A historic United Nations resolution filed by the Republic of Ghana has garnered powerful endorsements from leading U.S. civil rights organizations and lawmakers, as global attention turns to the enduring legacies of transatlantic enslavement and institutional racism.
The resolution, which declares the trafficking and racialized chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity, is set to be introduced during the March 2026 convening of the UN General Assembly. It has received emphatic backing from the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), which called on UN Member States to “seize this historic moment” and affirm their commitment to building a just and unified world.
“This resolution signals our readiness to act with conviction, foresight, and unity across borders and generations,” the CBC stated, emphasizing the need for global solidarity and structural change.
The NAACP also issued a formal letter of support, addressed to Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Victor Emmanuel Smith, and Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. In the letter, NAACP President Derrick Johnson described the resolution as “a necessary and long-overdue step” toward acknowledging and repairing the harms caused by the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
“Reparations are not solely about financial compensation,” Johnson wrote. “They are about comprehensive repair—investing in individuals and communities, closing racial wealth gaps, improving health outcomes, and ensuring future generations are not burdened by the cumulative effects of past injustice.”
The resolution aligns with the African Union’s 2025 theme, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” and its newly launched Decade for Reparations from 2026 to 2035. The AU recently classified transatlantic enslavement, colonialism, and apartheid as crimes against humanity during its summit in Addis Ababa.
As the world prepares to mark the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Transatlantic Trafficking of Africans, advocates say the resolution represents a turning point in the global pursuit of justice, truth, and reconciliation.
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