Commonwealth says ‘time has come’ for talks on slavery reparations

The 56-member Commonwealth said on Saturday that “the time has come” for talks on “reparatory justice” for the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

The 56-member Commonwealth agreed on Saturday that the “time has come” for discussions about the legacy of the “abhorrent” transatlantic slave trade in a landmark statement that raises the prospect of future reparations.

Gathering for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, the bloc held lengthy and occasionally tense talks over one of the most sensitive issues in their shared and sometimes troubled past.

The bloc brings together Britain and most of its former colonies, many of which remain scarred by the brutal trade that saw an estimated 10-15 million slaves ripped from Africa over four centuries.

Britain’s King Charles III in Samoa. Picture: Manaui Faulalo/AFP

Many African, Caribbean and Pacific nations want to see Britain — and other European powers — pay financial compensation for slavery, or to at least make political amends.

But cash-strapped Britain and many other colonial powers have baulked at the idea of financial reparations, and London’s diplomats had looked to water down more explicit calls for negotiations.

In the end, Commonwealth leaders noted calls for “reparatory justice” for the “abhorrent” transatlantic trade and agreed that “the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese receives a warm welcome for the CHOGM summit. Picture: PMO

The communique said leaders recognised “the importance of this matter to member states of the Commonwealth, the majority of which share common historical experiences in relation to this abhorrent trade, chattel enslavement, the debilitation and dispossession of Indigenous people, indentureship, colonialism, blackbirding and their enduring effects”.

The conclusion of the summit was delayed by hours as leaders and officials tried to hammer out language they could all agree to.

The resulting compromise may stop short of the demands of some former colonies, but experts said it was potentially historic.

“The commitment to conversations on reparatory justice wedges open the door for dialogue,” said Kingsley Abbott, Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London.

“The Commonwealth and its new secretary general should see this as an opportunity to lead on a potentially historic process, and to do so with vision and courage.”

Originally published as Commonwealth says ‘time has come’ for talks on slavery reparations