Accra, the capital of Ghana, is hosting a three-day international conference bringing together heads of state, ministers, historians, legal experts and civil society representatives from more than 80 countries to advance the global push for reparatory justice. The gathering, billed "Next Steps," is the first major international meeting since the United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution in March recognising the transatlantic trafficking and enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. The resolution, proposed by Ghana on behalf of African Union member states, passed with 123 votes in favour, while the United States, Israel and Argentina voted against it and 52 countries — including the United Kingdom and all EU member states — abstained.

The conference opens with technical discussions aimed at building a common framework before heads of state join the proceedings later in the week. Expected speakers include Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, African Union Commission Chair Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, and the presidents of Ghana, Liberia, Namibia, Senegal and France. On 19 June, participants will gather at Osu Castle — a 17th-century Danish-built fortress in Accra that served as a hub for the slave trade — to mark Juneteenth, the American commemoration of the end of slavery. Ghana's coastline holds some of the most tangible physical evidence of the trade, including the fortresses at Cape Coast and Elmina from which millions of Africans were deported to the Americas, leading Ghana's foreign minister to describe his country as "the scene of the crime" that must now become "a place of restoration and healing."

Organisers are clear that the agenda goes far beyond financial compensation. Discussions encompass the restitution of cultural artefacts, educational programmes, formal acknowledgements of historical harm, and official apologies from states that profited from enslavement. Ghana's President John Mahama, who has championed the issue within the African Union, has also argued that reparatory justice must include addressing Africa's structural marginalisation — pointing, for instance, to the continent's continued absence from a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. "It is not just about money," said Samuel Okyere, a lecturer at the University of Bristol specialising in the legacies of slavery. "A cheque will not repair deeply rooted racism, structural inequalities, or the moral crimes committed through slavery."

The summit arrives at what many advocates describe as a pivotal moment. Recent weeks have seen French President Emmanuel Macron call on France to confront its role in African enslavement — notably using the word "reparations," a term his predecessors avoided — and Pope Leo XIV issue a historic apology for the Vatican's role in legitimising the practice. Analysts warn, however, that momentum must be carefully sustained. The conference's objectives include establishing global panels on reparatory justice and restitution, and crafting a framework to translate the UN resolution into concrete institutional commitments. As one researcher put it, the gathering "must not be a one-off" but must produce a clear roadmap with measurable goals — ensuring that decades of fragmented campaigning, stretching back to the 1993 Abuja Proclamation, finally give way to coordinated, actionable progress.