Africa is exploring legal avenues to reinforce the criminalisation of colonialism and establish a permanent continental mechanism for reparations and restitution.
Algeria is hosting an international conference on colonial-era crimes that seeks to consolidate Africa’s position on historical justice, reparations, heritage restitution, and the preservation of collective memory.
The two-day event, described as a ‘trial’, will discuss and examine the crimes committed by France, Britain, Belgium and Germany on the continent.
According to Algerian media, “the focus will be on intergenerational trauma, the plundering and destruction of African cultural heritage, resource exploitation, inequitable economic models inherited from colonialism, and environmental impacts, such as nuclear tests conducted on civilian populations.”
Countries, including Namibia, are expected to adopt the 'Algiers Declaration', which will guide the codification of colonial crimes.
The document will be submitted to the African Union summit in February of next year for review and endorsement.
The AU has declared 2025 to be the Year of 'Justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations'.
It is within this context that Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune proposed hosting the conference on colonial crimes.
By seeking to establish a unified reparations framework on colonial-era crimes, observers note that the continent is positioning itself with greater legal and diplomatic weight to compel former colonial powers to confront unresolved historical responsibilities.
International relations expert and retired diplomat Tuliameni Kalomoh advised that Africa and the Caribbean should not relent in demanding justice, regardless of the excuses being made for former colonial powers to account for.
"People were dispossessed of their properties and wealth. People were trafficked overseas, and now, we have all manner of excuses why they should not pay reparations. You know, we are weak economically, but in unity, we will draw strength, and as we get better organised, as we better manage our resources, we will regain our strengths and speak from positions of strength; we should never give up,’ said Kalomoh.