A delegation from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is due in London this week for “historic” talks with British politicians on slavery reparations, UK newspapers say.The six-member delegation will be led by Sir Hilary Beckles, UWI vice chancellor, for the first official visit of CARICOM’s reparations commission to Britain.
The delegation will engage with members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations.
The visit aims to raise public awareness and political support for reparatory justice, with events planned in London and Birmingham. Beckles, the commission’s chair, will open the series with a lecture titled The Coming Enlightenment.
“The Caricom Reparations Commission advocacy visit to the UK is historic, as it is the first of what we anticipate will be a series of engagements to raise consciousness and awareness, correct misconceptions about the reparations movement and build strategic partnerships to take this critical agenda to right historical wrongs forward,” The Guardian quoted Dr Hilary Brown, a member of the delegation and CARICOM’s programme manager of culture and community development, as saying.
“The global reparations movement is entering a new wave of impact, visibility and mobilisation, and reparations advocacy grassroots, academics and progressive civil society organisations in Great Britain have a pivotal role to play in amplifying the gains and the message of enlightenment,” Beckles said.
“The Caricom Reparations Commission is here to demonstrate solidarity and support as together we navigate Windrush and advance the just claim for reparatory justice.”The Daily Telegraph reports that CARICOM is seeking up to £18 trillion (EC$64 trillion) in reparations from former colonial powers, a figure that underscores the scale of historical injustices being addressed.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness has taken steps to petition King Charles directly for reparatory justice, a move backed by CARICOM leaders at their last summit in July.The King, still head of state for Jamaica, OECS nations and other Commonwealth realms, has the authority to refer the matter to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Jamaica hopes this committee will determine whether Britain has a legal obligation to offer a remedy for its colonial past.The push for reparations gained momentum during David Lammy’s tenure as UK Foreign Secretary, when plans were floated for a “CARICOM forum” to hear submissions. Lammy, who has Guyanese roots, has long supported the cause, stating in 2020 that Britain needs a “reckoning” and a process of “repairing” its colonial legacy.
Despite these efforts, successive British prime ministers, including incumbent Sir Keir Starmer, have rebuffed calls for reparations.
Yet, Caribbean leaders remain hopeful that the current Labour government may be more receptive than its Conservative predecessors.
