The Foundation: CARICOM's Ten-Point Plan
First formulated in 2014 at the initiative of historian Hilary Beckles, the CARICOM Reparations Commission’s plan goes far beyond mere financial compensation. It includes financial compensation as well as investments in health, education, and culture; the restitution of cultural artifacts; formal apologies from former colonial powers; and a response to the climate crisis. This framework has gradually gained international legitimacy, to the point that the ten-point plan for restorative justice has been recognized worldwide and helped establish the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.
The African Union Joins the Movement
The turning point of 2025 is undoubtedly the formal alliance between CARICOM and the African Union. On February 15, 2025, at a summit of heads of state in Addis Ababa, the African Union adopted a historic resolution sponsored by Ghana and Algeria, titled «Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations .». Then, at the second Africa-CARICOM Summit in September 2025, the African Union officially joined the Caribbean Community in its call for reparations from Great Britain for crimes related to the transatlantic slave trade. This transcontinental alliance is explicitly aimed at gaining greater influence in international forums by speaking with one voice.
A New Legal Strategy: Appealing to the Privy Council
In light of European governments’ repeated refusals to address the core of the issue, Jamaica and the members of CARICOM have decided to petition King Charles III, in his capacity as Jamaica’s head of state, to request a formal opinion from the Privy Council—one of the highest British courts—on whether the Atlantic slave trade was lawful under common law. This change in approach, described as a strategic turning point, aims to secure a legal determination before any negotiations on the reparations themselves begin.
The Wall of European Resistance
The momentum in the Caribbean and Africa, however, is meeting with persistent resistance from the former colonial powers. Several European leaders even oppose discussing the issue, arguing that modern states and institutions should not be held responsible for historical injustices. In 2024, Keir Starmer stated that he would rather look to the future than engage in discussions about reparations for the past. France and other former slave-trading powers have so far rejected these demands. So far, only the Netherlands has issued two formal apologies and left the door open for discussions.
The International Legal Framework as a Lever
Human Rights Watch, for its part, reiterated that international human rights standards addressing the right to a remedy and the right to reparations do indeed apply to the lasting impacts of slavery and other colonial crimes, and that most States parties to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination are obligated to address them.
In short, 2025 marks a phase of consolidation and internationalization for the movement, with a formalized Afro-Caribbean coalition, a groundbreaking legal strategy through the Privy Council, and the recognition of the issue under international human rights law—all in the face of colonial powers that remain, for the time being, reluctant to engage in any substantive discussion.
