President John Dramani Mahama has called on the global community to take a decisive stand in honouring victims of the transatlantic slave trade, urging support for a United Nations resolution to recognise the atrocity as the gravest crime against humanity.
Speaking at the United Nations to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the President said the occasion represents both a moment of reflection and a step toward justice.
“Progress is made in steps… it is the forward motion toward something better,” he said, describing the annual commemoration as part of a broader global effort to confront history while pursuing healing.
He noted that the day honours the memory of millions of Africans who were forcibly taken and enslaved over centuries, stressing that remembrance goes beyond reflection to include education and documentation.
“Through these activities, we do more than remember. We document and educate; we gain a greater perspective… so we do not repeat it, while leaving the pain behind,” he said.
President Mahama highlighted the significance of the proposed UN resolution seeking to declare the trafficking and enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity, describing it as the result of extensive consultations among countries, scholars, and continental bodies.
“Today, we come together in solemn solidarity to affirm truth and pursue a route to healing and reparative justice,” he stated, adding that the resolution would serve as “a safeguard against forgetting.”
He reminded the Assembly that Ghana had earlier pledged to lead the process, noting that the initiative reflects a shared moral responsibility to acknowledge historical injustices and restore dignity to victims.
Quoting former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Mahama underscored the importance of choosing justice over neutrality.
“With a great moral issue involved, neutrality does not serve righteousness,” he said, adding that the world must act decisively when confronted with injustice.
He concluded with a call for collective action, urging member states to support the resolution and stand “on the right side of history.”
“Let it be recorded that when history beckoned, we did what was right for the memory of the millions who suffered the indignity of slavery,” he said.
