Caribbean nations are set to push slavery reparations onto the agenda at the 28th Commonwealth heads of government meeting, scheduled for November in Antigua and Barbuda, where the King is expected to be present.
The move represents the latest diplomatic effort by the region to pressure Britain into offering compensation for the transatlantic slave trade.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley convened a conference of campaigners and policy-makers this week to coordinate strategy ahead of the summit.
On Thursday evening, delegates at the gathering confirmed that Caribbean leaders would seek to ensure reparations featured prominently in discussions at the Commonwealth event.
Caribbean nations are set to push slavery reparations onto the agenda at the 28th Commonwealth heads of government meeting, scheduled for November in Antigua and Barbuda, where the King is expected to be present.
|
GETTTY
Andy Burnham may also be in attendance at the Antigua and Barbuda summit.
Dr Carla Barnett, secretary-general of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), confirmed the plans, stating that member nations were “preparing to advance reparations on the agenda of the upcoming 28th Commonwealth heads of government meeting”.
She indicated that further lobbying would also take place at the United Nations, adding: “The advocacy and activism therefore continues.”
Prof Sir Hilary Beckles, who chairs the Caricom reparations commission, the region’s principal advocacy body on the issue, also addressed the Barbados gathering.
He declared that the present century would prove to be the “century of reparations” and insisted that any compensation agreement must be “transformative”, with the capacity to reverse centuries of wealth extraction from the Caribbean.
The conference in Barbados comes amid a broader global push to secure reparations from former colonial powers.
Representatives from the African Union travelled to Barbados to coordinate strategy with Caribbean leaders, bolstering the long-standing reparations campaign with significant additional diplomatic heft.
The drive has gained momentum internationally, with the UN backing a resolution in favour of reparations payments following a lobbying campaign led by African nations.
That vote received support from a number of Commonwealth member states, India among them.
Separately, a Jamaican delegation recently visited Britain to submit a legal filing to the Privy Council, which remains Jamaica’s highest court of appeal, concerning the legality of slavery.
Reparations campaigners in the Caribbean have also broadened their demands beyond financial compensation, now calling for full “decolonisation” of the region, a formal apology from former colonial powers, development assistance, debt cancellation and healthcare support.
Britain has consistently refused to entertain demands for slavery compensation. A Caricom 10-point plan, first put to European governments in 2014, was rejected outright, and successive British administrations have maintained that no payments would be forthcoming.
The reparations question dominated proceedings at the 2024 Commonwealth summit despite never formally appearing on the agenda, marking a previous attempt by Caribbean nations to apply pressure through the same diplomatic channel.
In his closing remarks at that gathering, the King acknowledged the “painful” history of slavery and spoke of nations committing to “learning the lessons” of that period, though he stopped short of addressing reparations calls directly.
Downing Street reaffirmed its opposition to compensation at the 2024 summit.
