The African Union has joined a campaign to demand reparations from former Colonial powers over “historic crimes” such as slavery.
At a summit between the African Union and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) this week in Ethiopia, the 55-member state bloc joined with its allies in the Caribbean in calling for reparations from Western nations for slavery and the supposed exploitation of the continent’s resources.
In a statement on Monday, the African Union said: “Africa and the Caribbean represent one-fifth of humanity and should speak with one voice on all international platforms to demand recognition of historic crimes, meaningful reparations, and the dismantling of systemic injustice.
“This summit marks a turning point to honor ancestors, uplift descendants, and reclaim a shared destiny in freedom, justice, and unity.”
Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General to the African Union, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, said that “the world must recognize that Africa and the Caribbean are victims of two compounded injustices: the impact of colonialism and the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the fact that we were under colonial domination when today’s multilateral system was created.”
“Decolonization alone was not enough, as political independence did not free countries from structures of exploitation and decades of underinvestment, highlighting the need for reparatory justice frameworks,” the Gabonese diplomat added.
While the African Union did not specifically cite which countries it would demand reparations from, former colonial powers in Africa include Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain.
The demand from the bloc comes in addition to the calls from the Caribbean Community, which has claimed that it is collectively owed over $100 trillion in reparations, including $24 trillion from the United Kingdom and $26.8 trillion from the United States.
This comes despite the UK and U.S. using their navies at great cost to stamp out the Trans-Atlantic slave trade in the 19th century. The demand for reparations also seemingly fails to account for the role that African kingdoms played in enslaving their fellow Africans, whom they would then sell along the coast to colonial powers.
Although British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously ruled out paying reparations, his recently appointed deputy PM, David Lammy, has been at the forefront of the campaign in the UK. The Guyanese-heritage politician has frequently advocated for reparations to be put on the negotiating table in talks with Caribbean nations.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Attorney General, Lord Hermer, has also been associated with the movement, having reportedly provided legal advice to CARICOM when it initially proposed the reparations demands in 2013.
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