Brazil backs Mahama’s UN push to declare Slave Trade crime against humanity

Brazil has thrown its weight behind President John Dramani Mahama’s campaign at the United Nations to have the transatlantic slave trade formally recognised as the gravest crime against humanity.

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The backing was announced by Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, following talks with Ghana’s foreign affairs minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, on the sidelines of the CELAC-Africa Summit in Colombia on Saturday, March 21.

This endorsement is set to strengthen mounting international support for Ghana’s initiative, which aims to deepen global dialogue around reparatory justice.

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Brazil’s position carries significant symbolic importance, given its deep historical connections to Africa and its distinction as the country with the largest population of people of African descent outside the continent.

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President Mahama is expected to present a landmark resolution at the United Nations General Assembly on March 25, 2026, seeking to officially designate the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity.

The proposal forms part of broader efforts to secure global recognition of the slave trade as a crime against humanity, a crucial step, advocates argue, toward addressing its lasting impact.