans were forcibly taken across the Atlantic, a legacy whose social and economic consequences continue to shape the world today.
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