PORT-OF-SPAIN – Trinidad & Tobago – July 08, 2013……“Reparation is an integral element of our development strategy and the legacy of slavery and colonialism in the Caribbean have severely impaired our development options…(therefore)reparation must be directed towards repairing the damage”.
The words of Prime Minister, Dr. Hon. Baldwin Spencer in a statement to his colleagues on Day 4 of the 34th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at the Hilton Hotel in Port-Of-Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Acknowledged as the first occasion the subject was being collectively discussed by the Heads, Prime Minister Spencer retraced the actions taken by his Administration to highlight the need for reparation. This included the appointment of a Reparations Support Commission which has embarked on an intensive public awareness and education programme about the legacy of slavery and the impact of colonialism. In 2011 in his address to the United Nations General Assembly he called upon ” former slave States to begin the reconciliation process by issuing formal apologies for the crimes committed by the nations or their citizens over the 400 years of the African slave trade”.
“Antigua and Barbuda also called on those very States to back up their apologies with new commitments to the economic development of the nations that have suffered from this human tragedy”, the Prime Minister said during what has been described as “a historic moment”.
The discussions surrounded the topic “The Issue of Reparations for Native Genocide and Slavery”, led by the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It also included contributions from Professor Dr. Hilary Beckles and a team of lawyers from the United Kingdom who all spoke of the merits of repairing historic wrongs through the commencement of development oriented conversation on “reconciliation and partnership”.
Following the unanimous support of the different delegations, the Heads agreed on a Road Map for follow up action which include the establishment a National Reparations Committees in each jurisdiction; the chair of each committee to sit on a CARICOM Reparations Commission; the appointment of a group of 5 Heads of Governments – Barbados, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Republic of Haiti and Suriname to provide political oversight and the University of the West Indies to establish an institute to focus on reparations research
