Legal practitioner Martin Kpebu says he will organise a demonstration to demand financial benefits for Ghana as part of the global campaign for reparative justice.
Mr Kpebu said an apology from the former colonial powers was welcome, but should be accompanied by compensation.
“The demonstration is to conscientise the Ghanaian people that we should get behind Mahama to push for payment of compensation. We need to push for financial benefits; the apology is good,” he said on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday, October 31.
His comments follow President John Dramani Mahama’s call for a new international framework to advance reparations after the United Nations recognised the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity.
Speaking at a side event during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Mahama set out three priorities for the next phase of the reparative justice agenda.
The first is the creation of a permanent international system for returning African cultural property held overseas. He said restitution should no longer depend on individual countries making voluntary gestures, and instead should be supported by clear legal and diplomatic procedures.
“Today, on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly, I present to you the three pillars of our NEXT STEPS to transform this vision into global reality,” he said.
President Mahama pointed to the Netherlands’ catalogue of 2,000 Ghanaian artefacts for return, Germany’s engagement with the Kpando traditional area, France’s legislative frameworks and the return of the Djidji Ayokwe talking drum to Cote d’Ivoire.
“But moral justice cannot rely on piecemeal generosity or isolated acts of goodwill. Our NEXT STEP is to build a permanent, institutionalised global system,” he said.
He urged the United Nations and states holding African artefacts to adopt standardised mechanisms to support provenance research, improve access to archives and remove legal obstacles to unconditional restitution. He said the process should start with the unconditional return of human remains.
The second pillar is a rejection of claims that artefacts should remain abroad until African countries have developed modern preservation facilities.
“Let us reject this narrative. Capacity constraints must never be used as a justification for continued possession. Capacity must serve as a bridge to return, not a barrier to justice,” President Mahama said.
He cited the African Union’s Agenda 2063 flagship project for the Great African Museum, the AU-EU Museum Partnership and Ghana’s construction of modern national and traditional institutions as evidence of Africa’s preparations.
Any remaining shortcomings in technology, digitisation and conservation, he said, should be addressed through multilateral partnerships.
The third pillar is treating cultural heritage as a contributor to economic and social development, rather than something to consider only once development has been achieved.
“Cultural heritage is not a luxury item to be addressed after economic development. Heritage is an engine of development,” he said.
President Mahama said properly preserved heritage could support education, national identity, international tourism and the creative economy.
On March 25, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 80/250, with 123 Member States declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans the gravest crime against humanity and calling for the prompt and unhindered restitution of cultural property, sacred artefacts and national archives.
