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Celebrating 221 years of Haitian independence, local authorities used the opportunity in New Year’s Day to remind France that it needs to repay the country billions in reparations for forcing it to make cash payments to France to avoid attempts at recolonization.

Thursday, 9 January 2025 (CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown): CARICOM Chair, Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, SC, Prime Minister of Barbados, says the Community welcomes the 17 December United Nations Declaration of a Second International Decade for People of African Descent, which began on 1 January 2025.

IN BRITAIN, the story of slavery is often reduced to a simple morality tale about how a few benevolent White men like William Wilberforce brought an end to the slave trade.

If we wish to dismantle racism, the countries that built their wealth through colonialism and slavery must acknowledge their past crimes and apologise for them… racism is one of the major obstacles to reparations currently.

The disparity in responses between the Church and the government raises important questions about who is ready to confront the legacy of colonialism and who continues to sidestep it.

As many Europeans continue to make negative comments towards countries demanding reparations, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has doubled down, describing the call as a “just demand”.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said the concept of reparations for former colonial nations affected by slavery “is not about the transfer of cash”.

In his first comments since 56 Commonwealth leaders signed a statement saying the time had come for a conversation about reparations, Lammy told the BBC that was not “the debate people are wanting to have”.

Last week, the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) summit in Samoa amplified growing calls for the United Kingdom to engage in meaningful discussions on reparations for countries impacted by slavery and colonialism.

Commonwealth leaders have agreed the “time has come” for a conversation about reparations for the slave trade, despite the UK’s desire to keep the subject off the agenda at a two-day summit in Samoa.

At the summit, a demand that the United Kingdom pay reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade has resurfaced. While the subject is not on the official agenda, Commonwealth leaders said they would hold their own discussions – with or without the approval of the British government.

Commonwealth leaders, ending a week-long summit in Samoa, said on Saturday the time had come for a discussion on whether Britain should commit to reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade.
Slavery and the threat of climate change were major themes for representatives of the 56 countries in the group, most with roots in Britain’s empire, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that began in the Pacific Islands nation on Monday.

King Charles and Keir Starmer have faced renewed calls for Britain to pay slavery reparations which could far exceed £200 billion ahead of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chgom) in Samoa from 21-26 October.