African Reparations: A new phase in the pipeline 

The issue of European compensation for colonial reparations is again gaining momentum, as different African and Caribbean countries are calling former colonial powers to be engaged in the issue, but moreover, there is a local civil society movement which is building strength on the matter. 

The African Union (AU) has declared 2025 as “the Year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through reparations”. African countries such as Ghana and Senegal have been leading a African campaign demanding reparations from postcolonial countries. The main argument is that, according to the petitioners, “slavery’s legacy has caused persistent racial inequalities. The recently created Confederation of the Alliance of the Sahel States has been leading this process as a way of developing of new relationship with its former colonial power.  
A second argument in this vein is recent declarations by other African leaders, such as President Mahama from Ghana and President Ramaphosa from South Africa who have called for a stronger African collective action calling for historical reparations “in order to bridge the divide between developed and developing countries”. 

Other leaders, such as President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah from Namibia and President Ruto of Kenya despite having softer declarations still request a stronger dialogue and speed into the reparation reality.  

Joining political leaders into this claim is also the African civil society through different organizations. A recent conference was held in Niger bringing together activists three different Sahel countries. The conference conclusion was basically to hold a stronger African voice in holding the European countries accountable for its colonial responsibilities. 

The first step into this pan-african movement has been the discussion on mechanism that could take into the payment of 50 trillion euros which is estimated as the value of compensation by European former colonial powers to the African continent. The idea is to include in this mechanism three ways that could lead to the compensation payment: 1) Global Reparation Fund, where European countries would finance infrastructure developments and social programmes in different African countries; 2) A reparation tax proceeding directly to African states or diaspora communities and; 3) a debt restructuring or cancelation debts to European countries. 

Some European countries have started discussing the reparations issue, even if there is a strong denial among European leaders.

Since the US-Europe relations are no longer what they once were, Washington appears ready to side with Africa on this issue. The issue is also being actively discussed on the other side of the Atlantic, where it is considered “in America’s national interest and vital to China’s restraint”.

However Europeans see the matter, what becomes clear now is that the African path is to be unified to stronger advocate for clear European reparations. This unification can develop into a stronger will, especially when the global world is changing dramatically into a new era.

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