Reparative Justice in Late Twentieth Century Africa: the O.A.U, Durban, and Accra Reparations Conferences

This thesis explores the evolution of African-led transnational reparations campaigns from the final decade of the twentieth century through the early decades of the twenty-first. It examines how reparative justice initiatives have emerged in response to the enduring legacies of slavery, colonialism, and systemic racial oppression, and how these campaigns reflect both historical memory and contemporary demands for justice by Africans and people of African descent worldwide. While early reparations discourse often centered on the diaspora, this research argues that recent mobilizations on the African continent in attempts to seek redress for historical injustices, particularly the 1993 Abuja Conference, the 2001 Durban World Conference Against Racism, and the 2022 and 2023 Accra Reparations Summit and Conference respectively, have expanded the scope of the reparative justice movements, positioning Africa not only as a site of historical harm, but as a moral and political agent in shaping global reparative discourse. Drawing on primary sources including political declarations, speeches, media reports, and official conference proceedings, this study analyzes how African statesmen, intellectuals, and activists have framed reparations claims as both a legal and moral imperative. It also engages secondary literature on Pan-Africanism, global Black political thought, and transitional justice to contextualize the ethical and historical dimensions of these campaigns. The thesis considers how the language of reparations has served to foster a global African consciousness rooted in shared histories of racialized exploitation and collective resistance. This research also examines the tensions within these movements - between symbolic and material reparations, between national priorities and diasporic solidarities, and between the philosophical principles of Ubuntu and the pragmatic politics of state actors. Through a qualitative analysis of campaign discourse and media representation, the study reveals both the transformative potential and the challenges of forging a unified transnational movement for reparative justice. Ultimately, the thesis argues that African-led reparations campaigns reframe Africa’s position in global politics, not as a passive recipient of aid, but as a central force advocating for historical redress, moral accountability, and structural transformation. By re-centering Africa within the global reparations debate, this work contributes to broader understandings of justice, memory, and global Black solidarity in the twenty-first century.