President John Mahama on Tuesday addressed a joint sitting of the Jamaican House of Representatives (Lower House) and the Senate (Upper House) in Kingston.
President Mahama, who is on a state visit to the Caribbean Island nation, was received jointly into the Chamber by the Speaker of the Jamaican House of Representatives, Mrs Juliet Holness, and the President of the Senate of Jamaica, Mr Thomas Tavares-Finson.
Also in attendance was the Jamaican Prime Minister, Andrew Michael Holness.
The event also marks Jamaica’s commemoration of Emancipation Day and its 64th Anniversary of Independence Day.
President Mahama in his address said Ghana joined Jamaica in honouring the remarkable journey of a proud people whose courage, creativity and resilience continued to inspire the whole of Africa, the Caribbean and the global African diaspora.
He noted that Ghana was proud to have been among the first countries to recognise the newly independent nation in 1962.
“Emancipation Day and Independence Day are not simply national celebrations; they are endurance symbols of humanity’s determination to overcome oppression and reclaim dignity,” the President said.
“They remind us that even in the darkest chapters of history, nothing can extinguish the human spirit. The story of Jamaica is in many respects the story of Africa.”
He noted that it began in the great civilizations of the African continent – the Empires of Ghana, Mali, Songai, Great Zimbabwe, Buganda, Ashanti, Mossi, Benin, Ile-Ife and many others.
Adding that this was before millions of Africans were possibly taken across the Atlantic, endured the horrors of the Middle Passage, survived the brutality of enslavement, but found hope in communities in the new world that refused to surrender their identity, their faith or their humanity.
He said against unimaginable odds, ancestors preserved their cultures, their traditions and their belief in freedom, they resisted oppression in countless ways and sharing their future generations would inherit not despair but hope.
President Mahama said from the Maru communities in Jamaica to the liberation movements that swept across Africa, the spirits of resistance of the Africans endured.
This, he said ultimately gave birth to free nations that were determined to shape their own destinies.
“Today we honour the enslaved men and women whose labour enriched empires while their humanity was denied them. We honour those who resisted injustice. We honour those who fought for emancipation, self-determination and national liberation,” the President said.
“And we honour the generations whose sacrifice secured the freedoms that we enjoy today. Their courage reminds us that freedom is never given on a silver platter. It is earned through sacrifice. It is sustained by vigilance and strengthened by unity.”
President Mahama said as they honour their shared past, they must also confront it with honesty and courage.
He noted that history could not be changed, but it could be acknowledged; and that only by acknowledging historical truth could they build a future that was founded on reconciliation, justice and mutual respect.
The Ghana leader said as was recently reaffirmed by the United Nations General Assembly, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Traade and the Racialized Chartel Enslavememt of Africans, was a grievous crime committed against humanity.
He said the consequences of this grief crime did not end with abolition; adding that the consequences continued even today to shape the patterns of inequality and exclusion that had persisted across their world.
President Mahama said for this reason they must remain steadfast in advancing the global conversation on reparatory justice.
He said their pursuit of reparatory justice was not motivated by resentment or hostility or a desire to revisit old wounds.
President Mahama said it was inspired by their commitment to the truth, to accountability, to reconciliation and to healing.
He said it seeks recognition of historical wrongs, acknowledgement of the enduring consequences and a collective determination to build a more just and equitable global order.
“In this regard I met to express Ghana’s profound appreciation to the government and people of Jamaica for your unwavering support to Ghana’s initiative at the United Nations, which culminated in the adoption of Resolution A.R.E.S./18/250 and for your invaluable contribution to the Accra Next Steps Conference on Reparatory Justice.”
President Mahama said Jamaica had provided principled leadership on this important issue for many years.
He reiterated that together, their two nations were ensuring that the descendants of those who suffered history’s greatest injustice were neither forgotten nor denied a voice in shaping a fairer world.
“Our advocacy is ultimately about hope, hope that our future generations will inherit a world in which historical truth is acknowledged. Human dignity is upheld, and justice becomes the foundation for lasting reconciliation,” he said.
“And that is the vision that continues to unite Ghana and Jamaica. It is a vision worthy of our ancestors. It is a vision to which we remain unwaveringly committed.”
He also reiterated his message to the Prime Minister of Jamaica, who was soon to submit a petition on slavery to King Charles III of the United Kingdom.
President Mahama said that while they must never forget the injustices of history, they must not allow them to imprison them.
He underscored that the story of people of African descent was not simply one of suffering, saying “It is equally a story of resilience, excellence and enduring achievement”.
He noted that it was a story of civilisations that advanced human knowledge, of freedom fighters who challenge oppression, of innovators who expanded the frontiers of science and technology, of artists whose creativity enriches global culture and of statesmen and women who inspired nations to believe in the possibilities of freedom and self-determination.
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