Commonwealth leaders agree to consider reparations for historic slavery

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Commonwealth leaders have agreed to consider reparations for the historic slave trade despite the UK government’s attempts to ignore their demands in the run-up to the biennial gathering of the association.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government summit in the Pacific island state of Samoa on Saturday promised to address the harms of past slavery. 

In a communique, attendees noted “calls for discussions on reparatory justice with regard to the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and chattel enslavement”.

“The time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity,” the communique said.

After the communique was agreed Sir Keir Starmer told a press conference that the “absolute priority” at the summit was addressing climate change and described the words on reparations as merely “one paragraph in 20-something paragraphs”, rather than the main thrust of the text. 

“There is, as you rightly say, a paragraph in the communique about reparatory justice which . . . calls for discussion and agrees that this is the time for conversation . . . But I should be really clear in the two days we were here, none of the discussions have been about money. Our position is very, very clear in relation to that,” the prime minister said.

Downing Street has refused to let Britain offer any financial recompense to the victims of historical slavery. It had previously insisted that the issue of slavery reparations was not on the agenda for the summit of 55 nations from across the globe. 

Earlier this week Starmer dismissed the idea of “very very long endless discussions” about slavery reparations, saying he would rather focus on contemporary challenges such as climate change. 

The British government tried to prevent the communique from including language about reparatory justice but came under pressure from various other member states, including some Caribbean countries, to start discussions about the issue.

Reparations might not involve direct financial transfers and could instead come through debt relief, apologies or wider economic support. 

One report by the University of West Indies suggested the UK owed more than £18tn in reparations to 14 Caribbean countries. 

A Brattle Group report for the University of the West Indies and the American Society of International Law last year concluded the UK should pay 14 Caribbean nations as much as $24tn in reparations, seven times the size of UK GDP.

At the meeting, the organisation also selected a new secretary-general to replace UK peer Baroness Scotland, who has held the role for the last eight years. 

The new head of the Commonwealth secretariat is Shirley Botchwey, currently minister for foreign affairs for Ghana. She has been circumspect about the idea of reparations although she previously said the issue should be discussed within the Commonwealth framework.