African Union leader, Youssouf, calls for reparative justice
African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has joined the rest of the world in calling for reparative justice for the slave trade. In his remarks, he paid tribute to the countless African women, men and children forcibly uprooted from their homes and robbed of their dignity.
The chairperson described what they were subjected to as an unimaginable cruelty in one of the darkest chapters in human history. He was unequivocal that the transatlantic slave trade was more than a historical tragedy.
It was a structural injustice whose social, economic and cultural wounds have never fully healed, either on the African continent or among diaspora communities worldwide. Confronting that legacy honestly and collectively, he said, is inseparable from the broader pursuit of justice and equality.
Education, remembrance and dialogue, Youssouf stressed, are not optional, but essential weapons in the ongoing struggle against racism, discrimination and intolerance. He called on the international community to intensify efforts to reckon with the past and address its lasting impact on affected societies.
The AUC Chairperson also used the occasion to reaffirm the African Union’s commitment to pushing reparative justice to the top of the global agenda, in line with the priorities of African peoples and the diaspora.
For the African Union, he said, this day is both a solemn act of remembrance and a reaffirmation of something deeper; the remarkable resilience of African peoples, and the non-negotiable imperative to uphold human dignity for all.
Written by Oral Ofori
Oral Ofori is Founder and Publisher at www.TheAfricanDream.net, a digital storyteller and producer, and also an information and research consultant.
