Mahama: “History Does Not Ask Us to Inherit Guilt, It Asks Us to Inherit Responsibility”
Ghana’s President says the world must confront the legacy of slavery by taking responsibility for the world it helped create.
By: Ebenezer Adugyamfi/ Emmanuel Ayiku for GhanaianNewsCanada
September 15, 2026
President John Dramani Mahama has called for a deeper global reckoning with the legacy of slavery, arguing that modern generations should not be burdened with the guilt of historical crimes but must accept responsibility for the world those actions helped create.
“History does not ask us to inherit guilt. It asks us to inherit responsibility.”
Mahama added that although people living today may not have been responsible for actions committed centuries ago, they remain responsible for addressing the consequences of those actions in the present.
“While we may not bear responsibility for actions committed centuries ago, we are responsible for the world those actions helped create.”
The remarks form a powerful foundation for Ghana’s growing international campaign for reparatory justice, particularly as the country prepares to take the issue to the global stage during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Ghana pushes reparatory justice agenda
Ghana has increasingly positioned itself at the centre of international discussions on reparations, restitution and justice for Africa and people of African descent.
Following the historic UN General Assembly resolution on the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade and the enslavement of Africans, Ghana has shifted attention towards a more difficult question: what should happen next?
The country subsequently convened the Next Steps Conference on Reparatory Justice in Accra in June, bringing together scholars, policymakers, legal experts and advocates from Africa, the Caribbean and the wider African diaspora.
The conference was intended to move the conversation beyond recognition of historical injustice and towards practical measures for restitution, justice and accountability.
From recognition to action
One of the major outcomes of Ghana’s Accra conference was the establishment of three international bodies to advance the reparatory justice agenda.
They include the High-Level Advisory Council on Reparatory Justice, the Global Experts Panel on the Restitution of Cultural Heritage and the Global Legal Panel on Reparatory Justice.
The panels are expected to provide expertise and recommendations on the legal, historical, cultural and policy dimensions of reparatory justice.
Mahama’s message to the international community
The President’s message emphasizes a distinction that Ghana believes is important to the reparations debate.
The argument is not that people today should personally accept guilt for actions committed by previous generations.
Instead, the focus is on recognizing how historical systems of slavery, exploitation and colonialism shaped modern political and economic structures—and determining what responsibility exists today to address their continuing consequences.
That distinction is likely to remain central as Ghana seeks broader international support for its reparatory justice agenda.
The conversation moves to New York
Ghana is scheduled to host a high-level side event on reparatory justice in New York on September 23, on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
The meeting is expected to provide an opportunity for the newly established panels to present progress reports and for governments and international stakeholders to engage in discussions about the next phase of the global reparations movement.
For Ghana, the objective is to transform historical recognition into sustained international dialogue and concrete action.
Mahama’s message therefore goes beyond the question of who should be blamed for the past.
It asks what responsibility today’s world has to confront the consequences of that past—and whether nations can work together to create a more just future.
“History does not ask us to inherit guilt. It asks us to inherit responsibility.”
