ACCRA, Ghana – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. has called for a coordinated global effort to pursue reparatory justice for the descendants of enslaved Africans, declaring that the recently adopted United Nations resolution on the transatlantic slave trade must become a catalyst for “truth, justice, healing, and institutional repair.”
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, gerald.koinyeneh@frontpageafricaonline.com
Delivering the keynote address Thursday at a two-day High-Level Consultative Conference on Next Steps for United Nations Resolution A/RES/80/250 in Accra, Ghana, President Boakai said the international community now faces a defining test of whether it will transform historical recognition into meaningful action.
The conference brought together African leaders, representatives of the African Union, CARICOM, the Global African Diaspora, United Nations agencies, civil society organizations, and development partners to chart a path forward following the adoption of the landmark UN resolution on March 26, 2026.
Addressing participants, Boakai praised Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama and the Government of Ghana for convening the gathering on what he described as “historic shores” that remain deeply connected to the painful legacy of the transatlantic slave trade.
“It is fitting that we meet on these historic shores, still marked by the memory of those who were torn from their homes, families, and communities and forced across the Atlantic,” Boakai said. “Their suffering still calls us to confront one of history’s gravest crimes against humanity.”
The Liberian leader emphasized that the UN resolution represents a major moral milestone, formally recognizing the trafficking and racialized enslavement of Africans as among the gravest crimes against humanity.
“More than 500 years after the first victims were taken across the Atlantic, and 200 years after the trade was formally abolished, the adoption of this resolution marks a significant and necessary moral moment,” he said.
Boakai noted that the effects of slavery continue to shape contemporary realities across Africa and the global African diaspora, arguing that the consequences extend far beyond economic losses.
“For Liberia, the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade is woven into the fabric of our national story and continues to shape our understanding of identity, belonging, and nationhood,” he stated.
He stressed that meaningful reparatory justice must include historical truth-telling, reconciliation, cultural restoration, education, institution-building, and social healing in addition to any financial considerations.
Five-Point Roadmap
As discussions turn toward implementation, President Boakai proposed a five-point framework to advance the objectives of the resolution.
His recommendations include developing a common African position and implementation framework in collaboration with CARICOM and diaspora organizations, establishing an African Union–United Nations Expert Commission to design a Global Reparatory Justice Mechanism, and expanding education, research, and historical documentation to combat misinformation and historical erasure. The Liberian leader also called for the facilitation of the restitution of stolen cultural artifacts and heritage objects and promoting development partnerships and global initiatives aimed at addressing inequalities rooted in slavery and its aftermath.
Boakai argued that while the scale of the transatlantic slave trade cannot be fully quantified in financial terms, there is little doubt that slavery, forced labor, and resource extraction generated immense wealth that helped shape global economic systems while contributing to Africa’s underdevelopment.
“The past has helped shape the inequities of the present,” he said.
Call for Understanding, Not Division
In one of the strongest portions of his address, President Boakai sought to frame the reparations debate as a pursuit of justice and reconciliation rather than blame.
“The call for reparatory justice is not an effort to assign personal guilt to the present generation for the sins of the past,” he said. “Rather, it is a call for understanding, empathy, and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths.”
He urged nations around the world to recognize the enduring consequences of slavery and join a collective effort aimed at healing and repair.
Boakai also called on global leaders to ensure that the horrors of racialized enslavement are never repeated.
“Together, let us forge a solemn pact that the dehumanization, exploitation, and racialized enslavement of any people shall never, ever again find refuge in our institutions, our economies, or our collective conscience,” he declared.
“The World Must Choose Justice”
Concluding his remarks, President Boakai described the UN resolution as a rare opportunity for transformative action and warned against allowing it to become another symbolic declaration without meaningful follow-through.
“History has brought us to a rare and defining moment,” he said. “Future generations will judge us not by the eloquence of our declarations, but by the courage of our actions.”
He urged delegates to leave Accra united in purpose and committed to building a future rooted in dignity, equity, and shared prosperity.
“Let this not be remembered as another conference or another resolution that stirred consciences briefly before fading into history,” Boakai said. “Let it be remembered as the moment when the world chose truth over silence, justice over hesitation, and moral courage over the comfort of the status quo.”
The Liberian President serves on the Global Advisory Panel on Reparatory Justice and has emerged as one of the leading African voices advocating for international recognition of the enduring consequences of the transatlantic slave trade and the need for collective measures to address its legacy.
