French President Emmanuel Macron pledged France’s ‘full support’ for African efforts to advance reparatory justice for slavery, in Accra on Thursday.
“I do not want any misunderstanding to arise; France supports fully the call made by Ghana,” Macron stated. “This call aims to establish historical truth in all its depth,” Macron said during a virtual address to the High-Level Consultative Conference on the landmark UN Resolution on the Trafficking and Enslavement of Africans.
The French president said more work was needed to shed light on what he described as the ‘dark areas’ of shared history, stressing that the history of slavery must be taught, transmitted to future generations and its lasting consequences fully understood.
“The first of reparations is the truth, the truth recognised and accepted,” he noted.
“I want to assure you here of my full determination and that of France to continue this path of historical recognition with all its partners,” Macron said.
He further stressed that reparations should extend beyond financial compensation to include truth-telling, education, memorialisation and the return of looted cultural artefacts.
“The resolution put forward by Ghana expresses a deep aspiration for justice, and this, we cannot ignore,” he added. “I therefore hope that through this unprecedented work of historical recognition, we can together lay the first foundations of a path towards reparations, reconciliation, and a shared future.”
The meeting, hosted by Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, brought together the presidents of Senegal and Namibia, alongside representatives of the African Union, CARICOM and the African diaspora to discuss practical measures for reparatory justice related to slavery and colonialism.
It comes after a landmark UN resolution championed by Ghana was adopted on March 25, recognizing the trafficking and enslavement of Africans as among the gravest crimes against humanity. The measure was backed by 123 countries, opposed by the United States, Israel and Argentina, while 52 countries, including France and other European Union member states, abstained.
Source: Viory
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