Jamaica and Ghana, both former British colonies subjected to the transatlantic slave trade, are presenting a united front in the drive for reparatory justice. As Kingston prepares to lodge a formal petition with King Charles III seeking to advance its claim for reparations from the United Kingdom, Ghana's president says the global movement to address the legacy of slavery has reached a "defining moment".
Issued on: 10/08/2026 - 21:01Modified: 10/08/2026 - 21:01
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Visiting Jamaica last week, President John Mahama said Ghana “fully supports the petition on slavery Jamaica proposes to soon submit to King Charles III”. Jamaican officials plan to travel to the UK in early September to petition the head of state to seek legal guidance on their push for reparatory justice. Mahama said the main question was no longer “whether historical injustice occurred” but how it could be meaningfully addressed. “The global discussions on reparations have reached a defining moment. The international community is moving beyond simple acknowledgement of historical wrongs toward structured engagement on how their enduring consequences can be addressed,” he said. The Ghanaian president, who heads the African Union's campaign for reparations, said they should not be viewed solely as a moral issue but as a practical process aimed at correcting systemic injustice. Mahama has emerged as a leading voice in the struggle to reckon with the legacy of slavery, spearheading a landmark United Nations resolution declaring the slave trade the “gravest crime against humanity”. It was adopted on 25 March by 123 member states; 52 abstained, including the UK and France. In June, Mahama hosted a summit between African and Caribbean leaders that produced a manifesto laying out joint demands for formal apologies, financial compensation, debt relief and more. “Reparatory justice will not be handed to us,” he has previously said. “Like political independence, it must be asserted, pursued and secured through determination and unity.” Ghana summit charts path from 'recognition to action' on slavery reparations Jamaica's petition Jamaica first announced in June 2025 that it planned to appeal to King Charles to pursue a ruling on the UK's legal obligations to make amends for slavery. Speaking on this year's Emancipation Day on 1 August, Jamaica's public holiday marking the abolition of slavery in the former British West Indies in 1834, Culture Minister Olivia Grange said the government was preparing to take “the next step in the long journey for reparations”. “After years of discussion and planning, we are moving ahead with our demand for reparations in the name of our ancestors,” she said. The petition, due to be presented on 6 September, will ask the king – who is head of state of both the UK and Jamaica – to refer a series of questions to the Privy Council, the highest court of appeal for British overseas territories and some Commonwealth countries. They include whether the forced transportation of Africans to Jamaica was lawful, if it constituted a crime against humanity, and whether the UK has an obligation to provide restitution to the Jamaican people. “This will not be easy or quick. We anticipate challenges, but like the ancestors, we are in this for the long haul. We won’t give up,” Grange said.
