Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has unveiled a new platform from Caribbean leaders, asserting the “moral, ethical and legal basis” for reparations for centuries of slavery. The announcement came at a conference in Ghana aimed at advancing reparatory justice, following a landmark United Nations resolution that labelled the transatlantic slave trade as the most serious crime against humanity.
The platform, distributed by Mottley at the conference, updates the Caribbean Community's (Caricom) 10-point plan for reparations from former colonial powers. It introduces new issues, including the disproportionate impact of slavery on girls and women. The plan calls for specific reparations for gender-based violence, citing data showing women made up about 30 percent of the roughly 20 million Africans forcibly transported across the Atlantic, with at least 1.2 million enslaved women subjected to sexual violence.
“Reparations for gender violence and attacks on the family are no different from reparations that have been given to other nationalities, such as the Japanese,” Mottley stressed. The document also asserts that climate justice and slavery reparations are closely linked, and emphasises the need to support indigenous peoples who lived in the Caribbean when Europeans arrived and fell victim to genocide.
The 52-page paper, which still needs ratification by Caribbean governments, states that Caricom is seeking cash reparations along with other forms of redress, including a formal apology from Britain and European nations. It argues that crimes against humanity “have no statute of limitations,” meaning legal proceedings can be initiated regardless of how much time has passed.
Since 2013, Caribbean governments have repeatedly called for recognition of the lasting legacy of colonialism and slavery, as well as reparatory justice from former colonial powers. In March, Britain was among several European nations that abstained from a UN General Assembly resolution labelling slavery as the most serious crime against humanity; the resolution passed with 123 countries in favour, with only the US, Israel and Argentina opposing.
