Chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC), Sir Hilary Beckles, has issued a passionate appeal to Britain’s King Charles to take definitive action on the issue of reparatory justice for Britain’s enslavement of African peoples.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark Resolution on March 25, 2026, declaring the transatlantic slave trade and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as the “gravest crime against humanity”.
During a virtual media briefing yesterday ahead of the 28th Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting scheduled for November 1-4 in Antigua and Barbuda, Sir Hilary said the time had come for governments on all sides to begin the dialogue following the UN Resolution and he appealed to the British Head of State to take the lead.
“My personal appeal to King Charles III, not so much in his role as head of the Commonwealth; not so much in his role as the constitutional monarch of the UK, but I am appealing to the man. I am appealing to Charles Windsor, a parent, a grandparent, a man today who reflects upon the history of his family.
“He can see the enrichment that slavery has presented to his family. He can see that the wealth he is passing on to his children and his grandchildren, all came out in significant sums through this process of the chattelisation of the African people.
‘Provide leadership’
“We are calling upon the king, as a man, as a human brother, to provide leadership to this organisation over which he presides, the Commonwealth,” said Sir Hilary.
“The Commonwealth historically was the site of this crime, the Commonwealth can become a major global institution to take us forward into the 21st century. The Commonwealth can become a moral institution committed to human justice and this is what we are calling for in CARICOM, in the African union. We are calling for the restoration of human dignity and the creation of a process of building partnerships . . . for development, for human progress,” added Sir Hilary, who is considered a global advocate on reparative justice agenda.
King Charles will head the delegations of prime ministers and presidents from the 56 Commonwealth countries expected to participate in the conference being held under the theme Accelerating Partnerships and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth that will see an estimated 5 000 delegates from around the globe descending on Antigua and Barbuda next month.
Vice-chair of the CRC, Professor Verene Shepherd; chair of the Guyana Reparations Committee and a vicechair of the CRC, Eric Phillips and Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM David Comissiong, also participated in yesterday’s media briefing. (GC)