President John Dramani Mahama will depart Accra on Monday for an official visit to the United States, where he will lead Ghana’s delegation to a high-level session on reparatory justice at the United Nations.

The visit will take him to New York and Pennsylvania and will focus on addressing historical injustices linked to the transatlantic slave trade and honouring its victims.

At the UN Headquarters on Tuesday, President Mahama is expected to convene and deliver the keynote address at a High-Level Special Event on Reparatory Justice.

The event, themed “Reparatory Justice for the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and the Racialised Chattel Enslavement of Africans,” will assemble world leaders and dignitaries to deliberate on pathways toward justice.

According to the Presidential Spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the gathering represents “a critical opportunity for the global community to confront and address one of the gravest injustices in human history.”

On Wednesday, the President will address the United Nations General Assembly as part of events marking the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

He is expected to present Ghana’s position, which has been adopted by the African Union, calling for the formal recognition of the transatlantic slave trade and racialised chattel enslavement as “the gravest crime against humanity.”

The President’s itinerary will also include a solemn wreath-laying ceremony at the African Burial Ground National Monument on Tuesday, in honour of enslaved Africans whose remains were discovered at the historic site.

The ceremony is expected to underscore Ghana’s commitment to remembrance and the pursuit of justice for descendants of enslaved people.

Beyond the UN engagements, President Mahama will visit Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where he will deliver a keynote address, and later interact with the Ghanaian community at Temple University.

Mr Kwakye Ofosu noted that the visit will “strengthen ties with the African diaspora while reinforcing Ghana’s leadership role in the global reparatory justice conversation.”