Caricom Commission to Visit UK to Push for Slavery Reparations

A delegation from the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Reparations Commission is set to visit the United Kingdom from July 13 to 16. The visit aims to bolster efforts in advocating for historical justice and reparations for slavery and colonialism.

The commission's primary goal is to forge strategic alliances that will promote a public education program and encourage civil society participation in the reparations agenda. The delegation includes prominent figures such as the Commission's president, Hilary Beckles, and vice-presidents Dorbrene O'Marde, Eric Phillips, and Verene Shepherd. They will also be joined by Barbados's ambassador to the Caricom Commission and the coordinator of the National African American Reparations Commission from the United States.

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The mission of the delegation is to strengthen strategic alliances to promote a public education program and civil society participation on the reparations agenda.

This marks the second official visit by the Caricom Reparations Committee to the UK as a collective body. The itinerary features meetings with Caricom and Australian high commissioners and ambassadors, a roundtable discussion at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, and a panel at the UK Parliament, organized by MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy. These engagements underscore the commission's commitment to building international partnerships and fostering dialogue on restorative justice, historical accountability, and socioeconomic transformation.

The commission's visit occurs during a period of significant international progress on reparations. Notably, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in March 2026, led by Ghana, that declared the transatlantic slave trade and slavery as the "gravest crime against humanity." This was followed by a high-level consultative conference on reparations in Accra, Ghana, in June 2026, described as a "historic turning point for Africans and people of African descent."

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This visit underscores the Caricom Reparations Committee's commitment to building international alliances and fostering dialogue around restorative justice, historical accountability, and socioeconomic transformation.