African and Caribbean nations adopt plan demanding formal apologies for transatlantic slavery
African and Caribbean nations concluded a three-day “Next Steps” conference in Accra, Ghana on June 19 with a 19-point plan pressing countries that profited from the transatlantic slave trade for formal apologies, debt relief and financial compensation. The declaration calls on those states to “offer full, formal and unconditional apologies as a foundational step towards reconciliation, trust-building and reparatory justice.”
The plan was adopted under the African Union and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Commission on Reparatory Justice, and the gathering drew heads of state from Namibia, Liberia, Senegal, Barbados and São Tomé and Príncipe, along with the vice president of Equatorial Guinea. The framing marks a move from largely symbolic recognition toward specific, coordinated asks directed at former colonial powers.
The push gained momentum after the UN General Assembly in March adopted a resolution describing the transatlantic slave trade as a grave crime against humanity. A unified African Union–CARICOM position raises the diplomatic cost of dismissing the demands outright, though the European governments most directly targeted — including Britain, which has repeatedly declined to apologize or pay reparations — have shown no sign of agreeing to compensation. The near-term effect is less a settlement than a more organized negotiating bloc.