Algiers – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Ataf, has declared that colonialism in Africa was fundamentally an exploitative project of theft and plunder, preventing the continent from participating in global advancements and denying its people the right to self-determination.
Minister Ataf’s remarks were made during the opening of the international conference on criminalizing colonialism in Africa, hosted by Algeria on November 30th and December 1st, 2025, at the International Conference Center.
In his address, Ataf stated that this conference is the result of an initiative proposed by the President of the Republic during the recent African Union summit earlier this year, an initiative that received unanimous support from African nations. He emphasized that the meeting aims to follow in the footsteps of those who ‘persevered, stood firm, resisted, and triumphed, transforming resistance into revolutions, epics, and miracles, liberating lands and homelands, and freeing people from the shackles of servitude and oppression.’
Ataf asserted that Africa has realized that addressing the remnants of colonialism is now imperative to continue resolutely towards building a future of dignity, honor, justice, and equity for all Africans.
‘By launching this project to achieve historical justice, Africa affirms that its struggle continues as long as the crimes of colonialism have not received explicit and responsible recognition,’ Ataf added. He further stated that colonialism halted the progress of nation-building, preventing African nations from exercising full sovereignty over their destiny. ‘It was never a civilizing mission but a project of theft, plunder, and predation.’
The Minister emphasized that the collective African memory will not forget that colonialism sparked the exclusion of Africa from the political, economic, technological, scientific, and social revolutions that benefited the rest of humanity. DZWatch will continue to follow this developing story.
