According to the AU ECOSOCC website, “During the meeting, the group of experts reflected on the extensive work each organisation in the collective has been doing to advance the reparatory justice agenda in their respective geographies and spaces. They presented to the President priorities to be undertaken as part of the upcoming African Union (AU) Decade of Reparations. Key among these issues is the strengthening of collaboration and transcontinental coordination between state and non-state actors. . . . The group, which includes civil society practitioners, strategists, feminists, philanthropists, academics and affected community advocates, offered to complement the efforts of the newly constituted AU Committee of Experts on Reparations (AUCER) and other mechanisms established to pursue justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations. . . . Earlier on Wednesday 17th December, the group met with the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, as well as the Presidential Envoy on Reparations, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah. The meeting discussed ways to solidify interactions between government and civil society groups working on reparatory justice in and outside of the continent. . . . The meetings with the Foreign Minister and the President were facilitated by the African Union-ECOSOCC, Trust Africa and Reform Initiatives.” Again, though I had the most advanced reparations legal strategy, had appeared three times on Nkechi Taifa’s Human Rights and Justice podcast, and had opened collaborative communications channels with African Union-ECOSOCC, Trust Africa and Reform Initiatives, I was still not invited. It is fair to say that either these key stakeholders STILL don’t understand the new reparations narrative and unifying legal strategy, or they have rejected it in favor of the obsolete strategy that has already been defeated repeatedly.
6. Ghana President John Dramani Mahama was officially appointed as the African Union (AU) Champion for Reparations during the 39th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly in February 2026. At that time, , the Government of Ghana hosted a critical two-day joint Bureau meeting of the AUCER and the African Union Legal Experts on Reparations (AULER).
7. According to the Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Ghana website, “President Mahama reported significant progress in establishing continental mechanisms to pursue reparations for the legacies of transatlantic enslavement, colonialism, and apartheid. These include the AU Coordination Team on Reparations, the AU Committee of Experts on Reparations (AUCER), and a Reference Group of Legal Experts (AULER).
8. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFA&RI) is the primary government organ responsible for the formulation, coordination, and implementation of Ghana’s foreign policy and has recently taken a specialized lead in the global reparations movement. MFA&RI is the chief diplomatic architect and executive arm of Ghana's reparations agenda. While the President serves as the African Union (AU) Champion on Reparations, the Ministry translates this high-level vision into actionable international policy and legal frameworks. The Ministry is the lead agency for the AU's "Decade of Reparations" (2026–2036), coordinating with the AU Commission to institutionalize the agenda. It established a high-level committee to coordinate international consultations and refine the legal framework for reparatory justice, drafted and successfully tabled the historic March 2026 UN Resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade the "gravest crime against humanity".
9. In his March 22, 2026, address, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa stated, “And finally, to the global community of scholars, researchers, legal unions, academia and reparations activists who have carried this torch across decades, often without institutional support and always against the weight of inertia: history will record your perseverance as the indispensable precondition for everything that follows. This moment belongs, in no small measure, to you.” In his address at the UN and related press conferences, President Mahama explicitly thanked the African Union (AU), CARICOM (Caribbean Community), the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Global Group of Experts on Reparations has frequently called for a "unified African and Diaspora narrative.”
10. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFA&RI) works closely with the Office of the Presidential Special Envoy on Reparations led by Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah to align technical legal advice with Ghana’s broader diplomatic strategy. The Ministry is currently organizing a high-level conference for June 18–19, 2026, in Accra.
Here are some excerpts from my exchange with the Ghana Presidential Special Envoy on Reparations:
December 5, 20205:
Siphiwe: Congratulations on your new appointment. Here is a thorough chronological compilation of my work in the reparations Movement. It is an invaluable resource.
https://www.balanta.org/news/the-board-as-i-see-it-developments-concerning-global-afrikan-strategic-litigation
December 19, 2025:
Siphiwe: I'd like to discuss with you the Lineage Restoration Reparations & Repatriation model. It is proving itslef successful here in Guinea Bissau.
Ekow: Much appreciated. Are you at the Diaspora Conference in Ghana? If so, kindly introduce yourself to me at the Conference/Summit
Siphiwe: Unfortunately, in spite of all of my work in this area, I wasn’t informed, let alone invited.
January 30, 2026:
Siphiwe: Greetings Ekow. I trust you are well. I would like your assistance in convening a three-way call with your counterpart in Benin - whoever is responsible for their Diaspora citizenship program to dscuss the campaign for a comprehensive AU citizenship policy based on the Benin and Ghana models.
Ekow: Dear Siphiwe, The citizenship program is a preserve of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana. As you must know, I am the President’s Special Envoy for Reparations, which is a related but different subject. Reparations, as you may be aware, is often conflated with Repatriation, which is about Citizenship. I suggest that you kindly consider writing to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. There is an African-American community in Ghana, whose issue of DOORS is mainly about Repatriation. I shall hope to connect you with their leader in due course. Of course, I shall be honored to meet you as well soon to compare notes on what we can jointly do to support the Reparations agenda. Thanks Ekwow
Siphiwe: Thank you for the clarification. I do have contacts with many Repatriates in Ghana, many closely associated with the development of Ghana's citizenship program. I myself was present in Accra during the 2007 Joseph Project and the AU Grand Debate and of course, I am aware of the work of Dr. Erika Bennett and DAF. I am currently working with Honorable Commissioner Dr. Litha Musyimi-Ogana , Chairperson of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities and Minorities in Africa at the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights on tracking all citizenships granted. As far as reparations, I would like to discuss with you how Ghana can approach the Vatican to implement a dna-testing program as reparations for their role in committing ethnocide, pursuant to RESOLUTION ON THE AFRICAN COMMISSION’S CONTRIBUTION TO IMPLEMENTING THE AFRICAN UNION THEME OF THE YEAR 2025: “JUSTICE FOR AFRICANS AND PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT THROUGH REPARATIONS” - ACHPR/Res 653.(EXT.OS/XXXIX) 2025 - https://www.balanta.org/news/achpr-resolution-653
Ekow: Great. You can send OGR a Proposal on your Vatican idea so we test it’s feasibility before deciding the best Course of Action. This way, there would be documented exchanges with your office, so no one can claim ownership of your ideas. Until we hear from you, please accept our best wishes for a restful weekend.
February 12, 2026:
Siphiwe: Nsumna. Greetings Ekow. I trust you are well. I just received my invitation to attend the CELAC-Africa High-Level Forum in Bogotá, D.C. I trust you will be there. Attached is the pilot project that I would like to raise with OGR via your suggested Proposal. Please give me a quick 5 minute call to discuss how I should proceed. This is consistent with my intervention at the 85th Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) which subsequently adopted my recommendations and passed Resolution 653 that, "4. Calls upon Member States to facilitate voluntary heritage and ancestry tracing for people of African descent with appropriate safeguards for privacy and data protection, and to consider pathways for residency, citizenship, and mobility in accordance with national laws.” https://www.balanta.org/news/achpr-resolution-653
Ekow: Many thanks from Addis AUC meeting where Reparations is very much on the Agenda tomorrow PM. Not clear what you expect the OGR to do with your letters, except to take note. If you prefer to have an official relationship with OGR of Ghana, then kindly write to that specific effect, itemizing the areas of cooperation you wish to have. On CELAC, we don’t have an invitation. You can share the details of the Africa High-Level Forum you have specified in your letter. As a Ghana Government Agency, we are happy to receive any invitations to Conferences, Meetings or Events where the subject matter is relevant to our mandate.
Siphiwe: This is why I would like to talk to you. I know nothing about the OGR or how to submit a proposal to it. I sent the document so you could understand the project. It’s quite simple. The Vatican launched the Dum Diversas War. They gave Asiento monopoly war contracts to traffick and enslave the prisoners of that war, many of them from Ghana. Those prisoners suffered Ethnocide. The projects is to get the Vatican and the former Asiento contract holders to pay for DNA testing and return tours for the victims who still suffer Ethnocide today. As Ghana has the AU’s mandate on reparations, the OGR should be very much involved…..
Ekow: Agreed. If you have copies of the Contracts or Papal Bulls as part of the Historical Records, OGR would appreciate a copy. We are new, so our official documents are still in preparation. We have not been officially launched or Commissioned as yet. So for now, we are in an information gathering and learning mode. We are happy to be educated by yourself and other longer-serving veterans of the Reparations agenda. Kindly advise your usual physical location, so we can jointly determine how best to engage. I am not available this week, as I am with my President in Addis for the AUC Summit.
Siphiwe: I live in Bissau, Guinea Bissau. Use this link to schedule a short call with me:
Ekow: Okay then for next week, Sir
March 3, 2026:
Siphiwe: Nsumna. Greetings my friend. Per our conversations, please send me your email. I would like to invite you to a high level meeting concerning the 25th Anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism and the Durban Declaration. The meeting is to coordinate actions with UN PFPAD, ACHPR, International Working Group on the Implemenntation of the Durban Declaration, and others. 26 key stakeholders are invited to the meeting which has supporting Ghana’s upcoming UN Resolution on the agenda. So please forward your email so I can send your invitation and Concept note
March 7, 2026:
Siphiwe: Greetings Ekow. I trust you are well. The meeting is starting in 2 hours at 4:00 pm GMT and I see that you did not register. Please come to the meeting:
OBJECTIVE:
Coordinate action between
1) the UN Intergovernmental Working Group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (IWGDDPA);
2) the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD);
3) the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR),
4) the governments of Ghana and South Africa (the two governments that have a leading role) as well as
5) civil society and key stakeholders
to produce events celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism and the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) while prioritizing the implementation of DDPA points 52, 54, 55, 79, 80, 84, 87, 104, 158, 160, 161, 162, 166, 168, 172, 173, 191 and II.12 through the campaign to mandate The Permanent Forum on People of African Descent to request an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on “The status of Afro Descendant People as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention and their right to conduct plebiscites for self-determination.”
2026 marks the 25th Anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism and the resulting Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA). Saturday, August 29, 2026 (8/29), is designated as a Day of Unity and Action so that people remember and understand the importance of Durban and its implementation today. [See attached ENDORSE 8.29.26 DURBAN DECLARATION COMMEMORATION DAY]
Ekow: So so sorry. I had another important event today, so passed the Registration on to a colleague. Apologies if no one showed up on our behalf. We shall appreciate a little more advance notification next time.
March 9, 2026: [In response to the report on the meetings and the article, DURBAN 25: ON THE STRATEGY OF THE BALANTA MANDATE REQUESTING AN ADVISORY OPINION FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE ON REPARATIONS & THE STATUS OF AFRODESCENTS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW]
Ekow: Dear Siphiwe, Hello and congratulations on your recent meeting, which I regretted to have missed. Do keep me informed as usual and looking forward to assist you in due course. Thanks for all you do for Africa, Africans and the Diaspora worldwide. Blessings Ekwow Spio-Garbrah PSER, Accra
March 25, 2026:
Siphiwe: Nsumna. Greetings Ekow. Congratulations to Ghana and President Mahama. Please click, read and study the article I just posted - UN Adopts Ghana's Slavery Crime Against Humanity Resolution and AI Concludes that President John Mahama Should Adopt The Legal Strategy of the Balanta Mandate Presented by Siphiwe Baleka. 👆🏾I would like to get an audience with President Mahama and the Team of Reparations Legal Experts to discuss what AI concludes is a brilliant reparations legal strategy. I’m not sure Ghana has fully considered it.....
