The Slave Trade by Auguste François Biard, 1840

The Ghana-led measure was adopted by 123 votes to three – with the United States, Israel and Argentina opposed to it – while 52 countries abstained, including the UK and EU member states. It urges states to consider formal apologies and contributions to a reparations fund, though no figure is specified. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding.

Ghana’s President John Mahama told delegates: “Let it be recorded that when history beckoned, we did what was right for the memory of the millions who suffered the indignity of the slave trade and those who continue to suffer racial discrimination.”

He added: “The adoption of this resolution serves as a safeguard against forgetting. It also challenges the enduring scars of slavery.”

Ghana’s foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said: “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.”

Between 1500 and 1800, an estimated 12-15 million Africans were transported to the Americas, with more than two million dying en route. The resolution, backed by the African Union and Caribbean Community, states that the legacy of slavery continues to manifest in racial inequality and underdevelopment.

The UK acknowledged the “untold harm and misery” of slavery but raised legal concerns. Its ambassador, James Kariuki, said: “No single set of atrocities should be regarded as more or less significant than another.”

The US rejected any legal basis for reparations. Its ambassador, Dan Negrea, said his country “does not recognise a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred” and criticised the “cynical usage of historical wrongs as a leverage point to reallocate modern resources to people and nations who are distantly related to the historical victims”.

The resolution also calls for the return of looted cultural artefacts. Ablakwa said: “We want a return of all those looted artefacts, which represent our heritage, our culture and our spiritual significance.

“All those artefacts looted for many centuries into the colonial era ought to be returned.”