By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
The Government of Ghana has received assurance from the Ambassadors of Germany and the Netherlands that looted artifacts and other treasures by their respective countries from Ghana would be returned. This pledge was made to the President of Ghana, John Mahama, during the just-concluded “Next Step High-Level Consultative Conference”, which was held in Ghana last week and attended by leaders from across the world.
In March 2026, the President of Ghana, John Mahama, led a move at the UN General Assembly for a resolution to recognize slavery as the gravest crime against humanity, and it was passed. The resolution also requires restitution and repatriation of stolen artifacts to their countries of origin in Africa. The Next Step Conference, convened by President John Mahama, was in furtherance of this UN resolution as it concerns the repatriation of stolen treasures from Africa.
During the conference, the Ambassadors of Germany and the Netherlands to Ghana, His Excellency, Fredrik Landshoft, and His Excellency, Han Akerboom, respectively, promised to return over two thousand artifacts and treasures stolen from Ghana back to the country. Both also presented to President John Mahama a catalogue of treasures to be returned by their countries to Ghana.
Similarly, the Foreign Minister of Denmark, Lars Rasmussen, apologized for his country’s involvement in slavery and also pledged to maintain the country’s slave monuments and never erase them.
Reacting, Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Ablakwa, has described the commitments received during the conference as a welcome development. “We applaud the positive conduct of restitution we are beginning to witness from our international partners in Europe since the adoption of the Ghana-led UN Resolution,” Mr. Ablakwa said.
