Mahama demands unconditional return of African artefacts and human remains

President John Dramani Mahama has called for the immediate and unconditional return of African human remains held in museums and institutions outside the continent, describing their continued possession as a fundamental question of human dignity.

Speaking at a high-level side event on the return and restitution of cultural properties and heritage on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Mahama said human remains must not be treated as museum objects or scientific specimens.

He cited the case of King Badu Bonsu II of Ahanta, who was executed by Dutch authorities in 1838 after rebelling against colonial domination.

According to President Mahama, the king’s head was taken to the Netherlands, where it was preserved in a jar of formaldehyde for about 170 years before being returned to Ghana in 2009.

“Human remains are not collectibles. They are not specimens. They are our ancestors,” President Mahama said.

He argued that the return of human remains should form an immediate starting point for a broader international framework on restitution, insisting that legal and administrative barriers should not prevent African countries from recovering the remains of their ancestors.