African and Caribbean countries agree on reparations from Western powers for slavery

A global movement for reparations for slavery was launched during a summit in Ghana this week when the African Union, in partnership with Caribbean countries, formed a “united front” to persuade European countries to pay for “historic mass crimes.”

According to The Guardian, the partnership between the 55-nation African Union and the 20-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom) will aim to increase pressure on former slave-holding countries to join the movement for reparations.

Delegates also announced the creation of a global fund based in Africa to accelerate the campaign.

The draft proclamation circulated at the end of the four-day conference did not specify what form reparations should take, but announced that the African Union would explore “legal options” and would cooperate with the United Nations to assess whether “acts of enslavement of Africans constituted serious violations human rights at the time they were committed.” committed.”

Opening the conference, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said: “The entire period of slavery meant that our economic, cultural and psychological progress was suppressed. There are many stories of families being torn apart… You cannot quantify the impact of such tragedies, but they need to be acknowledged.”

“The entire African continent deserves a formal apology from the European countries involved in the slave trade,” he said, adding: “No amount of money can undo the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade and its consequences. But it is undoubtedly an issue that the world must confront and which he can no longer ignore.”

African Union delegates traveled to Barbados in July to begin discussions on how to work together with Caribbean countries.

Carla Barnett, Caricom’s general secretary, said at the conference: “We are at an important inflection point in the global movement for reparations justice.” She said it was critical to “speak with one voice to advance the call for reparations.”

The UK Foreign Office said the official attended the conference “as part of standard diplomatic engagement”, but the UK government remains resistant to the concept of reparations.

Asked earlier this year by Labor MP Bella Ribeiro-Addy whether he would make a “full and meaningful apology for our country’s role in slavery and colonialism” and commit to bringing justice to justice, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak replied “no,” adding that while it is important to be able to have an inclusive and tolerant society, “trying to uncover our history is the wrong way forward and is not where we will focus our energy.”

His approach is shared by new Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who visited Jamaica while prime minister in 2015 and acknowledged that slavery was “abhorrent in all its forms” but said he hoped “we can move beyond this painful legacy “

Successes have been achieved in other places. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier recently expressed “shame” at his country’s colonial atrocities against Tanzania, and in 2021 Germany officially acknowledged committing genocide during its occupation of Namibia and announced more than £940 million in financial assistance. Last year, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte issued a formal apology on behalf of the Dutch state for the Netherlands’ historical role in the slave trade, which he recognized as a crime against humanity.

During a trip to Nairobi last month, King Charles III acknowledged the “heinous and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans” during their struggle for independence. However, he did not make an official apology.

Delegates said they were encouraged by evidence of a growing willingness to accept the need to pay reparations – citing the University of Glasgow’s pledge to pay £20 million to atone for its historical links to the transatlantic slave trade, the Church of England’s promise of £100 million to “right past wrongs” after Her investment portfolio was found to have historical links to the transportation of enslaved people, as well as the New Heirs of Slavery movement, created by the descendants of some of Britain’s wealthiest enslavers, which supports calls for reparations justice.

Ribeiro-Addy, who attended the conference in Ghana and chairs the all-party parliamentary group on reparations, said it was important to see the African Union join forces with Caric. “This is a huge step forward. They sent a very clear message that this is something that can no longer be ignored,” she said.

David Commissionong, Barbados’ Ambassador to Caricom and vice-chair of the country’s national reparations task force, said: “I think everyone felt that they were experiencing something very historic; people are encouraged by the amount of work being done to create a global movement for reparations.”

On Friday, delegates visited Elmina Castle, a major European slave trading post in Ghana where enslaved people were held before boarding ships bound for the Caribbean, Brazil and North America. At least 12 million Africans were forcibly captured by European countries between the 16th and 19th centuries and enslaved on plantations.

Caricom’s 10-point plan for reparations justice calls for a full formal apology, debt forgiveness and allowing former colonial powers to invest in the countries’ health and education systems. A recent Brattle report commissioned by the University of the West Indies estimated that Britain owes the Caribbean islands £18.8 trillion in compensation over hundreds of years of exploitation.