Caribbean Leaders Meet Church of England Clergy to Push for Slavery Reparations

In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Caribbean leaders are intensifying their campaign for slavery reparations and independence of territories with ties to Britain, France, Netherlands, and the United States. This effort involves senior clergy from the Church of England, as part of a four-day official trip to the United Kingdom. The Caricom reparations commission is seeking reparatory justice, a move long overdue according to Hilary Beckles, the commission’s chairman and vice chancellor of the University of the West Indies.

Beckles emphasized the need to end the Caribbean being the most colonized region globally, likening the recent suggestion by a UK lawmaker that Britain’s former colonies should repay it for historic investments to provocation. There are at least 20 territories tied to European powers and America in the Caribbean.

David Comissiong, Barbados’ ambassador to Caricom, stated that recovery of national sovereignty must be the initial step towards reparations. A positive dialogue was noted with Church of England’s clergy, potentially offering an ally in the reparations cause. Comissiong applauded King Charles III for acknowledging slavery’s enduring impact but criticized the UK for abstaining from a recent U.N. resolution labeling the trafficking of enslaved Africans as a grave crime against humanity.

European governments have initiated gestures like apologies, memorials, and museums related to slavery infrastructure, but these are seen as insufficient without negotiations due to slavery’s severe lasting impacts. Caricom members seek comprehensive reparations encompassing education, healthcare improvements, debt cancellation, and monetary compensation, among others.

Ron Daniels, representing the National African-American Reparations Commission in the U.S., noted reparations talks in America focusing on land, economic growth, and infrastructure restoration. Jamaica plans to request King Charles III’s legal referral on slavery reparations.