Pan-African Coalition Adopts Geneva Declaration on Reparative Justice; Launches PPF-D Justice Taskforce

By IOL Reporter On May 1, 2026

The Pan-African Progressive Front (PPF), together with the Université Populaire Africaine en Suisse (UPAF) and the Ligue Panafricaine–UMOJA (LP-U), this week closed the Geneva Forum on Reparative Justice & Colonial Accountability with the formal launch of the PPF-D Justice Taskforce and the adoption of the Geneva Declaration on Reparative Justice.

The full-day strategic working meeting convened political leaders, legal scholars, historians, traditional authorities, and civil-society organisers from across Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the wider diaspora at Ghandhi Hall, Maison Internationale des Associations. Proceedings opened with a welcome from Dr. Mutombo Kanyana, founder of the Université Populaire Africaine en Suisse, followed by a historical and legal framing of the reparations agenda by Kwesi Pratt Jnr of the Pan African Television Network. The keynote was delivered by H.E. Samuel Sam-Sumana, former Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

The Geneva Declaration — agreed by all participating delegations — articulates the principles, demands, and strategic vision of the pan-African reparations movement. It will be transmitted to the United Nations, the African Union, the European Parliament, and relevant national parliaments in the coming weeks.

Key Outcomes

The PPF-D Justice Taskforce was formally constituted as a coordinating body linking African and diaspora actors, with working groups on legal strategy, public advocacy, media engagement, and educational outreach.
The Reparations Advocacy Manual & Toolkit was launched for use by a broad coalition — civil-society organisations, legal practitioners, journalists, educators, policy makers, faith communities, youth movements, and trade unions — across continents.
A 12-month coordinated advocacy calendar was adopted, covering parliamentary engagement, legal initiatives, educational campaigns, and international media work across Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and North America.

Voices from Geneva

In his keynote address, H.E. Samuel Sam-Sumana framed the Forum as the moment African political memory and the international human-rights architecture were brought into direct, actionable relationship. Reflecting on the UN General Assembly’s adoption of Resolution A/80 on 25 March 2026, he was emphatic:

“Resolutions do not feed children. Movements do. Resolution A/80 is not the end . It is the beginning of a new phase of work, the moment we stop arguing whether the event occurred and begin the patient, organised, and long work of repair.”

Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Editor-in-Chief of the Pan African Television Network, member of the PPF Coordinating Committee, opened the historical and legal framing by directly confronting revisionist accounts of the transatlantic slave trade.

Pratt was equally explicit on the meaning of the demand itself, rejecting any reduction of reparations to a transactional payment:

“The call for reparation is not a call for monetary compensation — that would be insulting. No amount of money can pay for the millions massacred, for the destruction of African spirituality, science and medicine. Our call for reparation is a call for a complete reset of the world, on the foundation of equality.”

Dr. Amzat Boukari-Yabara, President of the Ligue Panafricaine—UMOJA and historian of pan-Africanism, situated the Forum within the wider trajectory of continental and diaspora struggle. He argued that the work ahead requires a deliberate transition from commemoration to institution-building:

“Recognition is not yet reparation. Recognition opens a field; reparation requires a strategy. Recognition names; reparation transforms. Our task is to convert memory into public policy — into schools, archives, museums, legal instruments, budget lines, and durable mechanisms of reparative justice.”

Dr. Boukari-Yabara closed his intervention with a generational charge that was widely cited by delegates throughout the day:

“Our generation must not be only the guardian of the memory of the crime. It must become the architect of the reparation.”

Queen Mother Blakely, speaking for traditional leaders in the North American diaspora, called for intergenerational organising and the centring of African women’s voices in the reparations movement.

Continental and diaspora leaders call on coordinated global action to translate UN recognition of slavery and colonialism into concrete reparative frameworks.

Next Steps

The PPF-D Justice Taskforce will convene its first operational meeting within sixty days.
The Geneva Declaration will be transmitted to relevant international institutions within the fortnight.
The Reparations Advocacy Manual will be made available in French and English via partner platforms.
A full video and photo archive of the Forum will be provided to accredited media partners within 48 hours.
The coordinated 12-month advocacy calendar has been adopted and will be published on pp-front.com.

“The main outcome of the Geneva Forum is that, for the first time in history, concrete steps have been presented towards the restoration of reparative justice. Together with the PPF and partners from the diaspora, we are moving from statements to action,” said Simeone Azoska, Head of the PPF Secretariat.