The African Union (AU) developed a policy brief to guide its work on reparations and revised the roadmap for working on the reparations agenda, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama announced at the opening of the 38th AU Summit.
He emphasized that the summit is a "crucial platform for coordinated and constructive consultation, dialogue, and partnership."
Achieving justice requires the participation of all stakeholders, the president stressed.
According to Mahama, the goal of the summit was to "fully restore the dignity, rights, and well-being of Africans and their descendants."
"Reparations involve not only financial compensation but also restitution, rehabilitation, and guarantees of non-repetition for the abuse of fellow human beings. It is also about truth-telling, historical accountability, and responsibility to those who have been marginalized for centuries," he stated.
Mahama pointed out that colonialism had a profound economic impact on Africa by hindering industrial development and leading to a dependence on foreign finance and technology.