Reparations for slavery

Reparations for slavery are reparations for victims of slavery. Reparations can take many forms, including financial compensation, legal remedy of damages, public apology and guarantees of non-repetition. Victims of slavery can refer to historical slavery or ongoing slavery in the 21st century. Some reparations for slavery date back to the 18th century. While much discussion focuses on U.S. and Caribbean claims, African governments have formally sought reparations since 1992. The Organization of African Unity (now African Union) established the Group of Eminent Persons in 1999 to quantify colonial extraction, estimating $777 trillion in stolen labor and resources. In 2023, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo demanded European payments during the Accra Reparations Conference, citing the 1897 British looting of Benin artifacts as a case study. These efforts gained momentum after Germany’s 2021 Namibia genocide compensation deal set a precedent.