Justice and Reparations: Africa’s Renewed Call for Redress

Africa is boldly asking the world to recognize and repair the deep harms caused by slavery and colonialism. Leaders like Ms. Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane call for real, concrete actions—not just words—backed by money and strong institutions. Despite financial struggles, Africa seeks true justice, unity, and control over its future. This movement is about restoring dignity and building a better life for all Africans, turning history’s pain into hope and change.

What is Africa’s renewed call for justice and reparations about?

Africa’s renewed call for justice and reparations demands recognition of colonial and slavery injustices through tangible actions. It emphasizes financial commitment, institutional strengthening, and unity to achieve dignity, sovereignty, and lasting redress for past exploitation across the continent.

A Continent’s Rising Demand for Justice

Across Africa, the demand for justice and reparations has grown impossible to ignore. From the chambers of the African Union’s Pan-African Parliament (PAP), dignitaries gather to voice deeply held convictions shaped by history and motivated by a vision for the continent’s renewal. The call for reparations, rooted in the collective memory of colonialism and slavery, now takes on new urgency as Africa asserts itself on the world stage.

One of the leading voices in this movement is Ms Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, Chairperson of South Africa’s National Council of Provinces. Her recent address at the Fifth Ordinary Session of the PAP did more than recount past wrongs—it redefined the call for reparations as a demand for justice and dignity. In her speech, she emphasized that reparations cannot remain a rhetorical device; they must form part of a tangible program for redress.

2025 carries special significance: the African Union has declared it the year of “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations.” This theme threads through gatherings and debates, prompting leaders to examine whether their actions can match their words. The struggle for reparations, they argue, must not dwell simply in moral appeals but find expression through deliberate and strategic action.

Confronting Financial Realities

Ms Mtshweni-Tsipane’s address did not shy away from the complexities that shadow Africa’s pursuit of justice. She highlighted the tension between high ideals and the pragmatic constraints that shape institutional performance. “Reparations are not just a slogan,” she said, confronting the need for substance behind the movement. Her words acknowledged that reparative justice calls for sustained commitment, not just from international partners, but from African governments themselves.

The financial difficulties facing the African Union’s organs, and the Pan-African Parliament in particular, illustrate these challenges starkly. The PAP’s budget has plummeted over the past decade, falling from $23 million in 2017 to only $11 million in 2025. A staggering 90 percent of this reduced budget now goes to staff salaries, leaving precious little for legislative work, oversight, and programmatic initiatives.

This squeeze on resources extends beyond balance sheets—it tests the very spirit of African unity and sovereignty. Without adequate funding, institutions such as the PAP struggle to embody the independence and strength that post-independence leaders like Kwame Nkrumah envisioned. The ability to set and pursue African priorities, free from external dependency, hangs in the balance.

From Ideals to Action: The Path Forward

The road to reparative justice traverses more than financial hurdles; it also demands a reckoning with history and a willingness to invest in the future. Centuries of exploitation—through slavery, colonialism, and entrenched economic disparities—cast a long shadow that no quick fix can dispel. Mtshweni-Tsipane reminded her colleagues that reparations require both recognition and real investment. She called on African Union Member States to fulfill financial targets set in 2015, which include fully self-funding the AU’s operational budget, domestically supporting three-quarters of its programs, and contributing a quarter of resources for peace support operations from within Africa.

A decade after these ambitious goals were adopted, most remain unmet. Many Member States struggle to reach even modest funding commitments, exposing a critical gap between aspiration and implementation. As Mtshweni-Tsipane argued candidly, Africa cannot expect the world to take its reparations agenda seriously if it fails to back its institutions with the necessary resources.

This appeal echoes the debates of the early post-independence era, when young African nations had to balance unity against the need for self-reliance. The Organization of African Unity emerged from that context with a mission to cast off colonial bonds; today, its successor, the AU, faces the task of achieving financial autonomy to shape policy without undue outside influence.

Building Institutional Strength for Lasting Change

The challenges facing the PAP mirror those of other major initiatives across Africa. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), for example, represents a transformative vision for economic integration, yet it too faces resource constraints that threaten its progress. Underfunding risks turning bold slogans like “the Africa We Want” into unfulfilled promises, rather than lived experience.

History offers instructive lessons. Post-war Europe rebuilt itself thanks to sustained investment through measures like the Marshall Plan, while the US civil rights movement relied on both grassroots energy and robust legislative effort. These examples highlight a crucial fact: big changes require both vision and the structures necessary to realize them.

For ordinary Africans, the debate over reparations is not merely abstract. In city centers, markets, and rural communities, people share stories of loss and hope—a grandmother in Accra speaks of dispossessed lands, while a young entrepreneur in Lagos imagines a future no longer plagued by the disadvantages of the past. Reparations, for many, represent more than compensation; they symbolize the restoration of dignity and the creation of opportunity.

Artists, writers, and musicians continue to shape how Africans understand and demand justice. From the Harlem Renaissance to contemporary poetry and painting, culture has played a vital role in articulating and advancing the cause of reparations. These creative voices remind society that true redress involves not just material compensation but also the restoration of memory and social value.

Africa and the Global Reparations Agenda

Africa’s campaign for reparations resonates far beyond its borders. The issue of redress for historical wrongs has sparked debate in the Caribbean, the Americas, and Europe. International forums, including the United Nations, have held discussions and issued numerous reports, but translating consensus into action remains difficult amid differing perspectives on scope and implementation.

Africa’s efforts, therefore, unfold in a global context marked by both solidarity and skepticism. Leading this conversation requires navigating external doubt while addressing internal shortcomings in funding and political will. The upcoming P20 Speakers’ Summit in South Africa—a meeting of G20 parliamentary leaders—underscores the international dimension of Africa’s struggle, linking the quest for reparative justice to broader questions of equity, global governance, and effective parliamentary oversight.

Within South Africa, the thread connecting liberation struggles to the duties of governance remains strong. Figures like Mr Japhta Sihle Malinga, a parliamentarian and former uMkhonto weSizwe activist, represent the bridge between past resistance and present-day institution-building. Their stewardship reflects a commitment to ensuring that the ideals of justice and self-determination are not lost in the routine of governmental procedure.

The Ongoing Journey Toward Justice

Africa’s journey toward justice and reparations continues to draw strength from diverse sources—parliamentary chambers, civil society, cultural venues, and the lived experience of ordinary people. This enduring movement insists that justice for Africans must become a lived reality, not an empty slogan. Achieving this vision demands more than rhetoric; it requires the wisdom to draw from history, the determination to invest in the future, and the unity to sustain collective effort.

As the continent confronts the legacy of exploitation and the challenges of institution-building, its leaders and citizens alike recognize that the success of the reparations movement will hinge on actionable commitments. Only through consistent investment, creative engagement, and principled leadership can Africa transform its demand for redress into lasting change—giving new meaning to the ideals of dignity, sovereignty, and justice for all its people.

What is Africa’s renewed call for justice and reparations about?

Africa’s renewed call for justice and reparations seeks formal recognition and tangible redress for the historical injustices caused by slavery and colonialism. This movement demands concrete actions backed by financial commitments and strong institutions to restore dignity, sovereignty, and unity across the continent. Beyond symbolic gestures, the call emphasizes building sustainable systems that empower Africans to control their own futures.

Who are the key leaders and institutions driving the reparations movement in Africa?

Prominent figures like Ms. Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, Chairperson of South Africa’s National Council of Provinces, play a vital role in advocating for reparative justice. The African Union (AU) and its Pan-African Parliament (PAP) are central institutional platforms where leaders debate and push for reparations policies. The AU declared 2025 the “Year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations,” highlighting the issue’s continental priority.

What financial challenges does Africa face in pursuing reparations and institutional strength?

Financial constraints significantly hinder Africa’s reparations agenda and institutional effectiveness. For example, the Pan-African Parliament’s budget has declined from $23 million in 2017 to $11 million in 2025, with 90% of funds consumed by salaries. Many AU Member States have not met funding commitments made in 2015 to fully finance the AU’s operational costs and peace efforts. This underfunding threatens Africa’s ability to pursue reparations independently and undermines its sovereignty.

How does Africa plan to move from ideals to concrete actions regarding reparations?

The path forward involves both recognizing historical injustices and investing in institutional capacity. African leaders emphasize the need for Member States to meet financial commitments and strengthen AU structures. The movement calls for strategic programs that go beyond rhetoric to deliver real compensation, development opportunities, and social restoration. Grassroots engagement, cultural expression, and international cooperation are also key components in translating ideals into measurable progress.

What role does culture play in Africa’s reparations movement?

Culture is a powerful force in shaping and sustaining the reparations movement. Artists, writers, and musicians contribute by preserving collective memory and articulating the emotional and social dimensions of justice. From historical legacies like the Harlem Renaissance to contemporary African art, cultural expressions help frame reparations not only as material compensation but also as restoration of dignity, identity, and community.

How does Africa’s reparations agenda connect with global discussions on justice and redress?

Africa’s reparations campaign is part of a broader international dialogue involving the Caribbean, Americas, Europe, and global institutions like the United Nations. While there is solidarity on addressing historical wrongs, challenges remain in agreeing on the scope, implementation, and funding of reparations. Events like the P20 Speakers’ Summit in South Africa link Africa’s efforts with global governance debates, emphasizing the importance of equity and parliamentary oversight in achieving reparative justice worldwide.