President John Dramani Mahama says current generations cannot be blamed for the atrocities of slavery, but have a responsibility to address the inequalities and structures that emerged from that history.

Addressing heads of state, foreign ministers, scholars and members of the African diaspora at Kempinski Hotel, the President said no one alive today built the slave ships, operated the plantations or created the legal systems that turned human beings into property.

However, he argued that societies have inherited institutions, inequalities and social structures shaped by centuries of exploitation and racialised enslavement.

“History does not ask us to inherit guilt, but it asks us to inherit responsibility,” he said.

The President said the real challenge facing the current generation is not whether it is guilty of the past, but whether it is willing to confront and address the enduring consequences of historical injustices.

He welcomed what he described as a growing global willingness among governments and institutions to engage openly with the history of slavery and its lasting impact.