The International Conference of Progressive Pan-African Forces opened on Wednesday, 19 November, in central Accra, marking the 80th anniversary of the historic Fifth Pan-African Congress held in Manchester in 1945.
The conference is held under the motto “From Historical Memory to Economic and Political Justice.” Over the next two days, more than 200 delegates from 57 countries across Africa, the Caribbean, and the global diaspora will review proposals on compensation for colonial exploitation and long-standing economic imbalance.
President of Ghana John Dramani Mahama, who serves as the African Union’s lead advocate on reparations, opened the event. The gathering also includes former Ghanaian President John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor, Congolese opposition figure Martin Fayulu, General Secretary of South Africa’s NUMSA Irvin Jim, leader of Zambia’s Socialist Party Fred M’membe, and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Ghana Rolf Olson. His attendance signals broader international engagement with the discussions taking place in Accra.
The agenda focuses on reparations, economic self-direction, resistance to neocolonial practices, the return of cultural artifacts, and the establishment of a continental mechanism to strengthen sovereignty. A parallel exhibition displays items identified as looted during the colonial period, offering delegates a direct view of what restitution entails.
The conference will close with the adoption of the Accra Declaration, a unified document intended to translate Kwame Nkrumah’s statement that “Ghana’s independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa” into a coordinated plan of action.
With this meeting, Accra becomes a centre of renewed Pan-African cooperation, as participating states and communities set out steps to shape their collective future.
