ALGIERS – Algeria will host the International Conference on the Crimes of Colonialism in Africa on 30 November and 1 December 2025, a major continental event aligned with the African Union (AU) Assembly Decision 903(XXXVIII). The decision, adopted in February 2025, endorsed President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s proposal to convene a conference dedicated to the AU Theme of the Year 2025: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations.”
The initiative reflects Algeria’s historic struggle against colonialism and its ongoing commitment to defending the dignity, rights, and memory of African peoples. Under President Tebboune’s leadership, the country is pushing for collective African action to criminalize colonialism, slavery, racial segregation, and apartheid as crimes against humanity, in accordance with AU recommendations.
The conference will gather ministers, jurists, historians, academics, and experts from Africa, the Caribbean, and beyond to consolidate a unified African position on historical justice, reparations, restitution of cultural heritage, and the preservation of collective memory.
Deliberations will cover the human, cultural, economic, environmental, and legal dimensions of colonial crimes. Topics will include intergenerational trauma, destruction and spoliation of African cultural heritage, exploitation of natural resources, and the unequal economic systems inherited from colonial rule. Environmental consequences, including nuclear testing conducted on African populations, will also be examined, along with legal frameworks to strengthen the criminalization of colonialism and the establishment of a permanent African mechanism for reparations and restitution.
As the host and initiator, Algeria aims to reinforce Africa’s historical justice architecture and provide a high-level platform to promote international recognition of colonial crimes and concrete mechanisms for reparative action.
A key expected outcome of the conference is the adoption of the “Algiers Declaration”, which will serve as a continental reference for codifying colonial crimes, recognizing their enduring impacts, and outlining an African strategy for justice and reparations. The declaration is slated for submission to the African Union Summit in February 2026 for consideration and endorsement.
Through this landmark initiative, Algeria underscores its leading role in advancing justice and reparations in Africa, supporting efforts to preserve historical memory and consolidate a shared African identity grounded in dignity and the principles of justice.
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