November 30th 2023.
The African Union and Caribbean Community are joining forces to push for reparations from European nations for the "historical mass crimes" of slavery. According to The Guardian, the two groups formed a "united front" during a summit in Ghana earlier this month, with the aim of increasing the pressure on countries that enslaved people.
The draft proclamation issued after the conference did not specify the form of reparations, but did mention exploring "litigation options" and working with the UN to determine if the acts of enslavement constituted human rights violations at the time. The final version of the proclamation is expected to be released in the near future.
Reparation efforts are growing throughout the world, including in the US. In Evanston, Illinois, almost 140 residents will be given $25,000 each by the end of the year and some have already started receiving payments. A reparations task force in California suggests that Black residents may be owed over $800 billion for years of over-policing, disproportionate incarceration, and housing discrimination.
At the opening of the summit, Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo spoke about the many tragedies of slavery and said that although no amount of money can heal the damage caused by it, the world cannot continue to ignore it. He also urged European countries to formally apologize for their role in the slave trade.
The conference was attended by a representative from the British Foreign Office, but when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked about the possibility of an apology for the UK's role in slavery, he said no and that "trying to unpick our history is not the right way forward".
Despite this, some progress has been made. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed "shame" for his country's colonial atrocities in Tanzania, and in 2021 Germany officially acknowledged committing genocide in Namibia and announced aid worth more than £940m.
These efforts by the African Union and Caribbean Community are an important step in the fight for reparations and a recognition of the wrongs of the past. As President Akufo-Addo said, it is time for the world to confront this issue and to provide justice for those who suffered.
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