Ghana's foreign minister has told the BBC ahead of a landmark vote at the UN General Assembly. Member states are set to vote on a resolution - led by Ghana - to recognise the transatlantic slave trade as "the gravest crime against humanity".

The proposal urges UN member states to consider apologising for the slave trade and contributing to a reparations fund. The resolution is likely to face resistance, as countries like the UK have long rejected paying reparations, saying today's institutions cannot be held responsible for past wrongs. But the proposal's advocates, which include the African Union and the Caribbean Community, say it is a step towards healing and justice. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Ghana's foreign minister, told the BBC's Newsday programme: "We are demanding compensation - and let us be clear, African leaders are not asking for money for themselves. "We want justice for the victims and causes to be supported, educational and endowment funds, skills training funds." The campaign for reparations has gained significant momentum in recent years - "reparatory justice" was the African Union's official theme for 2025 and Commonwealth leaders have jointly called for dialogue on the matter.

Ablakwa also said that, with the resolution, Ghana was not ranking its pain above anyone else's, but simply documenting a historical fact. Between 1500 and 1800, around 12-15 million people were captured in Africa and taken to the Americas where they were forced to work as slaves. It is estimated that over two million people died on the journey. The resolution being tabled on Wednesday states that the consequences of slavery persist in the form of racial inequalities and underdevelopment "affecting Africans and people of African descent in all parts of the world". (BBC)