Ablakwa presses reparations case and courts diaspora during UN General Assembly week

Pinned summary · as of 04:43

Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, used the 81st UN General Assembly in New York to push the country's reparations agenda and to address Ghanaians living overseas. His remarks, reported by The Vaultz News, MyNewsGH, The Press Radio and MyJoyOnline, covered the return of African cultural heritage as well as the state's duty to citizens abroad, and included a townhall with the Tri-State Area community.

What we know

• Mr Ablakwa's engagements in New York took place around the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. They included a side event on reparatory justice and a townhall with Ghanaians from the Tri-State Area.
• A UN resolution linked to reparatory justice for slavery, which Ghana championed, was adopted earlier in 2026 and remains the backdrop for the minister's current push.
• Mr Ablakwa argued that African cultural objects held abroad should be returned, a point he made at the New York event and in the remarks MyNewsGH reported.
• The minister promised that the government would keep protecting Ghanaians wherever they live and continue to back those facing hardship outside the country.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  The Vaultz News reported that Mr Ablakwa said Washington had formally told Ghana it was ready to work on reparatory justice, even though it voted against the resolution. He gave no detail on what that cooperation would involve, and other reports have not confirmed the claim.
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  The Vaultz News put the March vote at 123 in favour and three against, with the United States, Argentina and Israel opposed and 52 abstentions. It also reported the minister as saying that nearly all the European abstainers had since offered to cooperate. These points have not been confirmed elsewhere.
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  According to The Vaultz News, the minister said France, Germany and the Netherlands had signalled willingness to hand back artefacts, and that national laws barring museum transfers can be amended. He cited a French repeal and a recent American law he credited to President Donald Trump. No other report carries these claims.
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  The Vaultz News also reported Mr Ablakwa presenting the campaign as one of reconciliation rather than a reopening of old grievances, and saying the aim is genuine healing. This account has not been repeated in other reports.
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  According to MyNewsGH, Mr Ablakwa said acknowledging the injustices of slavery is no longer enough and asked for an honest apology, the handing back of cultural heritage and compensation for harm that persists. The apology demand has not been confirmed by other reports.
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  MyNewsGH reported that Mr Ablakwa, speaking 25 years after the Durban Declaration was adopted, welcomed a recent Ghana-led UN resolution that treats the trade in enslaved people as the worst kind of crime against humanity. He said it corrected paragraph 13 of the declaration, which had only said slavery should have been such a crime, and he demanded that anyone who weakens the declaration be held to account. Other reports do not confirm this.
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  The Press Radio reported that Mr Ablakwa brushed aside claims that some evacuees from South Africa regret coming home, saying such comments would not divert the government from its duty. A returnee, Kofi Baah, told The Press Radio he regrets returning and that the GH₵5,000 support did not cover his family's needs. This rests on a single report.
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  The Press Radio cited government figures of 1,964 Ghanaians brought home from South Africa over the period from May 27 to September 4, 2026, at a bill of roughly GH₵49.72 million. Each evacuee reportedly received GH₵5,000 for reintegration and GH₵500 for travel. The government also said it is weighing longer-term help such as jobs and start-up support. These details have not appeared in other reports.
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  MyJoyOnline reported that Mr Ablakwa told the townhall his ministry is building a database of the consular status of Ghanaians worldwide, to help it find and assist citizens facing detention, legal needs or other immigration trouble, and that it has reached Ghanaians in Myanmar, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Other reports have not confirmed this.
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  The minister voiced confidence that relations with the United States would help move US immigrant visa processing forward for Ghanaian applicants, MyJoyOnline reported. The report added that the US Department of State had listed Ghana among 75 countries under a temporary pause in immigrant visas, and said in August 2026 that the pause had ended following a court order. These points have a single source.
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  Citing Bank of Ghana figures, Mr Ablakwa credited the diaspora with supporting the economy and said remittance inflows climbed to US$7.8 billion by 2025, against about US$4.6 billion in 2014. Only MyJoyOnline carried the figures.

Why it matters for Ghana

Many households across Ghana rely on money sent home by relatives abroad, and the remittance figures the minister cited show how much that support has grown in a decade. The evacuation numbers and the returnee's complaint bear on families in Ghana who took back relatives from South Africa and now depend on reintegration help. A consular database could help the ministry locate and assist Ghanaians who are detained or lack legal help overseas, while the reparations call keeps the legacy of slavery on the government's foreign policy agenda.