Accra, Ghana – For many descendants of enslaved Africans, a formal apology for the transatlantic slave trade is not justice. As calls for reparations gather momentum, they say acknowledgement without meaningful action cannot undo generations of loss, displacement and exploitation.

The debate gained renewed attention after the three-day “Next Steps” conference on slavery and reparatory justice, held in Accra from June 17 to 19, brought together heads of state, policymakers, legal experts, civil society groups and representatives of the African diaspora. The gathering came months after the United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution, backed by 123 countries, recognising the transatlantic slave trade as among the gravest crimes against humanity.

Participants adopted a 19-point framework calling for formal apologies from countries and institutions that profited from slavery, alongside reparations mechanisms, debt relief, the return of cultural artefacts and human remains, educational initiatives and stronger international cooperation.

But for many descendants of enslaved Africans, an apology, however formal, is nowhere near enough.

“I am not too eager to accept apology for egregious crimes committed against humanity,” Yaw Owusu Akyeaw of African Diaspora 126+ told Al Jazeera. The organisation is a lobbying group that facilitates pathways to Ghanaian residency and citizenship for members of the diaspora.

“A verbal apology is a symbolic way to acknowledge a wrong while doing nothing tangible for repairing the damage or compensating those affected by the wrong done,” Akyeaw said.

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“A serial killer will gladly offer an apology, if by doing so, he will spend less time or no time in prison. This type of apology is considered by some people as a public relations ploy to avoid penance, negotiate compensation or exculpate punishment for the wrong done.”

Marvin Walker, a Guyanese entrepreneur who recently moved to Ghana to reconnect with his ancestral roots and invest in the country, echoed similar sentiments.

“Such apology can be seen as a shallow gesture, not a genuine expression of a change of heart or any deeply felt regret,” Walker told Al Jazeera.

More than those who were taken

The transatlantic slave trade did not only devastate those who were taken across the Atlantic. It also tore families apart, destabilised communities and deprived Africa of generations of people, labour and knowledge.

David Adofo of the African Chamber of Content Producers (ACCP), a pan-African organisation with observer status at the African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), said the trauma experienced by those left behind has also been passed down through generations.

“Slavery did not only affect those who were taken away, but those who were left behind, as they lost loved ones, they lost trust in humanity, passing that sentiment to generations. It also interrupted Africa’s growing civilisation at the time,” Adofo told Al Jazeera.

“The best of Africa was taken out of the continent to help grow the civilisation of the new world.”

Adofo pointed to colonial-era programmes such as the Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment (BEKE), arguing that the legacy of colonial indoctrination continues to shape African societies.

“Programmes like BEKE, which was initiated by the colonial office to brainwash Africans, have left damage that investment in intentional educational content production to reorient the people will be a worthy investment,” he said.

The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment (BEKE) was a British colonial film initiative carried out in East and Central Africa between 1935 and 1937. It produced instructional films intended to promote what colonial authorities described as the “educational and cultural adjustment of Africans to Western society”, reinforcing colonial values through highly paternalistic portrayals of African life that served imperial economic interests.

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“An investment of that nature should be fully funded by the West and developed by Africans to shape mindsets and push the horrors of slavery behind us,” Adofo added.

A legacy that still lives

For some descendants of enslaved Africans, the wounds run so deep that no apology can ever provide closure.

A descendant of enslaved labourers who were left behind after the abolition of slavery and who could not return because they had lost all links to their origins spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity because discussing servile ancestry remains highly sensitive in his community.

“I have no clue where I am originally from,” he said. “No amount of apology will give me any closure.”

Historical records show that captives from present-day Ghana and other parts of West Africa were forced through inland trading routes to the coast. From centres such as Salaga and Pikworo, they marched hundreds of kilometres to slave forts including Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle. At Assin Manso, many took what became known as their “last bath” before the final journey to the coast and transportation across the Atlantic.

Today, in communities across Ghana’s Central Region, including Assin Manso, Cape Coast and Elmina, silence still surrounds families descended from those left behind after slavery. Many younger people choose not to discuss their family histories because of longstanding taboos surrounding servile ancestry.

Beyond symbolism

The debate about whether an apology is enough reflects a wider divide within the global reparations movement. While some see formal acknowledgement as an essential first step, others argue it has little meaning without measures that address the enduring consequences of slavery.

Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, a key architect of the UN resolution, said the conference was intended to move the conversation beyond symbolism and towards concrete action. He announced the creation of three international bodies focused on reparatory justice, cultural restitution and legal affairs.

For many descendants, however, justice will not be measured by official statements alone.

“We’ve suffered loss of identity. We were separated from our ancestral land, our spirituality replaced with their religion. They can keep their apology and give us what is morally owed with a side of compensation.”