Juneteenth in Accra: African Union Declares Decade of Reparations and Joint Juneteenth Observance at Next Steps 2026

Less than three months after 123 nations voted yes on UN Resolution A/RES/80/250 — recognizing the trafficking of enslaved Africans as among the gravest crimes against humanity — world leaders converged on Accra, Ghana for the Next Steps 2026 High-Level Consultative Conference. Hosted by President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana, the African Union Champion on Advancing the Cause of Justice and Payment of Reparations, and organized in collaboration with the African Union and UNESCO, this was the first major global platform convened to turn the resolution’s recognition into a practical international roadmap.

“Let them say that in Accra we chose truth over denial. Let them say that in Accra we chose partnership over indifference. And let them say that in Accra we chose justice over delay.”
— President John Dramani Mahama, Republic of Ghana

A Joint Juneteenth Observance: Africa and the Diaspora Together

President Mahama announced that on June 19, 2026 — Juneteenth — the conference would gather at Christiansborg Castle in Osu, Accra, for the first joint observance of the Juneteenth anniversary by Africa and the United States. The occasion was designed to honor memory, celebrate resilience, and affirm the enduring bonds between Africa and the diaspora forged through shared history.

“Today the descendants of those journeys have returned — not in chains but as presidents, as prime ministers, as scholars, as jurists, as activists, as historians, and as citizens of the world. History has brought us full circle.”
— President John Dramani Mahama

Who Was in the Room

The gathering brought together an extraordinary assembly of heads of state, former leaders, scholars, jurists, artists, and civil society leaders:

President John Dramani Mahama, Republic of Ghana and AU Champion on Reparatory Justice — host and convenor
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, Barbados, representing CARICOM
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Republic of Senegal
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr., Republic of Liberia
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Republic of Namibia
President Carlos Manuel Vila Nova, Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe
President Emmanuel Macron, French Republic — participating virtually
Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission
Professor Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate
Former Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Christiane Taubira, former Minister of Justice of the French Republic
Benjamin Crump, US civil rights attorney
Lidia Arthur Brito, Assistant Director General of UNESCO
Epsy Campbell Barr, former Vice President of Costa Rica

The Resolution That Brought Them Here

On March 25, 2026, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/80/250, recognizing the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized chattel enslavement as among the gravest crimes against humanity — passed by 123 member states. The resolution was the product of decades of advocacy by African states, CARICOM, scholars, civil society, and the African diaspora, and was championed at the UN by President Mahama.

Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa noted the historic weight of the timing: on June 18, 1824 — exactly 202 years before this conference — the British Parliament was compelled to pass the Consolidated Slave Trade Act formally declaring slavery illegal. And on June 19, 1865, the last enslaved Africans in the United States were declared free.

“The march for reparatory justice has never seen this momentum. This is our moment. Victory is on the horizon.”
— Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Ghana

What Has Already Changed Since the Resolution

The Foreign Minister’s opening address catalogued significant developments since March 2026:

Pope Leo XIV issued a historic apology for the role of the Catholic Church and the papal bulls that provided theological justification for slavery
The Church of Scotland formally acknowledged its historical role in slavery
President Macron announced that France had repealed the Code Noir — the centuries-old body of laws that classified Africans as movable property — and stated publicly that France must reckon with its past
The European Union formally communicated its willingness to work with Ghana on reparatory justice
The Dutch government and the German government formally notified Ghana of their readiness to return artifacts to the continent

“For those who thought that the UN resolution would be a mere academic exercise are now revising their notes.”
— Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Ghana

The Three Global Panels Established in Accra

President Mahama announced the establishment of three permanent institutional bodies:

Global Advisory Panel on Reparatory Justice — comprising heads of state, eminent leaders, and public figures to provide strategic guidance and advance international dialogue, including Prime Minister Mottley, President Boakai, President Nandi-Ndaitwah, President Faye, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, former Vice President Epsy Campbell Barr, and the Chair of the AU Committee of Experts Dr. Jane Mufundisi.
Expert Panel on the Restitution of Cultural Artifacts — to facilitate the return of cultural properties, archives, sacred objects, and historical treasures to their communities and countries of origin, including representatives from Egypt, Peru, South Africa, Ghana, Senegal, and the Smithsonian’s Museum of the African Diaspora.
Global Legal Panel on Reparatory Justice — distinguished jurists and legal scholars to develop legal pathways consistent with international law and human dignity, including Attorney Benjamin Crump, Philip Sands (Professor of International Law, University of Miami), Professor Tendai Achiume (UN Special Rapporteur on Racism), and representatives from Jamaica, Ghana, Brazil, and the Pan-Africanist Lawyers Union.

CARICOM Brings the 10-Point Plan to Accra

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados delivered one of the most powerful addresses of the conference, presenting the revised CARICOM 10-Point Plan for Global Reparatory Justice and calling for no retreat on repair.

The 10 points:

Full and formal apology by those responsible
An indigenous peoples’ development program
Repatriation and resettlement for those who want it
Restitution of cultural heritage and cultural reconnection
Remedying the public health crisis resulting from centuries of exploitation
Capacity building through education and training
Compensation for gender-based violence and assault on the family
Psychological rehabilitation
The right to sovereignty and development through technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship
Debt cancellation, monetary compensation, and decolonization

“Our duty is to repair and our duty is to call for others to repair. This is not aggression. It is the necessity for healing for humanity.”
— Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, Barbados

Professor Sir Hilary Beckles: The Door of Return Is a Door of Destiny

Chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, framed the gathering in sweeping historical terms — describing Ghana as the origin point of the revolutionary consciousness that produced the UN resolution, and the CARICOM 10-Point Plan as the product of centuries of resistance.

“What has returned through this door is a level of consciousness that will shape the world in this 21st century. We are returning here as survivors of that revolution.”

He noted that when every European power passed acts of emancipation, the enslaved people were denied reparations — and petitioned the parliaments of Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Denmark asking why enslavers received compensation while the enslaved received only freedom and silence.

“The response was: give your freedom. That is your reparations. Now be silent.”

President Boakai’s Five Priorities for Implementation

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. of Liberia proposed five concrete priorities:

Develop a common African position and implementation framework in collaboration with CARICOM and diaspora organizations
Establish an African Union-United Nations Expert Commission to design a global reparatory justice mechanism
Strengthen the teaching of African history and support universities and research institutions across Africa and the diaspora
Facilitate the restitution of stolen cultural artifacts and heritage objects
Build development partnerships that address persistent inequalities rooted in slavery and its aftermath

“Let us not be remembered as another conference or another resolution that stirred consciences briefly before fading into history.”
— President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr., Liberia

The AU Decade of Reparations: 2026 to 2035

Commissioner Amma Chum Ammoa of the African Union delivered a significant institutional announcement: following Assembly Decision 884 designating 2025 as the Year of Justice for Africans through Reparations, Assembly Decision 942 adopted in February 2026 has formally designated 2026 to 2035 as the African Union Decade of Reparations — elevating reparatory justice from a single-year campaign to a decade-long continental commitment anchored in AU Agenda 2063.

Two bodies established in December 2025 and now fully operational are driving this work:

African Union Committee of Experts on Reparation
African Union Reference Group of Legal Experts on Reparations

Their working groups cover global governance, economic and environmental reparations, cultural and educational reparations, and legal mobilization strategies.

Wole Soyinka: The Slave Trade Is Not Over

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka offered a sobering intervention — reminding the gathering that the trafficking of human beings is not only a historical crime. Children and young people are being kidnapped and sent to slave markets on the African continent today.

“The slave trade is not over. It is indeed very active. Even as I speak now, we have children, youths, school children being held in forest fastnesses destined for the slave markets.”

He called for the dehumanizing consequences of enslavement — including the mental conditioning it produced across both the continent and the diaspora — to be part of the reparatory justice framework. Commemoration and economics alone are not sufficient. Rehumanization of memory itself must be part of the work.

A Joint Juneteenth Observance: Africa and the Diaspora Together

5 Key Takeaways

The UN resolution was the beginning, not the end — Accra was convened specifically to translate recognition into a practical international roadmap with timelines, mandates, and fundable work plans.
Three permanent global panels have been established — advisory, legal, and restitution — creating durable institutional infrastructure to sustain the work beyond any single conference.
The African Union has designated 2026 to 2035 the Decade of Reparations — elevating reparatory justice from a single-year campaign to a decade-long continental commitment anchored in AU Agenda 2063.
Major developments since the resolution include Pope Leo XIV’s apology, France’s repeal of the Code Noir, the EU’s formal engagement offer, and Dutch and German commitments to return artifacts.
CARICOM’s revised 10-Point Plan was formally presented in Accra — bringing the Caribbean and African reparatory justice frameworks into full alignment as a unified global agenda.