At a moment of global backlash, Johannesburg hosts historic summit on Africa
Africa & African Diaspora Conference aims to continue in its goal to develop further strategies to bring Africans and people of African descent together to find ways to reverse the historic impact of enslavement, imperialism and colonialism.
KEY POINTS
- The 2nd Africa & African Diaspora (AAD) Conference (26–30 October 2026) arrives at a critical juncture: recent breakthroughs on reparations and racial justice have triggered a massive backlash from right-wing, imperialist and colonial forces determined to reverse progress.
- In March 2026, the UN declared the trafficking and enslavement of Africans a crime against humanity. This recognition has sparked an upsurge of extreme right-wing politics globally, intent on reinstating Europe and the US as imperial powers against people of the Global South.
- The conference mobilises the continent and diaspora to defend gains made and to advance unified strategies that right-wing movements cannot divide or dismantle.
- Recent developments – the UN resolution, the May 2025 Berlin Conference, awakening faith communities and growing reparatory justice momentum – create historic opportunity. The backlash makes a collective African and diaspora response urgent.
- The AAD Conference demonstrates that despite the backlash, Africans and people of African descent are deepening their commitment to reparative justice, Pan-African unity, and continental power.
South Africa is privileged to host the 2nd Africa & African Diaspora (AAD) Conference on 26–30 October 2026 at a moment when the global momentum toward reparative justice and racial accountability faces an unprecedented backlash from right-wing, imperialist and colonial forces.
The purpose of the Conference is, firstly, to reflect together on the progress that has been made to radically change the conditions of life of all those who were enslaved and colonised over many centuries.
Secondly, it is to develop further strategies to bring Africans and people of African descent together to find ways to reverse what imperialism and colonialism has done.
Invited to the Conference are representatives of Indigenous Peoples of the world and Palestinians who are also victims of dispossession, occupation and colonisation.
Recent years have witnessed extraordinary progress:
- The UN’s March 2026 resolution declared the trafficking and enslavement of Africans a crime against humanity, a validation of decades of Pan-African and diaspora activism.
- The May 2025 Berlin Conference commemorated the 140th anniversary of the 1884–1885 partition of Africa, reopening conversations about colonial accountability.
- Faith communities including the Vatican, the Church of England and the Church of Scotland and have begun acknowledging historical injuries to African peoples.
- Academic institutions such as Georgetown University and Princeton Theological Seminary have committed to reparative dialogue.
Yet these gains have triggered a powerful reaction, says Rev Frank Chikane, Co-Convenor for the AAD Conference.
“What makes this Conference timely and strategic is that these exciting developments have triggered a massive reaction from racists, imperialists and colonial forces in the last few years that are intent on reversing the gains we are making and have made.
“We are determined to speak in one voice to defend the progress we have made, as well as increase the tailwinds necessary to turn the tables and put Africans, people of African descent, and indigenous peoples at the cutting-edge of developments globally.”
Defending Gains. Advancing Solutions.
The AAD Conference operates from a position of moral clarity and strategic purpose. It is not a conference that accepts the backlash as inevitable. Instead, it brings together leaders, academics, faith communities, civil society and diaspora networks to move from defensive positioning to proactive solutions.
Rev Dr Angelique Walker-Smith, President of the World Council of Churches and Co-Convenor of the AAD Conference, says: “This is a critical and timely moment for Africans and the Africa Diaspora to come together in this historic Sankofa season to repair systems, policies and practices of equity and healing.
“Indeed, we recognize the importance of mutual consultation to further the legacy and vision of the ancestors before us and their descendants, which is us and the unborn to come.
“With the advance of historic statements of the ‘recognition of chattel slavery being the greatest crime against humanity’ by the UN, the new Reparatory Justice document between the African Union and CARICOM and the series of apologies from faith groups such as the Vatican, the Church of England, the Church of Scotland etc., this is a moment for timely consultation and vision forward.”
The timing of the conference reflects a convergence of strategic moments. The 5th UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (held earlier in 2026) created space for continental and diaspora voices.
The African Union’s commitment to a Continental Reparatory Programme signals institutional readiness. And the presence of global faith leaders, former heads of state, and UN officials demonstrates that the case for reparative justice now extends far beyond the African continent.
Conference highlights
- Keynote speakers including former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev Dr Jerry Pillay
- Representatives from the UN, AU, the Caribbean Community, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and regional organisations
- Parallel sessions on decoloniality, reparatory justice, climate justice, economic advancement and youth perspectives
- A “Pilgrimage of Return” programme (23–25 October), enabling diaspora delegates to enter Africa through historic “Doors of Return” transformed from the ports through which Africans were forcibly taken into slavery
“This is not a conference that ignores hard realities or accepts setbacks as permanent,” Chikane added. “It is a conference that refuses to accept those realities as inevitable. It brings together the resources, expertise and moral authority to defend the gains we have made and to build solutions that our opponents cannot dismantle.”
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