President John Mahama, on Tuesday, March 24, led Ghana’s delegation to a high-level session on reparatory justice at the United Nations.

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

Delivering his address, President Mahama reframed the global conversation on slavery by insisting that Africans were not “slaves” but human beings who were trafficked and forcibly enslaved.

He argued that the transatlantic slave trade was deliberately designed to strip Africans of their humanity, built on a false racial hierarchy that justified exploitation and brutality.

Through vivid historical accounts, President Mahama highlighted the scale and cruelty of slavery, from the Middle Passage to plantation life, emphasising that millions were treated as property, not people.

He warned against the continued distortion and erasure of this history through language, education, and global narratives, stressing that “truth begins with language.”

The President described the UN resolution on slavery as a crucial step toward justice, remembrance, and global acknowledgement of the suffering endured by millions of Africans and their descendants.

He called on the international community to reclaim the dignity, equality, and humanity of Africans, while urging collective action toward healing, reparative justice, and a future grounded in truth.