The Caribbean Community’s reparations commission will meet British officials and politicians from November 17 to 20, aiming to advance cooperation and promote public education on the reparations agenda. The talks come amid intensifying global calls for accountability over the transatlantic slave trade, during which at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, transported by European ships and sold into slavery between the 15th and 19th centuries. Advocates say the legacies of these atrocities, including structural racism and economic inequality, demand meaningful action from former colonial powers.
CARICOM, a bloc of 15 nations including Barbados and Jamaica, has outlined a reparations plan that calls for a full and formal apology, education programmes, debt cancellation and financial compensation. The African Union is also developing its own reparations framework as momentum builds across the Global South. However, backlash has strengthened in Europe, where leaders argue that modern states should not be held responsible for crimes committed by previous generations. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has echoed that view, saying before last year’s Commonwealth summit in Samoa that he preferred to “look forward” rather than engage in lengthy debates about reparations. Despite this resistance, leaders of the 56-nation Commonwealth agreed in their final communique that the time had come for discussions on the issue.
The CARICOM delegation’s visit also highlights widespread public misunderstanding of Britain’s role in slavery. A 2025 poll commissioned by The Repair Campaign found that 85% of respondents were unaware that Britain forcibly transported more than three million Africans to the Caribbean. Advocates say confronting this history is essential to addressing its lasting impacts and building support for reparative justice.
