KINGSTON – Jamaica says it will formally petition Charles III on September 6 to refer key legal questions on slavery reparations to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the Caribbean country advances its campaign for reparatory justice.
Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Minister Olivia Grange told Parliament during her contribution to the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate on Tuesday that the petition marks another phase in Jamaica’s pursuit of reparations for the enslavement of Africans.
Grange said the petition would ask the King, in his capacity as Jamaica’s head of state, to refer three legal questions to the Privy Council, Jamaica’s final appellate court.
The questions seek legal clarification on whether the forced transportation of Africans from their homelands to Jamaica and their subsequent enslavement were lawful under common law; whether the transatlantic trafficking and enslavement of Africans up to 1838 constituted crimes against humanity under international law for which the United Kingdom bears responsibility; and whether Britain is under an obligation to provide a remedy to the Jamaican people for the unlawful transportation and enslavement of Africans and the continuing consequences of those actions.
Grange said the petition would be presented on September 6, the date marking the departure in 1781 of the slave ship Zong on a voyage to Jamaica during which more than 140 enslaved Africans were killed after being thrown overboard.
She told legislators that Jamaica has the full support of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in pursuing the legal initiative.
The move forms part of Jamaica’s broader campaign for reparatory justice, which has also included political advocacy through CARICOM’s reparations agenda. Grange has previously said the legal approach complements, rather than replaces, the political process. (CMC)