President John Dramani Mahama has called for a unified and binding continental approach to reparations, declaring that restitution is central to Africa’s sovereignty and civilisational repair.

Speaking at a high-level panel in Addis Ababa, he said he addressed the gathering “not only as President of the Republic of Ghana and AU Champion on Reparations, but as an African” whose identity bears “the enduring imprints of historical injustice.”

Describing the forum under the theme Reparations, Memory and Sovereignty as “a solemn moral convocation,” President Mahama stressed that Africa’s past cannot remain distorted or buried.

“Our sacred objects, our royal regalia, our ancestral artefacts were not merely removed. They were violently severed from the civilisational ecosystems that gave them meaning,” he said.

“Restitution is not about art alone. It is about justice. It is about sovereignty.”

He argued that reparative justice must be holistic, covering cultural restitution, economic redress, political empowerment and psychological healing, and described the 2023 Common African Position on the Restitution of Heritage Resources as “an ethical compass” grounded in international law.

President Mahama urged that restitution empower African institutions to preserve heritage “on our own terms,” rather than “behind foreign glass showcases.”

He also reiterated Ghana’s plan to table a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly seeking recognition of the transatlantic slave trade as one of the gravest crimes against humanity.

“This is not symbolic diplomacy. It is a necessary moral clarification of history,” he said, urging the 39th Assembly of the African Union to lend full support.

“Let us not defer justice. Let us not postpone dignity. Let us act, and let us act together,” he concluded.