Pan-African Progressive Front urges youth to lead reparations fight

The Pan-African Progressive Front (PPF) has called on African youth to lead the movement for reparations and debt cancellation to achieve economic liberation. During an International Youth Forum held at the University of Ghana, activists argued that the continent’s current economic struggles, including high debt and unemployment, are inextricably linked to the legacies of slavery and colonialism.

PPF Convener Humphrey Quaye stated that Africa’s debt crisis is a result of historical exploitation, suggesting that the continent is essentially borrowing wealth that was originally stolen from it. He emphasized that debt cancellation must be viewed as a central component of reparatory justice.

Youth Representative Theresa Boateng urged young people to actively demand restitution rather than leaving the issue solely to governments. She cited the presence of cultural artifacts in foreign museums as evidence of the need for recovery. The forum follows a March 2025 UN General Assembly resolution, supported by 123 nations, which declared the trafficking of enslaved Africans as a “gravest crime against humanity.”