President John Dramani Mahama has outlined five key issues Ghana wants addressed as discussions on reparatory justice between the United Kingdom, Africa, the Caribbean and the African diaspora gain momentum.

The President wants the proposed dialogue to go beyond a formal apology for the transatlantic slave trade to include efforts to tackle systemic racism and Afrophobia, targeted investments in key sectors, the restitution of stolen cultural heritage and partnerships aimed at addressing global economic inequalities.

In a statement issued on Sunday, November 1, President Mahama welcomed recent comments by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has expressed openness to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state and proposed structured dialogue with communities affected by the transatlantic slave trade.

Burnham has, however, ruled out financial reparations.

As the African Union Champion on Reparations and Chair of the Global Advisory Panel on Reparatory Justice, President Mahama described the UK’s willingness to consider an apology and engage in dialogue as a significant development in the global push for reparatory justice.

“I commend the statement for its bold, reflective, conciliatory, and honest reckoning with the UK’s legacy of slavery and colonialism,” he said.

President Mahama said any dialogue on reparatory justice must focus on a formal apology, a coordinated international commitment to dismantle systemic racism and Afrophobia, and targeted investments in education, science, healthcare, youth empowerment and climate resilience.

He also called for the restitution of cultural artefacts taken from African countries and strategic development partnerships to address structural poverty and inequalities that continue to affect developing nations.

Such partnerships, he said, should also seek reforms to inequitable global economic and debt arrangements, as highlighted under the Accra Reset and the Bridgetown Initiative.

President Mahama said the discussions must lead to concrete action rather than simply acknowledging the historical atrocities of slavery and colonialism.

He described the UK’s position as particularly significant following the adoption of a Ghana-led United Nations resolution recognising the transatlantic slave trade and the racialised enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.

The development, he noted, was also important given Britain's decision to abstain during the vote on the resolution.

However, President Mahama stressed that an acknowledgement of the atrocities and a formal apology alone would not erase the injustices suffered by millions of Africans.

“While an acknowledgement of the atrocities and a formal apology for the grave mistreatment of the millions affected cannot undo the profound injustices of the past, they signal a crucial departure from past denial and open the path toward genuine healing and repair,” he said.