NEW YORK, USA – September 23, 2026 – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. has called for stronger cooperation between Liberia and Ghana on cultural heritage, historical preservation and the recovery of African cultural properties, as African leaders and international stakeholders gathered in New York for a high-level discussion on reparatory justice.
President Boakai made the call Wednesday at Ghana’s “Next Steps” High-Level Side Event held on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The event, co-hosted by Ghana, Germany and France, was held under the theme: “From Commitments to Action on Reparatory Justice: Advancing International Cooperation for the Return and Restitution of Cultural Properties and Heritage.” Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, who is also the African Union Champion on Reparations, delivered the keynote address.
The gathering brought together African and Caribbean leaders and other international stakeholders, including President Boakai, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of Namibia, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal, President Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of Trinidad and Tobago, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé of Haiti and other senior international officials.
The event follows the adoption by the UN General Assembly on March 25, 2026, of Resolution A/RES/80/250, which declared the trafficking of enslaved Africans and the system of racialized chattel enslavement of Africans “the gravest crime against humanity.” The resolution was adopted with 123 votes in favor, three against and 52 abstentions.
Ghana spearheaded the resolution and subsequently hosted a three-day Next Steps Conference in Accra from June 17–19, 2026, bringing together leaders, experts and stakeholders to develop practical pathways for advancing reparatory justice.
President Boakai participated in that Accra conference in June, where he delivered a keynote address and was appointed to the Global Advisory Panel on Reparatory Justice.
At Wednesday’s New York event, President Boakai proposed the establishment of a Liberia-Ghana Cultural Heritage and Historical Recovery Cooperation Framework.
He said Liberia could learn from Ghana’s experience in cultural heritage management, museums, archives, historical preservation and the restitution of cultural properties, while Liberia could contribute its own historical and cultural perspectives.
The proposed framework, according to President Boakai, could include cooperation between museums, archives and universities; digitization and preservation of historical records; professional training for archivists, historians, curators and conservators; joint historical research; preservation of significant heritage sites; and collaboration on the identification and possible repatriation of African cultural materials.
President Boakai also highlighted Liberia’s plans for a Peace, Reconciliation and Memorial Museum, saying Ghanaian expertise could support Liberia in museum governance, curation, archival preservation, memorialization and public education.
He further pointed to Providence Island and other historically significant sites in Liberia, saying preservation should be linked to research, education, community participation and sustainable cultural tourism.
For President Boakai, reparatory justice extends beyond the physical return of cultural objects.
He said the broader agenda should include the return of knowledge, recovery of historical records, restoration of dignity, preservation of memory and strengthening of African institutions.
The Liberian President proposed that the two governments task their respective ministers and technical institutions with developing a practical cooperation programme, beginning with archives and digitization, museum development, historical research, professional exchanges, heritage-site preservation, restitution and repatriation, as well as youth education.
He also proposed that Liberia and Ghana could eventually formalize the cooperation through a Memorandum of Understanding.
Ghana has established three mechanisms following the June Accra conference: a Global Advisory Panel on Reparatory Justice, an Expert Panel on the Restitution of Cultural Artefacts and a Global Legal Panel on Reparatory Justice.
Update: Anthony Williams Journalist