Ghana’s resolution, which called for reparations and recognised transatlantic slavery as the “gravest crime against humanity,” was approved at the UN on Wednesday.
In a vote at the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA), 123 nations backed the resolution. Three nations, including the United States and Israel, rejected it, while 52 nations, including the European Union, abstained.
According to Ghana, the resolution was necessary since racial inequalities, which still exist today, are a result of slavey and the resolution demanded responsibility.
Justin Hansford, a professor of law at Howard University, said the resolution was important because it was the first time the United Nations had acknowledged transatlantic slavery as a crime against humanity and demanded reparations. Hansford stated, “This is the first vote on the U.N. floor.” “I cannot overemphasise how large a step that is.”
The United States and the European Union expressed worry that the resolution would suggest a hierarchy of crimes against humanity, with some being deemed more heinous than others.
Ghana has also come under fire for pushing for tougher anti-LGBT legislation domestically while also promoting justice for historical wrongs on the international front.
According to U.S. Representative Dan Negrea, his nation is against the “cynical usage of historical wrongs as a leverage point … to reallocate modern resources to people …and nations who are distantly related to the historical victims.”
Samuel Ablakwa, Ghana’s foreign minister. said “History does not disappear when ignored, truth does not weaken when delayed, crime does not rot… and justice does not expire with time.”
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah