President John Dramani Mahama has called for the recognition of the right of people of African descent in the diaspora to return to and settle in Africa, describing repatriation as a fundamental right rather than an act of charity or compassion.
Addressing the Jamaican Parliament on Tuesday, August 4, during his State Visit to Jamaica, President Mahama said African countries must establish legal frameworks that allow members of the global African family to reconnect with the continent and, where they wish, make it their home.
“The rights of persons of African descent in the diaspora to return to the mother continent is not an act of charity or compassion. Repatriation is not an act of kindness,” he said.
He stressed that the right of return should extend beyond symbolic gestures, arguing that people of African descent should be able to return and establish permanent residence on the continent.
“Repatriation is a right of all persons of African descent to return to the mother continent and settle or reside if they wish,” President Mahama said.
Ghana’s legal framework
President Mahama cited Ghana’s Right of Abode Act, enacted in 2000, as an example of efforts to provide members of the African diaspora with a legal pathway to live permanently in the country.
He said Ghana was also considering a new Homeland Return Bill aimed at providing clearer legal pathways for residence and citizenship for members of the global African family seeking to reconnect with their ancestral homeland.
According to the President, the proposed legislation would strengthen Ghana’s efforts to deepen ties between the country and Africans in the diaspora.
He further linked the issue to his broader vision for continental integration, saying he would champion a continent-wide right of return if elected Chairperson of the African Union.
“This is one of the articles of the manifesto I wish to push when I become the AU Chairman, that all African nations must have a right of return for all members of the global African family,” he said.
President Mahama’s remarks place repatriation within the wider debate on Africa’s relationship with its diaspora, particularly efforts to address the historical consequences of the transatlantic slave trade and strengthen cultural, economic and political links between Africans on the continent and their descendants abroad.
