Caribbean Community Reparations Commission, has announced that they will seek $33 trillion in reparations from European countries for the damages caused by the Atlantic slave trade and colonialism. The CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) has prepared a 10-point plan that outlines the demands and the justification for the compensation.
The CRC claims that the European countries, especially Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, owe a “moral, ethical and legal” debt to the Caribbean people for the atrocities and injustices committed during slavery and colonialism. The CRC argues that the legacy of slavery and colonialism has resulted in chronic problems such as poverty, illiteracy, poor health, social violence, and underdevelopment in the region.
The 10-point plan includes demands for a formal apology, debt cancellation, technology transfer, cultural exchanges, psychological rehabilitation, and the establishment of an African knowledge program. The CRC also wants the European countries to acknowledge the indigenous genocide, the African holocaust, and the racial discrimination that occurred in the Caribbean.
The CRC has hired a British law firm, Leigh Day, to represent them in the legal proceedings. Leigh Day has previously won a case against the British government for the torture of Kenyans during the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s. The CRC hopes that the case will be heard at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
The CRC chairman, Sir Hilary Beckles, who is also the vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies, said that the reparations claim is not about revenge or hatred, but about justice and healing. He said that the Caribbean nations are not seeking a handout, but a development partnership with Europe.
The European countries have not yet responded to the reparations claim.
The reparations claim comes at a time when many countries around the world are grappling with the issues of racial justice and historical accountability. The CRC hopes that their initiative will inspire other regions that have suffered from slavery and colonialism to seek redress and reconciliation.