The United Kingdom’s decision to abstain rather than vote against the United Nations General Assembly resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity has opened a political fault line in Britain, drawing sharp responses from Ghanaian commentators and deepening a domestic row between the Conservative Party and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch publicly criticised the abstention, arguing that Britain should have voted against the resolution. Badenoch contended that Britain led the global effort to abolish the slave trade and should not face reparations demands for a crime it helped eradicate. She questioned why the government’s representative did not vote against the measure, suggesting the decision reflected either ignorance or political timidity.
Her remarks drew a swift response from Gabby Otchere-Darko, a Ghanaian lawyer and political commentator, who challenged Badenoch’s characterisation of British history. Otchere-Darko argued that framing Britain solely as an abolitionist power glosses over the centuries during which the country was among the most active participants in the trade.
The exchange captured a broader disagreement playing out across multiple fronts. Presidential Adviser Joyce Bawah Mogtari defended the Mahama administration’s push for the resolution, arguing that accountability for the transatlantic slave trade must reflect proportional historical truth. Mogtari described the trade as a crime against humanity whose consequences remain structurally embedded in contemporary global inequality.
Legal commentator Brako-Powers offered a more cautious reading, acknowledging the moral weight of the debate while arguing that the slave trade’s legality under the law of its era makes enforceable reparations claims difficult to advance under established principles of international law.
Professor Akwasi Osei of Delaware State University, speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Friday, March 27, described the reparations debate as unfinished historical business. He argued that the resolution reflects decades of advocacy rather than a sudden shift, and dismissed the legality defence, contending that laws constructed to reduce human beings to property cannot serve as an absolution for modern states. He noted that Ghana’s leading role in the push carries a long Pan-African tradition. “Ghana has always been at the centre of Pan-African efforts, and it is playing that role again,” he said.
The UN General Assembly adopted the resolution by 123 votes in favour, with three against and 52 abstentions. The United States, Israel and Argentina voted against, while the United Kingdom and all 27 European Union members were among those that abstained. The resolution is not legally binding but carries significant diplomatic weight as the furthest the United Nations has gone in formally recognising the slave trade as a crime against humanity and calling for reparatory justice.
