President John Dramani Mahama has called for the establishment of national reparations commissions and the development of advanced continental legal frameworks to pursue cultural, economic and financial reparations for Africa.

Addressing the Assembly of the African Union, President Mahama stressed that reparatory justice would not be granted voluntarily by the international community.

“Reparatory justice will not be handed over to us like political independence. It must be asserted, pursued and secured through determination and unity,” he declared.

The President announced a landmark decision to adopt a Decade of Reparations, describing it as a strategic shift from a symbolic, time-bound observance to a sustained global commitment to justice for Africans and people of African descent.

He further disclosed that Ghana will move a draft United Nations resolution titled Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialised Racial Chattel Enslavement of Africans as a Grave Crime Against Humanity on the floor of the UN General Assembly on March 25 this year.

According to President Mahama, the resolution has been submitted to the AU Assembly for endorsement to ensure Africa speaks with one voice at the global platform.

He revealed that several CARICOM countries and other international allies have already endorsed the resolution and urged AU member states to approve it for tabling at the UN General Assembly.

“I urge this Assembly to pass the resolution for tabling at the UN General Assembly on March 25,” he said.