IN A POWERFUL declaration issued on Friday, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and its African regional organisation, ITUC-Africa, have strongly commended the government of Ghana for its pioneering role in securing a landmark United Nations resolution that recognises transatlantic slavery as a crime against humanity.
The declaration, contained in a press statement jointly signed by Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the ITUC and Akhator Joel Odigie, General Secretary of ITUC-Africa, applauds Ghana’s diplomatic leadership while urgently calling for the resolution to be followed by tangible measures that address the enduring legacy of this historical injustice.
The resolution, recently advanced at the UN General Assembly, formally acknowledges transatlantic slavery as “the gravest crime against humanity” and explicitly calls for reparatory justice.
According to the ITUC and ITUC-Africa, the text affirms a critical truth: that the legacy of this brutal system persists today in the form of structural inequalities, racial injustice, and the systemic underdevelopment affecting Africa and its diaspora.
The organisations insist that this moment of recognition must now serve as a catalyst for concrete actions, including formal apologies, restitution, compensation, and enforceable guarantees that such atrocities will never be repeated.
The trade union bodies emphasised that this diplomatic breakthrough aligns with their long-standing position, which has been articulated through their advocacy on debt justice. They argue that Africa’s current debt burdens are not merely the result of contemporary fiscal mismanagement but deeply rooted in historical injustices and the structural imbalances of the global economic system.
In light of this, ITUC-Africa is calling on other African governments and continental institutions to unite behind Ghana’s leadership and forge a common agenda on reparations.
In a similar tone, the global ITUC is urging governments worldwide to stand in solidarity with this African-led pursuit of justice.
Both organisations, however, cautioned that the struggle extends far beyond symbolic recognition. The statement warns that the foundational structures which sustained the transatlantic slave trade; namely extractivism, rampant labour exploitation, and external control over African economies, have not been dismantled but have instead morphed into new, insidious forms.
They noted that today, unequal trade relations, the continued extraction of natural resources without equitable benefit, and crippling debt dependency remain the primary obstacles to sustainable development and the protection of workers’ rights across the continent.
For African workers, the unions noted, these harsh realities manifest in tangible hardships: a predominance of precarious employment, stunted industrialisation, a persistent lack of value addition to raw commodities, and widespread energy poverty that stifles economic opportunity.
Arguing that the call for reparatory justice is inextricably linked to the broader struggle for economic transformation, energy sovereignty, and social justice, the unions assert that economic emancipation is the true path to freedom.
To correct these historical and ongoing injustices, the organizations demand a fundamental shift in the socio-economic relationship between Africa and the advanced economies that benefited from the slave trade.
Specifically, they called for a “cease-and-desist” arrangement regarding exploitative practices, which includes a firm demand for an immediate halt to Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) that drain the continent’s wealth, as well as comprehensive debt forgiveness. They insist that such measures are not acts of charity but essential components of commensurate compensation.
Both organisations urged the international community – particularly former colonial powers – to enter into good-faith dialogue on reparations and to take concrete steps toward justice.
