President John Dramani Mahama is set to table a landmark resolution at the United Nations General Assembly seeking to formally declare the Transatlantic Slave Trade the gravest crime against humanity, signalling a renewed global push for historical justice and reparatory dialogue.

In furtherance of the President of Ghana’s declared intention, Ghana, in its capacity as African Union (AU) Champion on Reparations and in collaboration with the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) and all people of African descent, has scheduled for consideration and adoption by the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 a draft resolution titled the Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialised Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime Against Humanity.

According to the statement, the resolution would formally declare the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity by reason of the definitive break in world history, scale, duration, systemic nature, brutality and enduring consequences that continue to shape socio‑economic realities and structural inequalities across the world.

"When adopted, the resolution, which has been endorsed by the African Union would be the first comprehensive resolution on Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the 80-year history of the United Nations.

"Its adoption would preserve historical truth as a foundation for justice and reconciliation and respond to the call for meaningful engagement on reparatory justice, accountability and healing," the release on March 19, stated.

The statement further affirmed that the draft resolution would be considered and adopted on March 25, which is observed as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and would mark a historic recognition of a truth long known across the world.

However, the statement assured that naming this reality is not only symbolic but the beginning of a reckoning with the structural inequalities that underpin debt asymmetries, development gaps, climate vulnerability and global financial governance.

Following the adoption of the resolution, Ghana will continue to advance multilateral efforts on reparatory justice within the framework of the African Union’s Decade of Action on Reparations and African Heritage (2026–2036).