The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) has thrown its full support behind Ghana’s proposed United Nations resolution seeking to declare the trafficking and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.
The initiative, announced by John Dramani Mahama during the General Debate of the 80th UN General Assembly in September 2025, is set to be debated on March 25, 2026, coinciding with the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Transatlantic Trafficking of Africans.
In a solidarity statement issued from Arusha on March 18, 2026, PALU described the resolution as a historic opportunity to reshape global discourse on historical truth, memory, and reparatory justice.
The legal body emphasised that the initiative represents a critical step toward acknowledging the scale and enduring consequences of slavery on Africa and its diaspora.
“We stand in solidarity with the Republic of Ghana, acting on behalf of the African Union, in advancing this historic initiative,” the statement read.
“This moment presents an important opportunity to strengthen African unity around our shared history and to reaffirm our collective responsibility to honour the memory of our ancestors.”
PALU also called on the African diaspora and global partners to rally behind the resolution, highlighting growing cooperation between the African Union and the Caribbean Community.
The organisation noted that a unified vote would demonstrate collective strength and commitment to pursuing reparatory justice for Africans and people of African descent worldwide.
“A unified vote in support of this resolution would signal collective strength and a shared determination to see the pursuit of reparations through to its conclusion,” PALU stated, urging nations to align with what it described as a defining moral and historical imperative.