African and Caribbean countries have called for a formal apology and reparations from nations that benefited from the transatlantic slave trade. The demands were made at the conclusion of a three-day conference in Ghana aimed at advancing reparatory justice.

A 19-point reparations plan endorsed at the conference calls for comprehensive debt relief, restitution of looted cultural property, and the establishment of a global reparations fund. It also addresses the disproportionate impact of slavery on African women and girls.

Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama told delegates: "History does not ask us to inherit guilt, but it asks us to inherit responsibility."

French President Emmanuel Macron, in a virtual address, acknowledged that enslaved people were "dehumanized and treated as goods." However, he cautioned against reducing reparations to financial compensation alone, saying they should not be seen as "a check written to bring the story to a close."

A landmark UN resolution in March recognized transatlantic slavery as the "gravest crime against humanity." The resolution passed with 123 votes in favor, with the United States, Israel, and Argentina voting against. 52 countries, including the United Kingdom and EU member states, abstained.

The UK has long rejected calls for reparations, arguing that today's institutions cannot be held responsible for past wrongs. The US ambassador to the UN echoed this, stating there is no legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal at the time.

No country has ever paid reparations to descendants of enslaved Africans or affected nations. In fact, most 19th-century reparations were paid to slave owners. The UK, for example, paid owners the equivalent of over $21 billion in today's money after abolishing slavery in the 1830s.

Source: www.bbc.com