Jamaica, Ghana working closely to achieve reparations

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness says Jamaica will continue to work closely with the Republic of Ghana in the shared pursuit of reparatory justice.

Holness thanked Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama for his leadership on the issue.

“You led in this first-ever United Nations Resolution to specifically address reparations and racialised chattel slavery. I am honoured to be asked to serve on your Global Advisory Council and look forward to our first meeting in the coming months,” Holness said.

“I wish to also thank you for your commitment to support Jamaica’s petition to King Charles, which will be submitted in the near future,” he added. Holness was addressing a Special Joint Sitting of the Houses of Parliament at Gordon House on Tuesday, attended by Mahama, who is on a four-day State Visit to Jamaica.

Holness also noted that after more than two decades of dormancy, the third Jamaica-Ghana Permanent Joint Commission on Cooperation was convened in Accra, Ghana’s capital, in May. Holness said the commission has given fresh impetus to the Jamaica-Ghana relationship.

Its tangible outcomes included a bilateral agreement for the recruitment of Ghanaian health professionals to serve in Jamaica’s public health system, a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation, and an amendment to the agreement on cooperation in the field of arts and culture.

“These agreements provide a strong framework for expanding collaboration in sectors that are critical to the development and prosperity of both our nations. As we both work for the economic emancipation and economic independence of our people, our partnership must also extend focus on the realm of trade, investment, and shared prosperity,” Holness said.

Representing the leader of the Opposition, Opposition Senator Donna Scott-Mottley, said Jamaica and Ghana are connected not only by memory, but by purpose. She noted that Ghana has not confined itself to remembering history, but is actively helping to shape it.

“Your country’s leadership at the United Nations in advancing the recognition of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade as crimes against humanity marked a significant moment in the international pursuit of justice. For us, this is not merely a question of memory or morality, but one of international law, human dignity, and the continuing consequences of one of history’s great injustices. Today, President Mahama, you have renewed that leadership through the establishment of the Global Advisory Council on Reparatory Justice, on which three prominent Caribbean leaders sit,” she stated.

The council includes Holness, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, and Dr Ralph Gonzales.