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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/23/uk-approach-to-slavery-reparations-commonwealth-summit-starmer-addy>
"Calls for the UK to open the door to reparatory justice for slavery,
colonialism and the worsening effect of the climate crisis are growing from
Caribbean and African nations, campaigners and MPs as the Commonwealth heads of
government meeting (Chogm) gets under way in Samoa.
The UN judge Patrick Robinson concluded last year that the UK owed more than
£18tn in reparations for its historical involvement in slavery in 14 countries.
But Downing Street has said the issue is “not on the agenda” at Chogm, and Keir
Starmer said on Wednesday that he wants to be “facing forward” rather than have
“very long, endless discussions about reparations on the past”.
Campaigners argue that in a number of Commonwealth nations, the generational
impacts of crimes against humanity have been compounded not only by a
modern-day system of debt that has favoured western interests, but also by
extreme weather events, caused or made worse by the carbon emissions of wealthy
nations.
The demands extend beyond the Commonwealth. The African Union, which also
includes former French, Spanish and Portuguese colonies, has joined forces with
the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to put pressure on former slave-owning
European nations to engage with the reparations movement. Caricom has drawn up
a 10-point plan for reparatory justice.
In Britain in recent years, organisations including the Guardian, the Church of
England and the Bank of England have apologised for their links to slavery. The
UK is yet to make a formal apology.
King Charles, in a speech to Commonwealth nations in 2022, said ways must be
found to “acknowledge our past”, including slavery, which he had previously
described as an “appalling atrocity”. But he has stopped short of saying sorry.
The
Guardian spoke to experts and campaigners about why reparation is about
much more than money – and the forms they think it should take."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
