President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana has urged countries in possession of Africa's artefacts and human remains to return them, emphasizing the need for a permanent, institutionalized global system for restitution. Speaking at the Next Steps on Reparatory Justice, a high-level side event of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Mahama stressed that the debate on restitution was not just about static objects in museum cases, but about people, dignity, and an unfinished journey toward justice.
The event, co-hosted by Ghana, Germany, and France, aimed to follow up on the historic adoption of the UN General Assembly Resolution and the High-Level Consultative Conference on Reparatory Justice held in Accra in June. President Mahama cited Ghana's experience, recalling the British destruction of Kumasi in 1874 and the looting of the palace of the Asantehene. He noted that a portion of that heritage returned in 2024, including the sacred Mpomponsuo sword, highlighting that these artefacts belong to living traditions and communities.
President Mahama described the removal of physical remains of ancestors as the most heartbreaking form of dispossession. He cited the example of King Badu Bonsu II of Ahanta, who was executed and decapitated by Dutch colonial authorities in 1838, and his head was preserved in a jar of formaldehyde for 170 years before being returned to Ghana in 2009. The President emphasized that human remains are not collectibles, but our ancestors, and their return is a fundamental test of our shared human dignity.
President Mahama rejected the argument that restitution must wait until African nations build modern facilities, stating that capacity constraints must never be used as a justification for continued possession. He noted that Africa is already building the infrastructure of the future, including the Great African Museum and the AU-EU Museum Partnership, and called on multilateral development banks and international financial institutions to invest in Africa's cultural infrastructure.
The President stressed that cultural heritage is not a luxury to be addressed after economic development, but an engine of development, fueling education, identity, international tourism, and a booming creative economy. He called on global foundations and private sector partners to invest deliberately in Africa's cultural infrastructure, including regional archives, conservation laboratories, and professional training for African curators and historians.
President Mahama acknowledged progress made by some holding nations, including the Netherlands' cataloguing of 2,000 Ghanaian artefacts for return, and Germany's engagement with the Kpando Traditional Area. However, he emphasized that moral justice cannot rely on piecemeal generosity or isolated acts of goodwill, and urged the establishment of clear, standardized legal and diplomatic mechanisms for unconditional restitution.
The President concluded that the work is ultimately about the children who will inherit the world, and that they must inherit more than the story of what Africa lost, but also the story of what Africa created. He called on the international community to forge a partnership to repair the future, and let the UN General Assembly be remembered as the moment they built the future together.
Key points
- President Mahama urges nations to return Africa's artefacts and human remains.
- A permanent global system for restitution is needed.
- Cultural heritage is an engine of development, fueling education, identity, and economy.
