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Why Accra slavery reparatory justice meeting matters

Why Accra slavery reparatory justice meeting matters

A conference on slavery and reparatory justice held in Ghana’s capital last week is still resonating across Africa and the Caribbean, feeding into global debates on historical accountability, reparations and inequality. At Christiansborg Castle, also known as Osu Castle, a historic fortress overlooking the Atlantic Ocean that served as a holding point for enslaved Africans before they were shipped across the Atlantic, actors and students re-enacted scenes from the slave trade, retracing part of the journey endured by millions of African men, women and children. The three-day “Next Steps” conference brought together heads of state, policymakers, academics, legal experts, civil society groups and representatives of the African diaspora to discuss the long-term consequences of the transatlantic slave trade and ways to advance reparatory justice. The meeting came just months after the United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution recognising the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel slavery as among the gravest crimes against humanity. The resolution, backed by 123 countries, was the first in the UN’s history dedicated exclusively to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. The Accra gathering produced a 19-point framework calling for formal apologies from countries and institutions that profited from slavery, the creation of reparations mechanisms, the return of cultural artefacts and human remains, debt relief, educational initiatives and stronger international cooperation. Advertisement “The enduring consequences of slavery continue to manifest through structural inequalities, economic disparities, systemic racism, cultural erasure and development challenges,” the conference outcome document said. “The Accra meeting on reparatory justice was not an end in itself but a crucial milestone in a longer journey,” Nana Dwomoh-Doyen Benjamin, executive director of the African Chamber of Content Producers (ACCP), told Al Jazeera. “It reminded us that the legacy of slavery is not just historical, but its ripple effect continues to shape present-day inequalities in wealth, development, and access to global financial systems,” Benjamin said. “However, for these conversations to translate into meaningful change, Africa must also prepare its own systems to receive and protect the diaspora and investments it is calling home. “The recommendations from Accra must now be matched with concrete institutional reforms, including stronger protections for diasporans who return to the continent, and a deliberate strategy to use Africa’s creative industries as a vehicle for reparation advocacy and narrative control,” he added. A West Africa and Sahel political and security risk analyst, Mubarak Aliyu, told Al Jazeera that “The Accra meeting revives the focus on the important question of reparation in financial terms, restitution of looted cultural artefacts, and the education of Africans on the horrors of the Atlantic slave trade.” Calls for accountability Among the countries most frequently mentioned in reparations debates are Portugal, Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands, all of which played major roles in the transatlantic slave trade. Historians estimate that Portugal transported more enslaved Africans across the Atlantic than any other European power, accounting for roughly two-fifths of the trade, while Britain became a dominant force during the 18th century. France, Spain and the Netherlands also profited extensively from slave-trading networks and plantation economies in the Americas. Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, attends the opening of the Slavery Reparations Conference in Accra, Ghana [Reuben Ekow Quansah/AP] Calls for reparations have gained momentum in recent years, particularly among African states and among nations in the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), which has developed a reparations agenda that includes formal apologies, development support, debt relief and programmes aimed at addressing the long-term legacy of slavery and colonialism. Advertisement Responses from former colonial powers have varied. The Dutch government formally apologised in 2022 for the Netherlands’ role in slavery. France recognised slavery as a crime against humanity in 2001. Britain has expressed regret for its role in the slave trade but has not committed to reparations. While several European governments have acknowledged the historical injustice of slavery, they have generally stopped short of endorsing direct financial compensation. French President Emmanuel Macron, addressing the conference by video message, acknowledged the historical reality of slavery and said reparations should form part of an ongoing process of recognition and engagement. Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama said the conference was intended to move the debate beyond symbolism and towards concrete action. He announced the creation of three international bodies focused on reparatory justice, cultural restitution and legal affairs to help advance the agenda. Aliyu also told Al Jazeera that “While meetings like this are not new, it shows the continued effort on the part of African governments to demand accountability as a precursor for more serious demands surrounding reparations. Ultimately, for these efforts to be successful, more African countries must join the process to voice these demands through a single continental front.” A legacy that endures Supporters argue that the legacy of slavery is not merely historical. Many scholars, activists and policymakers contend that centuries of enslavement, colonialism and exploitation continue to shape patterns of wealth, development and opportunity across Africa and the African diaspora. A key argument raised at the conference was that inequalities rooted in slavery and colonialism continue to influence global economic structures today. Advocates say this legacy is reflected in persistent gaps in wealth, investment, development outcomes and access to international financial systems. The conference also highlighted growing cooperation between African and Caribbean countries, which are increasingly coordinating their positions in an effort to strengthen calls for reparatory justice on the international stage. Supporters see this alignment as a way of giving greater political weight to demands that have often struggled to gain traction internationally. From declarations to action Yet significant challenges remain. There is no international consensus on what reparations should look like in practice, with proposals ranging from financial compensation and debt relief to cultural restitution, educational investment and institutional reforms. Performers re-enact the transatlantic slave trade at Christiansborg Castle, a former slave post, during a conference on follow-up to a UN resolution on trafficking of enslaved Africans, Accra, Ghana [Francis Kokoroko/Reuters] Some observers say the Accra meeting helped push reparatory justice back

How Colombia’s traditional midwives serve as lifelines to rural communities

How Colombia’s traditional midwives serve as lifelines to rural communities

Quibdo, Colombia – Nohemí Manco was just 14 when she delivered her first baby. She had no choice but to step in. Her sister had gone into labour, and no one else was around. Their home, in the remote Colombian municipality of Unguía, was surrounded by dense jungle canopy, waterfalls and wildlife. But healthcare options were limited. So too was emergency transportation, not that Manco could afford it. Still, Manco knew what to do. Since childhood, she had watched her mother comfort pregnant women through humid nights and sweltering days. She learned where to cut the umbilical cord, which teas to prepare to ease the pain, and how to care for women after birth. By the time her sister’s water broke, Manco felt ready to help. “I loved it. I wasn’t even scared, although my sister was a little frightened,” Manco recalled. Four decades later, she estimates she has delivered about 1,200 babies in the coastal department of Choco — perhaps more. “When a baby starts coming, it feels like sunrise. Everything is dark, and then it’s dawn,” Manco, 53, said. “When the child arrives, it’s like joy and relief at the same time.” Manco is part of a long tradition of “parteras tradicionales” — traditional midwives — who play a central role in many remote communities across Colombia, particularly among Afro-descendant and Indigenous populations. Often the first point of care for expectant mothers in these areas, midwives monitor pregnancies, attend births and provide postpartum care. In some parts of Colombia, hospitals can be hours or even days away. The isolation leaves many pregnant women and their newborns at risk of facing complications with limited medical care. That, in turn, can be fatal. “There is a higher concentration of deaths, proportionally, in rural territories,” said Liany Katerine Ariza Ruiz, a public health researcher specialising in maternal health inequality at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. “Midwives are therefore the main and most constant resource for rural communities.” Adblock test (Why?)

Israeli attacks on Gaza and occupied West Bank kill two, including child

Israeli attacks on Gaza and occupied West Bank kill two, including child

Health officials at Nasser Medical Complex tell Al Jazeera a 12-year-old child was killed in al-Mawasi, Gaza. Israeli forces have continued attacks in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, killing at least two Palestinians despite an ongoing “ceasefire” in the besieged enclave. Health officials at the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza told Al Jazeera that a 12-year-old child was killed and several others wounded in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis city, during an Israeli drone strike on Wednesday. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, since the “ceasefire” took effect in October 2025, Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,027 people and injured 3,280 others. In total, since Israel’s genocidal war began in October 2023, the cumulative number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks has reached 73,041, with 173,402 others wounded. The killing of the child comes a day after a United Nations commission of inquiry released a report that found that Israel’s deliberate targeting of children is part of its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. “The evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed” by Israeli forces, Srinivasan Muralidhar, chair of the UN commission, said. “Even after the October 2025 ceasefire, children continue to be killed and seriously injured, with continued disregard by Israel for the ceasefire and for the protection owed to Palestinian children under international law.” Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary explained that Israel had classified the area it hit in al-Mawasi as a “safe zone”. “But despite that, it has been continuously targeted,” she said. Advertisement “Israeli forces attacked a tent on Wednesday, and a 12-year-old child was killed. His name is Ahmed,” said Khoudary, detailing the strike. “At least seven Palestinians were injured in the same attack.” “According to doctors, victims of Israeli strikes are difficult to treat because Israeli authorities continue to ban and restrict medical supplies and medications into the Gaza Strip,” she added. At the same time, Khoudary said there was another attack on the western side of Gaza on Tuesday night. “So despite a ‘ceasefire’, Israeli forces continue to violate and breach the truce,” she said. Occupied West Bank Amid attacks in Gaza, Israeli forces also killed a Palestinian in the town of al-Yamoun in the northern occupied West Bank on Wednesday. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that Israeli forces had killed with live fire Mohammed Nazem Zayed, 29, after raiding the town west of Jenin, adding that troops were withholding his body. Al Jazeera reporters said an Israeli special forces unit had stormed the town on Wednesday afternoon and surrounded a house where Zayed was located, before opening fire on him and leaving him to bleed to death. Meanwhile, the Israeli news site Walla said soldiers from the army’s Duvdevan unit opened fire and killed a Palestinian during what it called an “operational activity” in al-Yamoun. Since the beginning of 2026, at least 71 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. Since the genocidal war on Gaza began, Israeli escalation by the army and settlers in the West Bank has killed 1,173 Palestinians, wounded 12,666, led to the arrest of about 23,000 and displaced 33,000, according to official Palestinian figures. Adblock test (Why?)