For centuries, the peoples of Africa and their diasporas have borne the brunt of significant historical injustices: the transatlantic slave trade, colonial exploitation, resource grabbing and marginalisation in the global economic architecture. In light of this, the African Union is stepping up its call for restorative justice, urging the international community to confront and remedy the economic legacy of slavery and colonialism.
The African Union has placed restorative justice at the heart of its priorities for 2025, with the theme for the year: ‘Justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations’. This strategic direction reflects the growing mobilisation on the continent through civil society and the diaspora to demand tangible reparations for slavery, colonisation and economic dispossession.
Civil society is at the center of this. We are not on the sidelines. We are not begging for this space. We are the ones driving the change our continent needs so that we truly realize the motto of the African Union, which sees the Africa we want.
William Carew, Head of ECOSOCC Secretariat
From 7 to 9 July 2025, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, the AU Civil Society Forum, organised by ECOSOCC, made a strong appeal to put an end to historical impunity and obtain concrete compensation. This demand follows on from the Accra summit in 2023, when Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo called on African leaders to unite in demanding justice.
I think it is quite important that we should not see the financial part of it more than we should see the justice part of Africa and the African people have been going through injustice for a very, very long time.We are not represented in the Security Council of the UN as permanent figures. We are not represented in many of the committees of the United Nations as we supposed to be. So that is also another dimension that we need to really deliberate on and discuss how Africa can be actively and effectively participating in all UN entities, including the Security Council of the UN.
Salah Hammad, Head of the African Governance Architecture (AGA-APSA)
Figures speak for themselves. A report published in 2023 by international experts, including International Court of Justice judge Patrick Robinson, estimated that the UK would have to pay more than 24,000 billion dollars to 14 African nations. Other estimates put the total cost of colonial and slave reparations at over 100,000 billion dollars. In the United States alone, the forced labour of Afro-descendants represents a moral and economic debt estimated at 14,000 billion dollars.
Africa should fully embrace the principles of justice transition in ways that work for our context and for our people. I repeat for our own context and for our people, friends, colleagues. As this forum closes, our work is only beginning. What we have discussed here must now return with us to our organization is our constituencies, our communities and our countries.These conversations need to continue, but more importantly, they need to lead to concrete actions.
William Carew, Head of ECOSOCC Secretariat
Faced with the slowness of the former colonial powers, African voices such as Dominique Yamb Ntimba are calling for a coordinated pan-African strategy. The aim is to set up a continental mechanism to influence international negotiations and guarantee reparations tailored to African realities.
