CARICOM Reparations Commission advances advocacy mission in UK

LONDON--A delegation from the CARICOM Reparations Commission is in the United Kingdom from July 13 to 16, 2026, to advance the region’s advocacy for reparatory justice.

The mission is intended to strengthen strategic partnerships and support a program of public education and civil society engagement on the reparations agenda. Meetings and related events are being hosted by the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London.

The delegation is led by CARICOM Reparations Commission Chairman Professor Sir Hilary Beckles. Other members include Dorbrene O’Marde, chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission and vice chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission; Eric Phillips, chairman of the Guyana Reparations Committee and vice chair of the commission; Professor Verene Shepherd, vice chair of the commission and vice chair of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; and Ambassador David Comissong, Barbados’ ambassador to CARICOM.

Dr. Ron Daniels, convenor of the National African Reparations Commission in the United States, will also join the delegation.

The visit comes during a period of significant international developments related to reparatory justice, as CARICOM member states prepare for the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda and other regional and international engagements.

In March 2026, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Ghana-led resolution declaring the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and chattel enslavement as the “gravest crime against humanity.”

Ghana subsequently hosted a high-level consultative conference on reparations in Accra in June 2026. Described as a “historic turning point for Africans and people of African descent,” the conference brought together governments, international organizations, legal experts and civil society representatives to develop a unified framework for advancing reparatory justice globally.

The United Kingdom mission also follows the finalization and approval of the revised “CARICOM Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice: A Manifesto for the Coming Enlightenment.”

The revised plan positions reparations as a “global human rights imperative.” It was approved by the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, which also agreed to several initiatives intended to advance the region’s reparations agenda.

Through its meetings in London, the commission is expected to deepen cooperation with academic institutions, civil society organizations and other partners involved in public education and advocacy on reparatory justice.

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