African Union leaders have adopted a landmark resolution formally defining slavery, deportation and colonisation as genocide and crimes against the peoples of Africa, in a move aimed at reshaping global understanding of the continent’s historical trauma.

The decision, taken at a summit in Addis Ababa, reflects a growing determination among African states to secure international recognition of the scale and intent of the transatlantic slave trade, colonial rule and apartheid. Delegates said the resolution is intended not only as a moral and political statement, but as a foundation for future legal and diplomatic efforts, including debates on reparations and historical accountability.

AU Chairman Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said the resolution sends a clear message that the suffering inflicted on African populations over centuries was not an unfortunate by-product of empire, but a deliberate system of domination and destruction.

The conference recognises colonisation as a crime against humanity. That’s very important. And the conference expresses its solidarity with Palestine and the Palestinian people, he said, linking Africa’s own history of dispossession to contemporary struggles elsewhere.

In a further symbolic step, member states agreed to designate November 30 as the African Day of Tribute to African Martyrs and Victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Colonization, and Apartheid. The commemorative day is intended to honour millions of Africans who were enslaved, displaced, or killed, and to anchor this memory in school curricula, public ceremonies and cultural initiatives across the continent.

Officials said the new day of remembrance would also serve as a platform for research, documentation and public dialogue on the long-term economic, social and psychological consequences of slavery and colonial rule, including persistent inequalities in trade, development and global governance.

Member states pledged to keep the issue under review and to coordinate their positions in international forums, including the United Nations and other multilateral bodies, to seek broader recognition of the resolution. Diplomats indicated that African countries will push for stronger language on historical injustices in global human rights instruments and for renewed discussions on restitution of looted cultural property and illicit financial flows.

By framing slavery and colonisation as crimes against humanity and genocide, the African Union is asserting a narrative that places African experiences at the centre of international law and memory, and signals that the legacy of empire remains a live political question rather than a closed chapter of history.