Caribbean Nations would not be sidelined; Reparations make agenda at CHOGM

Garfield Ekon

Staff Writer

Samoa, November 6, 2024 – Caribbean nations forced conversations about restorative justice on the agenda of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, in Samoa, and drew up an agreement, demanding billions from the United Kingdon (UK).

Delegates from 56 countries who converged at the recent Conference, engaged in robust discussions at the biennial event, being dominated by the issue of reparations, after the Prime Minister of the UK, Keir Starmer fought, unsuccessfully, to keep reparations off the agenda of this summit.

Representatives of various Caribbean countries have continued to push for a “frank” conversation about transatlantic slavery and the “horrendous impact” it had on the African diaspora, and the Prime Minister appeared to have been moved by the pressure, as he pivoted slightly, saying that he is “open to discussing non-cash forms of reparatory justice for slavery.”

CARICOM, a political and economic bloc of 21 states across the Caribbean and Americas, has long had a 10-point plan for reparatory justice that includes, but is not limited to: a full formal apology, illiteracy eradication alleviation of public health crises, debt cancellation, and technology transfer.

The Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Hon. Philip Davis, has said: “For me, I don’t know that money, in and of itself, could adequately compensate for the wrongs of the past. The ghost that haunts us today cannot be, in my view, dispelled by a monetary gift.”

Estimates for how much Britain owes in reparations range from £200 billion, to £18 trillion.

PM Starmer continues to bat away the idea of a monetary payout, but a Downing Street source has reportedly suggested that the government could support other reparatory measures like restructuring financial institutions and providing debt relief.

The argument for reparations and reparatory justice is about tending to the enduring scars of transatlantic slavery on the social, economic and psychological outcomes of the region. The Bahamas’ foreign minister, Frederick Mitchell, told the BBC that it was “only a matter of time” before Starmer “changes” his position on reparations.