The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and its African Regional Organisation (ITUC-Africa) have commended Ghana for advancing the resolution recognising transatlantic slavery as the gravest crime against humanity and calling for reparatory justice at the United Nations General Assembly.

The resolution affirmed that the legacy of transatlantic slavery persists in structural inequalities, racial injustice, and underdevelopment affecting Africa and its diaspora.

In a statement jointly signed by the General Secretary of ITUC, Luc Triangle and his ITUC-Africa counterpart, Joel Odigie, the workers’ groups called for concrete measures, including formal apologies, restitution, compensation, and guarantees of non-repetition as part of the restitutions to redress the injustice.

According to the ITUC and its ITUC-Africa, the resolution reinforces their long-standing position, advanced through its debt campaign, that Africa’s current debt burdens are rooted in historical injustices and structural imbalances in the global economic system.

Therefore, ITUC-Africa called on other African governments and institutions to stand with Ghana and advance a common continental agenda on reparations.

The intercontinental bodies called on governments worldwide to support the African leadership and its call for justice in solidarity. The struggle, however, extends beyond recognition.

It was observed that the structures that sustained slavery, such as labour exploitation and external control of African economies, persist in new forms.

Both bodies added: “Unequal trade relations, resource extraction, and debt dependency continue to constrain development and undermine workers’ rights.”

They stressed that for African workers, the repressive policies reflect precarious employment, weak industrialisation, limited value addition, persistent inequality, and widespread energy poverty.

They insisted that the call for reparatory justice is inseparable from the struggle for economic transformation, energy sovereignty, and social justice.

“We continue to argue and advocate for corrections of these ills by insisting that a cease-and-desist socio-economic arrangement towards Africa, especially by advanced economies that directly and indirectly participate and benefit from Africa’s slavery pains, be put in place, and commensurate compensations are made, including the halt to Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and debt forgiveness,” they said.

Both labour bodies maintained that the resolution must lead to action, adding: “Africa’s freedom will be realised through economic emancipation—through control of its resources, transformation of its economies, and delivery of decent work and social justice.

ITUC and ITUC-Africa call on the international community, particularly former colonial powers, to engage in dialogue on reparations and take concrete steps toward justice. The struggle continues. Africa must remain united in the pursuit of justice, dignity, and economic liberation.”