"Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, called on the international community to support a historic resolution declaring the trans-Atlantic slave trade a crime against humanity. Speaking at the CELAC–Africa High-Level Forum in Bogota on Saturday, Ablakwa noted that millions of Africans were stripped of their dignity over the course of more than three centuries. He stressed that Africans were subjected to inhumane conditions, displaced from their continent, treated as commodities and exposed to torture and abuse. During his address, the minister highlighted the initiative that will be formally presented by Ghana’s president, John Dramani Mahama, before international bodies on March 25. The proposal seeks to classify slavery as "the gravest crime against humanity", setting a legal and moral precedent within the international system. Ablakwa also claimed that the international community is yet to fully acknowledge the gravity of these crimes or hold those responsible accountable. "For more than 300 years, Africans were treated as property, many of them in the most dehumanising and despicable circumstances. Perpetrators are yet to apologise and have not compensated the victims," Ablakwa said. “It is unfortunate that our friends in the EU and the US have served notice that they will not be voting for this resolution, but the good news is that we are far more than them, and we want to be on the side of justice, on the right side of history,” he added. He later stressed the need for compensation to be paid and for the return of African cultural heritage held in foreign museums and collections, issuing a direct appeal to CELAC countries to support the initiative and contribute to its approval."