ADS 2025, Deputy Secretary-General Launch Message

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a privilege to open the 2025 Africa Dialogue Series and to reflect on a theme that speaks to both our history and our future: Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.

This is not just about acknowledging the injustices of the past, it is about reclaiming our future.

Africa is a continent of immense potential. It is home to vast resources, a dynamic and young population, and untapped opportunities for innovation.

With the youngest population in the world, we have the potential to drive global change.

However, our continent has long faced structural barriers, rooted in the exploitation and inequalities of the past that continue to impede our full potential.

The time has come to change this.

True justice means creating the conditions where Africa can shape its own destiny—owning its resources, setting its development priorities, and determining its path forward.

Friends,

True justice means Africa taking ownership of its future, its resources, and its priorities.

It is not about charity—it is about fairness and opportunity. We must shift from economies of extraction to economies of innovation.

It is about ensuring that Africa has fair access to the resources and financing needed to drive progress. Africa should not face higher borrowing costs than any other region. This inequity must be addressed.

Agenda 2063 provides a clear framework for Africa’s sustainable future, aligning with the SDGs and addressing the pressing need for climate justice. But to unlock this potential, we must urgently reform the international financial architecture.

We need concrete commitments to reduce debt burdens, improve debt restructuring, and ensure that African countries are not held back by unsustainable financial systems.

Africa’s natural resources and its young, innovative population are key to the green and digital transitions that the world needs.

We must ensure that our women and youth lead this charge, creating new opportunities and transforming challenges into triumphs.

Now is the time for action.

Together, we must deliver justice through development by empowering Africa to lead, to innovate, and to take its rightful place in the world.

This is not just a vision; it is our responsibility, and it is within our reach.

Thank you.