President John Dramani Mahama has called for concrete measures to advance the global reparatory justice agenda, outlining three proposals Ghana says should guide the transition from recognising historical injustices to implementing remedies.
He made the call at a high-level side event on the next steps for reparatory justice held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
According to President Mahama, the focus should now shift to implementing the Accra Next Steps Commitments on Reparatory Justice, which he described as a framework for turning the United Nations’ recognition of the historical injustices linked to the trafficking and enslavement of Africans into practical action.
“We must move from acknowledgement to action, from commitments to implementation,” he said.
The President identified the establishment of a permanent and institutionalised global system for restitution as the first priority.
He urged the United Nations and countries that hold African cultural property to develop clear and standardised legal and diplomatic procedures to support provenance research, improve access to historical archives and address legal obstacles that hinder restitution.
He also called for the unconditional return of human remains to Africa as an immediate priority.
The second proposal focuses on strengthening Africa’s ability to receive, preserve and manage cultural artefacts returned to the continent.
President Mahama rejected the argument that restitution should be postponed until African countries have sufficient facilities to preserve returned items.
“Capacity constraints must never be used as a justification for continued possession. Capacity must serve as a bridge to return, not a barrier to justice,” he said.
He noted that efforts were already underway to develop the required infrastructure, citing initiatives such as the African Union’s Great African Museum and the AU-EU Museum Partnership.
The third pillar seeks to make cultural heritage a driver of economic and social development.
President Mahama appealed to multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, foundations and private-sector organisations to support investments in Africa’s cultural infrastructure.
Such investments, he said, should include regional archives, conservation laboratories, digitisation initiatives and professional training programmes.
He argued that properly preserved and presented cultural heritage could contribute significantly to education, national identity, tourism and the creative economy.
The proposals come after the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 80/250 on March 25, a development Ghana has described as an important step in efforts to advance the global reparatory justice agenda.
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