AU Launches Decade of Action as Reparation Demands Gathers Momentum

Esther Oluku

The African Union (AU) has declared 2025 the “Year of Reparations and African Heritage” with AU’s highest bodies, obligates and all member states demanding reparations for injustices suffered by the African continent.

This mandate encompasses demands for compensation on historical and ongoing injustices: the transatlantic slave trade (Its catastrophic human cost and enduring legacy); colonialism and its consequences (exploitation, resource extraction, arbitrary borders, and institutional destruction); neocolonialism and systemic injustice (unfair global economic structures, debt burdens, and continued power imbalances).

While the “Year of Reparations and African Heritage” marks the beginning of a decisive decade, this call is not a one-year gesture as during the 7th AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in July, a landmark decision was taken: to extend the reparations program into a full decade of action, spanning 2026 to 2036, demonstrating a long-term strategic commitment.

Africa, through the AU, is not seeking hollow gestures or endless bureaucratic dialogues, but clear, honest, direct engagement, mirroring the forthrightness now emanating from the continent.

This call for reparations from former colonial powers is now a resonant, insistent demand echoing through the halls of the African Union and reaching the heart of Europe.

The renewed push underscores Europe’s waning power dynamics in Africa as Africa unites to seek reparations and demand more equitable partnerships.