African Court Seeks Reparations for Victims of Colonial Atrocities

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights is committed to ensuring that the victims of the atrocities committed during the colonial period on the African continent are duly compensated.

During the official opening of the 2025 Judicial Year of the African Court in Arusha, Tanzania, the President of Cape Verde, José Maria Neves, highlighted that the injustices suffered by African countries were similar, making it essential for states to unite to demand reparations from the former colonizers.

Neves suggested that compensation could come in the form of education to heal wounds from the past, as well as monetary reparations and restitution of property that could help mitigate the impacts left by colonial abuses.

Lawyer Fulgence Masawe, Director of Advocacy and Reform at the Legal and Human Rights Center (LHRC), reinforced the need for African countries to claim their rights and reparations for the plunder and abuses they have suffered. He mentioned the plundering of resources and cultural artifacts, as well as the violence and murders practiced by the colonizers.

Historical examples were the plundering of resources and cultural artifacts.

Historical examples were cited, such as the British attacks on Mau-Mau fighters in Kenya, German atrocities during the Maji-Maji uprising in Tanzania and the impacts of transatlantic slavery on West African countries. Apartheid in South Africa was also remembered as a still fresh colonial wound.

The African Court hosted representatives from various national, regional and international courts, as well as members of the African Union and other institutional bodies. During the event, the need for justice for Africans and people of African descent was discussed, with an emphasis on reparations for women, in line with the African Union's theme: "Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations".

The President of the African Court of Human Rights, the President of the African Court of Human Rights and the President of the African Court of Human Rights.

The president of the African Court, Lady Justice Imani Daud Aboud, pointed out that despite the court being a symbol of hope for victims of human rights violations, only 34 of the 55 member countries of the African Union have adhered to the court's protocol since its creation 20 years ago.