African and Caribbean leaders have agreed on a joint push for slavery reparations after a three-day meeting in Ghana, building on a recent United Nations vote that called the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity. 

According to Reuters, the plan is meant to bring a more coordinated approach to demands for accountability, apology, and repair.

“None of us gathered in this hall today can be held personally responsible for the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade,” Ghana’s President John Dramani ​Mahama told delegates. “History does not ask us to inherit guilt, but it asks us to ​inherit responsibility.”

While the framework does not set a dollar amount, it lays out a broader roadmap that includes financial reparations, debt relief, the return of stolen cultural artifacts, and climate justice. It also calls for a global reparations fund and formal apologies from countries that profited from slavery.

The Ghana meeting brought together African Union and Caribbean Community representatives, who have long argued that the legacy of slavery still shows up in inequality, displacement, and lost wealth. Supporters say the issue is not only about history, but about present-day harm that continues to affect Black communities across the diaspora.

The proposal is expected to move to the United Nations next, where advocates will try to widen support for reparatory justice. However, the push faces resistance in some Western capitals, including the United States and several European countries, which have expressed skepticism about formal reparations.

In March, the United States, Israel, and Argentina were the only nations to vote against the resolution, which would classify slavery as a “crime against humanity.”

Whether it gains traction will depend on how much of the world is willing to back repair, not just remembrance.