Mahama to push UN motion declaring slavery “gravest crime against humanity”

By Tina Moses Sam
President John Dramani Mahama has announced that Ghana will submit a motion to the United Nations later this month seeking global recognition of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crimes against humanity.
Delivering his address during Ghana’s 69th Independence Day celebration at the Jubilee House on Friday (6th March), 2026, Mahama said the initiative is part of efforts to pursue historical justice for Africans and people of African descent across the diaspora.
According to the President, the move reflects Ghana’s long-standing commitment to global advocacy for dignity, justice and restitution linked to the transatlantic slave trade.
“Later this month, Ghana will submit a motion to the United Nations declaring slavery and the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity,” he said.
Mahama said the proposal will represent a renewed call for justice and restitution for centuries of suffering endured by millions of Africans who were forcibly transported across the Atlantic.
He referenced the painful historical legacy symbolised by the slave dungeons at the Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle, where enslaved Africans were held before being shipped to the Americas.
“The dungeons of Cape Coast and Elmina castles remind us of the dark chapters of history when millions of Africans were forcibly transported across the Middle Passage to the so-called New World,” he said.
The President also highlighted the cultural and historical ties between Ghana and the Caribbean, noting that the presence of visiting Prime Minister Terrance Drew of Saint Kitts and Nevis symbolised a reconnection between people linked by shared ancestry.
Mahama said Ghana, which became the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence under Kwame Nkrumah in 1957, intends to once again play a leading role in global conversations on historical justice.
“And Ghana, the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence, will once again lead the global call for dignity and restoration,” he said.