By Michael Oche
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and its African Regional Organisation, ITUC-Africa, have called on African governments and institutions to adopt a coordinated continental position on slavery reparations, urging unity in advancing justice for historical injustices.
The unions made the call while commending the Government of Ghana for its leadership at the United Nations General Assembly in advancing a resolution recognising transatlantic slavery as a crime against humanity and calling for reparatory justice.
The call was contained in a joint statement signed by Luc Triangle, General Secretary of ITUC, and Akhator Joel Odigie, General Secretary of ITUC-Africa.
According to the organisations, the resolution marks a significant step in acknowledging the enduring legacy of slavery, which continues to manifest in structural inequalities, racial injustice, and underdevelopment across Africa and its diaspora.
They stressed, however, that recognition alone is insufficient without concrete action, insisting that the global community must move towards formal apologies, restitution, compensation, and guarantees of non-repetition.
“This development reinforces the ITUC and ITUC-Africa’s 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 calls on other African governments and institutions to stand with Ghana and advance a common continental agenda on reparations,” the statement read.
The unions further argued that the structures that sustained slavery—such as extractivism, labour exploitation, and external control of African economies—persist in modern forms through unequal trade relations, resource extraction, and debt dependency.
For African workers, these realities translate into precarious employment, weak industrialisation, limited value addition, and widespread inequality, alongside persistent energy poverty.
The organisations emphasised that the call for reparatory justice is closely tied to the broader struggle for economic transformation, energy sovereignty, and social justice on the continent.
“We insist that this resolution must lead to action. 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 unions maintained that achieving true freedom for Africa requires economic emancipation, including greater control over resources, industrial development, and the promotion of decent work.
