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‘We Cannot Hide From History’: UK Parliament Splits Over Ghana’s UN Bid to Brand Slave Trade a Crime Against Humanity
As Ghana prepares to table its historic resolution at the United Nations, British lawmakers find themselves locked in a fierce and uncomfortable debate — one that forces Westminster to confront its own colonial past head-on.
Accra, Ghana / London, UK – A seismic diplomatic push by Ghana to have the United Nations formally declare the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest crime against humanity” has detonated a political firestorm in the British Parliament.
Ghana’s upcoming motion at the UN has exposed deep divisions within the former colonists over historical accountability, reparations, and the lingering shadow of empire.
With Ghana set to table the landmark resolution at the UN General Assembly on March 25, 2026, Westminster has become an unexpected battleground. In recent parliamentary sessions, what began as a routine foreign policy discussion has escalated into heated exchanges, with MPs trading sharp words over whether the United Kingdom should support, abstain, or actively oppose the initiative.
At the heart of the tension is a question many British lawmakers would rather avoid: Should the United Kingdom apologize — and potentially pay — for the 12 million Africans forcibly transported across the Atlantic, 2 million of whom perished during the Middle Passage alone?
Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has framed the resolution not as an act of retribution but as a moral reckoning.
“This is about preserving historical truth and laying the foundation for genuine healing,” Ablakwa stated, stressing the resolution’s focus on recognition, education, and dialogue rather than legal claims.
But inside Westminster, the reaction has been anything but unified.
Proponents, including several Labour and crossbench peers, have argued that formal recognition of the slave trade as a crime against humanity is long overdue.
Opponents, however, have voiced alarm. Some Conservative lawmakers have warned that the resolution could serve as a legal and moral springboard for reparations claims against Britain and other former colonial powers. Others have questioned the resolution’s wording, suggesting it risks singling out European nations in ways that could complicate diplomatic relations.
Behind closed doors, diplomatic sources say the UK government is wrestling with a high-stakes calculation: aligning with Commonwealth partners like Ghana and Caribbean nations who are leading the charge, or placating domestic constituencies wary of reopening what some call “the ledger of empire.”
The timing is particularly fraught. With the UN vote looming, Britain’s official position remains carefully guarded — but the parliamentary uproar suggests the debate is far from settled.
Ghana, backed by the African Union and CARICOM, has positioned the resolution as a unifying call for truth, justice, and reconciliation. Ablakwa and his team continue to rally international support, framing the March 25 tabling as a historic moment for Africa and its diaspora.
But in London, the motion has landed like a stone in still water — sending ripples through Parliament and forcing a conversation many British politicians have long avoided.
Whether that courage translates into a formal government position remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that Ghana’s resolution has achieved something rare: it has made the mother of parliaments sit uncomfortably with the mother of all historical injustices.
Accra, Ghana – Ghana is facing a growing risk of widespread power outages (commonly known as “dumsor”) as chronic gas supply challenges force the national grid operator to shed nearly 200 megawatts of electricity daily, energy sector insiders have warned.
According to multiple sources familiar with the situation, power plants in the Tema enclave — which supply much of Greater Accra — are not receiving enough natural gas to meet current demand. Ghana requires approximately 230 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) of gas to run its thermal plants at full capacity, but is currently receiving only about 170 mmscf/d — 100 mmscf from the domestic Ghana Gas Company and 70 mmscf from Nigeria via the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo).
The shortfall has left the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) with little choice but to implement daily load shedding to balance the system. Insiders described the situation as “alarming” and a clear pointer to an imminent broader power crisis if urgent investments are not made.
The problem has been compounded by increased demand following the installation of additional thermal generation capacity under the previous administration to stabilise power in the middle belt and northern regions. While those generators eased pressure on the national grid at the time, they also significantly raised overall gas consumption without a corresponding increase in supply infrastructure.
Recent intermittent outages reported in parts of Greater Accra and the Ashanti Region have officially been attributed to “planned maintenance” and transformer replacements. However, sector experts and insiders argue that such routine works cannot account for widespread and persistent interruptions. They point instead to a combination of deficient transmission infrastructure causing low voltages and insufficient generation due to the gas shortfall.
One senior source, speaking on condition of anonymity, criticised the government’s explanation as a “public relations move” and called for transparency: “The Ghanaian populace deserve to know what is happening.”
The development raises fresh concerns about the stability of Ghana’s power supply ahead of the peak demand season and as the country continues to pursue industrialisation and economic growth. Energy analysts say long-term solutions will require urgent investment in gas infrastructure, diversification of energy sources (including accelerated renewable energy projects), and improved maintenance of existing generation and transmission assets.
The Ghana Grid Company and the Ministry of Energy have not yet issued a detailed public response to the claims of daily 200MW load shedding.
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Thursday, March 26, 2026. Stay informed with today’s front pages of Ghanaian newspapers, all in one place.
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