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Professor Verene Shepherd had a frank e-conversation with Charles Gladstone, the great, great-grandson of the youngest child of enslaver John Gladstone, who enslaved around 2,508 Africans on plantations in Jamaica and Guyana.

The double degree MA/MSc in Reparatory Justice is an initiative of the University of Glasgow and The University of the West Indies through their joint Glasgow-Caribbean Centre for Development Research (GCCDR).

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, speaking at the UN General Assembly, has renewed calls for reparations for countries affected by slavery.

CRC reflects on ten years of activities aimed at defining a path to reconciliation, truth and justice for victims of slavery and native genocide and their descendants.

As Caribbean countries seek justice for slavery and the atrocities meted out to millions of people, Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali says no palace is being sought from the British who were significant beneficiaries.

The figure was arrived at by an American consulting firm that took into account legal damages for the enslavement of 19 million people over four centuries.

This comes as the CARICOM Reparations Commission prepares to take action seeking an apology and reparations from the British Royal family for its historical involvement in slavery, especially the exploitation of enslaved people in the Caribbean region, hailing from Africa.

This will come from the United Kingdom-based charity United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) in the form of land, scholarships, and entrepreneurial training.

General Secretary of the USPG Reverend Duncan Dormor pledged the $18 million investment in reparatory activities in St John communities on Friday as he apologised for the organisation’s historical involvement in slave ownership.

“The CARICOM Reparations Commission welcomes the opportunity to join the global community in observing the United Nations International Day for People of African Descent and to highlight the ongoing need for the international community to respect the human rights and recognize the invaluable contributions of People of African Descent to humanity.

On August 25, 2023 Charles Gladstone apologised for the Gladstone family’s role in chattel enslavement at the Launch of the University of Guyana’s International Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies.

In total, the reparations to be paid by 31 former slaveholding states – including Spain, the United States and France – amount to $107.8tn (£87.1tn), the report calculates.

Leaders of EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) met in Brussels for a summit on July 17-18 to discuss a broad range of issues in the partnership. The Repair Campaign lobbied heads of Caribbean governments to add the topic of reparations to their addresses as such an event is a great opportunity to bring international attention to the movement.