Pan-African Parliament Debates Reparative Justice and Human Rights in Landmark Wednesday Sitting

The Fifth Ordinary Session of the Sixth Pan-African Parliament (PAP) entered a historic phase on Wednesday, dedicating an entire day to deliberations on the African Union’s 2025 Theme of the Year: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations” and the State of Human Rights in Africa. Through robust presentations, expert briefings, and passionate contributions from Members of Parliament, the session underscored the urgent need to move from rhetoric to action on justice, dignity, and reparative redress for Africa and its diaspora.

Workshop Report on the AU Theme

The day began with the presentation and adoption of the draft report from the February 2025 Workshop on the AU Theme of the Year, delivered by Hon. José Manteigas Gabriel, Rapporteur of PAP’s Committee on Justice and Human Rights. The workshop brought together parliamentarians, AU organs, academics, civil society actors, and diaspora leaders to interrogate the historical, legal, and policy dimensions of reparative justice.

Key recommendations included:

1. Grounding reparations in instruments such as the Durban Declaration, Accra Declaration, and Article 21 of the African Charter.
2. Promoting model legislation, budgetary integration, and parliamentary diplomacy.
3. Supporting diaspora participation, cultural restitution, and dual citizenship.
4. Exploring multiple reparations modalities—financial compensation, land reform, psychological healing, and climate justice.

Voices from AU Organs Reaffirmed Legal and Moral Commitments

Four senior representatives of AU institutions added institutional gravitas to the debate:

1. Amb. Amr Aljowaily – Director, Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO), and AU Focal Point on the Theme
   Aljowaily described the AU’s system-wide coordination efforts, including the launch of the African Union Committee of Experts on Reparations (AUCER) and a Global Reparations Fund. He emphasized the need to “embed reparations into the AU’s Agenda 2063 as a flagship initiative” and lauded PAP’s critical role in shaping continental narratives.
2. Justice Modibo Sacko – President, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights
   Justice Sacko affirmed the African Court’s readiness to uphold rights, stating, “Institutions like the Court and PAP must be fully resourced to confront past atrocities and build trust in the future.” While he stopped short of taking policy stances due to judicial ethics, he emphasized that justice, peace, and development are indivisible.
3. Dr. Litha Musyimi-Ogana – Commissioner, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
   Dr. Musyimi-Ogana emphasized Africa’s existing legal foundations, including Resolutions 543 and 616, and called on Member States to grant citizenship to Afro-descendants and adopt a Decade of Afro-Descendants. She challenged PAP to ensure that 2025 becomes a year not of dialogue alone, but of delivery.
4. Ms. Anne Musiwa – Rapporteur, African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)
   Ms. Musiwa argued that “reparative justice must begin with our children.” Marking 35 years of the African Children’s Charter, she urged PAP to prioritize child-centered justice, ensure budget allocations, and help overcome state implementation failures.

Parliamentarian Perspectives: From Remembrance to Resolve

Following the presentations, PAP Members took the floor to express support, share national experiences, and chart a way forward. Key highlights included:

1. Sen. Danson Mungatana (Kenya) cited landmark legal cases like the Mau Mau veterans’ suit in the UK and Namibia’s Herero-Nama litigation in the U.S., urging PAP to support court-driven reparation strategies.
2. Hon. Jennifer Wibabara (Rwanda) and Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang (Cameroon) stressed the importance of Pan-African unity, with Wibabara calling for a unified AU reparations stance and Dang raising the need to revisit colonial borders and end Western hypocrisy on historical justice.
3. Hon. Fateh Boutbig (Algeria) emphasized that “justice is a duty, not a privilege,” citing atrocities committed by France, and called for institutional action, UN reform, and criminalization of colonialism.
4. Hon. Mamello Phooko (Lesotho) raised the emotional and practical complexities of land restitution and identity loss, asking whether restitution can truly be complete.
5. Hon. Sulayman Saho (Gambia) proposed an ad hoc PAP Committee on Reparations, called for artifact repatriation, and highlighted King James Island as a symbol of African trauma deserving global recognition.
6. Hon. Esther Passaris (Kenya) and Hon. Margaret Kamar (Kenya) emphasized reparations as a forward-looking strategy. Passaris warned: “How will our children ask for reparation from us, the post-independence leaders?”
7. Hon. Joseph Kalasinga Majimbo (Kenya) underscored the need for internal African accountability, including access to cross-border justice, while Hon. Nicaise Fagnon (Benin) stressed alignment with Agenda 2040 and education for girls.

From History to Policy: The Road Ahead

The Parliament closed the session with resounding calls for:

1. An AU-wide legislative push for reparations policy frameworks.
2. Concrete data collection, especially from the diaspora, to support legal claims.
3. Strengthened diaspora engagement, cultural revitalization, and human rights education.
4. Legal action in the jurisdictions of former colonial powers to complement diplomatic lobbying.

In the words of one delegate: “Justice for Africans and Afro-descendants is not a symbolic gesture—it is a policy imperative and moral obligation.”

As the Pan-African Parliament advances the 2025 AU Theme, it is increasingly clear that justice for the past must be anchored in actions of the present—through laws, reparations, education, and above all, unity of purpose. The voices echoed in Midrand call for nothing less than a continental commitment to justice that is felt, seen, and delivered.