UN’s landmark slavery ruling energises African Union’s fight for reparations

• UN votes to describe slave trade as ‘gravest crime against humanity’ Despite resistance from states who had role in chattel slavery, many feel this is an idea whose time has come John Mahama knows a thing or two about beating the establishment. On Wednesday, less than two years after completing a remarkable comeback as Ghana’s president with a landslide…

Key takeaways

Quick scan — what you need to know:

• • UN votes to describe slave trade as ‘gravest crime against humanity’ Despite resistance from states who had role in chattel slavery, many feel this is an idea whose time has come John Mahama knows…
• On Wednesday, less than two years after completing a remarkable comeback as Ghana’s president with a landslide defeat of the ruling party candidate, he rallied the world to ratify a landmark vote…
• The resolution to declare the practice as “the gravest crime against humanity” passed with a decisive majority at the UN general assembly and has been largely welcomed across Africa.
• Yet the details of the tally reveal a world still deeply divided on the gravity of the sin of enslaving more than 15 million people as chattel over the course of 400 years.

Background

What led here, in plain terms:

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• • UN votes to describe slave trade as ‘gravest crime against humanity’ Despite resistance from states who had role in chattel slavery, many feel this is an idea whose time has come John Mahama knows…
• On Wednesday, less than two years after completing a remarkable comeback as Ghana’s president with a landslide defeat of the ruling party candidate, he rallied the world to ratify a landmark vote…
• The resolution to declare the practice as “the gravest crime against humanity” passed with a decisive majority at the UN general assembly and has been largely welcomed across Africa.

Why it matters

Why readers and decision-makers should care:

• On Wednesday, less than two years after completing a remarkable comeback as Ghana’s president with a landslide defeat of the ruling party candidate, he rallied the world to ratify a landmark vote…
• The resolution to declare the practice as “the gravest crime against humanity” passed with a decisive majority at the UN general assembly and has been largely welcomed across Africa.
• Yet the details of the tally reveal a world still deeply divided on the gravity of the sin of enslaving more than 15 million people as chattel over the course of 400 years.