As leaders convene in Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, has delivered a video message welcoming King Charles III and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham to the Caribbean, which he describes as the historic birthplace of British chattel slavery.
He stated, “The UK has produced multiple reasons in recent years why reparations should not be on the agenda. Each one has been dismantled and dismissed. The people of the Caribbean have said this is the number one item before us today. Our governments have said we are all committed to a discourse of decency with the British and other European governments regarding reparations for our citizens, who have suffered indignity and the legacies of chattel slavery.”
