Prominent U.S. civil rights activist Al Sharpton has thrown his weight behind Ghana’s campaign to have the transatlantic slave trade formally recognised as the gravest crime against humanity.

His endorsement comes at a time when international support for the initiative continues to grow, with Brazil also pledging its backing.

The commitment was announced by Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, following discussions with Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, on the sidelines of the CELAC-Africa Summit in Colombia.

Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, is expected to formally present the resolution before the United Nations General Assembly on March 25.

The proposal seeks to secure official recognition of the transatlantic slave trade and the racialised enslavement of Africans as crimes of the highest magnitude in human history.

Supporters of the initiative argue that such recognition is essential to advancing the global reparatory justice agenda and addressing the long-lasting consequences of slavery on people of African descent.

As part of activities surrounding the proposal, President Mahama will lead a high-level event at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where he is scheduled to deliver a keynote address on reparatory justice.

The gathering will bring together world leaders and senior officials to deliberate on the issue.

He is also expected to address the General Assembly, presenting the African Union’s collective position in support of the resolution. In addition, the President will take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the African Burial Ground National Monument in honour of enslaved Africans.

Beyond his engagements at the UN, President Mahama will travel to Pennsylvania in the United States, where he will deliver a keynote address at Lincoln University and engage with members of the Ghanaian community at Temple University.