References to Reparations at the 48th CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting
February 23, 2025
Reparations were discussed at the 48th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM which took place in Barbados from 19 – 21 February 2025. The Repair Campaign welcomes these calls for European governments to progress reparatory justice for the transatlantic slave trade.
In this article we recap the various calls for reparations championed by CARICOM leaders at the conference.
During the Opening Ceremony on 19 February, CARICOM Youth Ambassador Ms Ashley Lashley delivered a powerful call for reparatory justice, stating, “Progress also means reparatory justice to heal historical wounds, and climate justice to secure our future.”
The Hon. Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada also addressed President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen saying, “the issue of reparations for transatlantic slavery … is an issue that we will take up with you.”
“And so, as descendants of people who fought for their freedom from chattel slavery, we owe it to ourselves and to future generations of humanity to ensure that the transatlantic slave trade and the enslavement of Africans in the Caribbean, Latin, Central, South and North America is accepted as a crime against humanity and that the appropriate apology and compensation is paid.”
Prime Minister Mitchell made special reference to Haiti as being central to the reparations movement, stating, “Had it not been for Haiti, the idea that one human being could own another human being as chattel slavery and put him to work for their profit may very well still be persisting.
“And so we owe it to that island, all of us who are freed – the descendants of freed men and women who fought for their freedom – to ensure that we continue supporting and advocating for the partnership and the support to bring Haiti back from the brink.”
In reply, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated, “Yes, Honourable Dickon Mitchell, slavery is a crime against humanity” but stopped short of an apology or commitment to repair.
Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Hon. Gaston Browne added “What we’re seeking here is a final resolution of this issue and a reset in the relationship between the Caribbean and Europe – one in which there’s an apology for the wrongs of their forebears, and at the same time, some form of restitution.”
He continued, “Our forebears were treated as chattels, they worked for hundreds of years and were not paid. That created a debt, along with the fact that resources of the Caribbean and the profits of these resources were sent to Europe, to North America, to build their cities, their universities, to develop the technologies, to advance their economies, and they left the Caribbean region bereft of necessary institutions for development – not even have proper educational facilities or healthcare facilities.”
Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Hon. Ralph Gonsalves echoed these sentiments, saying “Reparations are about addressing the legacies of underdevelopment which have been caused by native genocide and the enslavement of African bodies. We are asking those who benefited from slavery – including the European countries – for some recompense, some reparation, some repairing,”
During a Press Conference on 21 February, Prime Minister of Barbados, Hon. Mia Mottley noted that “the concept of reparations would take the question of development repair and would be multigenerational” stressing the importance of “face-to-face discussions.”
Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Hon. Philip Davis added there may be legal avenues for the pursuit of reparations if negotiations fail, noting that “reparations for wrong-doings …are not new,” citing several precedents of reparations globally.
Show your support for the Caribbean reparations movement by signing in solidarity with the calls for repair here.
