Netherlands to Return 2,000 Artefacts to Ghana Amid Mahama’s Push For Slavery Reparations
· YEN.com.gh News · Join- Ghana secured commitments from the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and France to return looted cultural artefacts following the Next Steps Reparatory Justice Conference in Accra
- The Dutch government catalogued 2,000 artefacts and made a symbolic presentation to President John Dramani Mahama at the conference
- Denmark pledged to help preserve Ghana's historic slave forts, while France committed to establishing a commission to trace African artefacts held abroad
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Ghana has secured pledges from several European nations to return looted cultural artefacts and advance reparatory justice, with the Netherlands committing to repatriate 2,000 catalogued items following the Next Steps Reparatory Justice Conference held in Accra.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced the outcomes at the Traditional Durbar and Juneteenth Commemoration on Friday, June 19, describing the conference as a turning point that moved the global reparations conversation from talk to concrete action.
Source: Getty Images
Ablakwa disclosed that the Dutch government had already made a symbolic presentation of the 2,000 artefacts to President John Dramani Mahama ahead of the announcement.
The catalogue of the 2,000 artefacts has been appended to the conference's outcome document as its first annex. Germany has similarly committed to returning identified cultural items, with a formal declaration attached as the second annex to the same document.
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Denmark pledged to partner Ghana in preserving its historic slave forts and castles, with particular focus on the Osu Castle, constructed during Danish colonial rule.
French President Emmanuel Macron also committed France to establishing a scientific commission alongside Ghana and its partners to locate and identify African cultural artefacts currently held overseas.
The Next Steps Reparatory Justice Conference in Accra forms part of a broader international push to address historical injustices linked to colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade.
Asante loaned looted artefacts by British
In 2024, the Asantehene hailed the return of artefacts looted from the kingdom and urged the public to visit the Manhyia Palace Museum.
The artefacts taken from the Asante Kingdom by the British 150 years ago have been returned under a three-year loan agreement, subject to renewal.
The agreement was between the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum, and the Asante Kingdom.
The 32 returned artefacts included the sword of state, a gold peace pipe, and other silver and gold ornaments.
The return was commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 1873-1874 Anglo-Asante war and the 100th anniversary of the return of the Asantehene Prempeh I from exile in the Seychelles.
The background work to secure the loan
In May 2023, YEN.com.gh reported on a visit to the UK, the Asantehene told the British Museum to return gold items looted from the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.
At the time, aside from meeting King Charles, he also met with the director of the British Museum to discuss how the items could be returned to Ghana.
This was after the UK returned a Benin Bronzes collection to Nigeria. The items being loaned were mostly taken during past wars between the Asante and the British during colonial times.
Source: YEN.com.gh