Accra, Ghana – Fifty-four personnel from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) have safely returned to Ghana following a two-week humanitarian deployment to Jamaica, where they provided critical disaster relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl – one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record.

The soldiers, drawn from the 66 Infantry Regiment and supporting units, landed at Kotoka International Airport on March 18, 2026, aboard a Ghana Air Force C-295 transport aircraft. They were received by senior military officers, family members, and representatives of the Ministry of Defence.

The contingent formed part of Ghana’s contribution to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Regional Disaster Relief Mechanism and operated under the joint coordination of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).

During their deployment, the Ghanaian troops carried out the following key tasks:

• Cleared over 12 kilometres of major access roads blocked by fallen trees and debris in the hardest-hit parishes of Hanover, Westmoreland, and St. James
• Distributed more than 8 tonnes of relief items including drinking water, non-perishable food, hygiene kits, tarpaulins, and temporary roofing materials
• Assisted in the rapid repair of 47 damaged community water supply points and hand-dug wells
• Supported medical outreaches that treated 312 residents for minor injuries, dehydration, and respiratory conditions linked to mould exposure
• Conducted search-and-rescue sweeps in landslide-prone communities, helping evacuate 18 elderly and mobility-impaired persons to safer shelters

GAF spokesperson Air Commodore Godwin Laryea described the mission as “a proud demonstration of Ghana’s commitment to South-South cooperation and global solidarity in times of crisis.” He added that the deployment also provided valuable real-world experience in multinational humanitarian operations for the participating soldiers.

The mission was funded jointly by the Government of Ghana, the African Union Peace Fund’s rapid-response window, and in-kind logistical support from CARICOM partners.

Jamaica’s Minister of Defence, Hon. Horace Chang, publicly thanked Ghana during a farewell ceremony in Kingston, noting that the Ghanaian contingent’s discipline, technical expertise, and community engagement “left a lasting positive impression.”

Hurricane Beryl, which struck in early July 2025 as a Category 5 storm, caused widespread destruction across Jamaica, Barbados, Grenada, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines, damaging or destroying more than 18,000 homes and crippling power and water infrastructure on several islands.

Ghana’s participation in the Jamaica relief effort follows previous GAF deployments to Mozambique (Cyclone Idai, 2019), The Bahamas (Hurricane Dorian, 2019), and Sierra Leone (mudslide emergency, 2017), reinforcing the country’s growing profile as a reliable contributor to international humanitarian and disaster-response operations.

Ghana has announced it will formally table a resolution at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly declaring the transatlantic trafficking and enslavement of Africans the “gravest crime against humanity ever committed.”

The move, planned when the 81st UNGA starts between September 8 and September 22, 2026, positions Ghana as a leading voice in the global push for historical acknowledgment, reparatory justice, and the criminalization of legacies tied to the slave trade.

The resolution, to be presented during the upcoming UNGA session, seeks to establish an international legal and moral benchmark that unequivocally classifies the forced removal of millions of Africans, their dehumanization, and centuries of chattel slavery as an unparalleled atrocity under international law. Ghana’s government argues that such a declaration is essential to address ongoing racial inequalities, systemic discrimination, and the developmental disadvantages still suffered by African nations and the diaspora.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, the draft text calls on all UN member states to:

– recognize the transatlantic slave trade as a crime against humanity without statute of limitations,

– support educational initiatives that accurately teach this history in school curricula worldwide,

– endorse dialogue on reparatory measures including financial compensation, technology transfer, debt cancellation, and restitution of cultural artefacts,

– criminalize modern manifestations of racial discrimination and Afrophobia rooted in the slave trade era.

The initiative builds on Ghana’s “Year of Return” legacy and its role as coordinator of the African Group at the UN. It follows years of advocacy by Caribbean and African states for formal recognition of the slave trade’s lasting harms, including the 2021 CARICOM-led push and ongoing debates at the UN Human Rights Council.

Ghana’s move comes amid renewed global conversations on reparations, triggered by recent high-profile apologies, museum restitutions, and corporate accountability efforts. If adopted, the resolution could become a foundational document guiding future reparatory frameworks and international law on historical crimes.

The Ministry has begun consultations with African Union partners, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the diaspora to build co-sponsorship and broad support ahead of tabling.

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