Commonwealth summit in Samoa: Why won't Britain discuss slavery? | human rights news

Commonwealth leaders gathered in Samoa this week for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

This is the first time a summit has been held in a Pacific Small Island Developing State (PSIDS).

The summit resurfaced calls for Britain to pay reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade. Although the topic is not on the official agenda, Commonwealth leaders have said they will hold discussions on their own, with or without the UK government's approval.

A proposed section in the summit's final statement referring to reparations was rejected by the UK. Instead, the statement released Saturday included only a reference to future discussions on reparations justice related to the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans.

So what is a summit, and could it put pressure on Britain to pay reparations?

What is the Commonwealth Summit and who attends?

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is held every two years, with the 56 member states of the Commonwealth taking turns hosting the summit.

This year's summit began in Apia, Samoa's capital, on Monday and ran until Saturday.

The last CHOGM was held in 2022 and was held in Rwanda, East Africa.

Representatives from 56 countries, most of them with roots in the British Empire, attended this summit.

This year, climate change is at the center of discussion. Countries are working to protect their waters through the Commonwealth Oceans Declaration. Countries are also discussing how to achieve their climate finance goals.

The summit also featured discussions among Commonwealth women to advance gender equality.

Some Commonwealth leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, decided to attend the BRICS summit in Russia this year instead of the Commonwealth summit.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju attended the Commonwealth summit on behalf of Modi.

After all summits, member states issued a final joint statement.

Were reparations for slavery on the agenda?

No, it wasn't. But many people think it should have been.

Over a period of more than 300 years, from the 15th to the 19th centuries, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, forced onto American and European ships, and sold as slaves across the Atlantic to the Americas.

According to the British Parliament website, Britain's involvement in the slave trade began in 1562, and by the 1730s, Britain had become the world's largest slave trader.

The website added that British ships transported more than three million Africans, mainly to Britain's North American and Caribbean colonies.

British leaders have so far refused to engage in discussions about paying reparations to countries that received trafficked slaves and where their descendants now live.

The British government insists no compensation will be paid for slavery. In April 2023, former Conservative chancellor Rishi Sunak refused to apologize or pay reparations for Britain's role in the slave trade.

At this year's summit, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that reparations would not be on the agenda.

He told reporters at the start of the summit: Slavery is an abomination. There's no question about that. But from my perspective and approach, I think I'd rather roll up my sleeves and work with them on the challenges they currently face rather than spend a lot of time looking at the past.

Starmer said he instead wanted to focus on current issues such as climate change.

Leaders who advocate for reparations, such as Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, argue that the legacy of the slave trade continues to haunt the Caribbean nation.

With no land, no money, no training or education, they had nothing to start with and nothing to build on, he told The Guardian newspaper.

Britain's King Charles III also spoke at the summit. He said none of us can change the past, but we must learn lessons to correct persistent inequalities. But he stopped short of demanding reparations and urged leaders to find creative ways to address the past.

What do Commonwealth leaders say?

Commonwealth leaders said they would anyway proceed with plans to review reparative justice for the slave trade, the BBC reported on Thursday.

The BBC reported that African leaders and officials from Caricom, a bloc made up of 21 Caribbean countries, are also calling for a separate section on compensatory justice in an official statement.

At the summit, Caricom presented 10 major compensation plans, including an official apology, debt relief, technology transfer, support for resolving the public health crisis, and eradication of illiteracy.

Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis says it is time for the Commonwealth to seek justice for its brutal history of slavery.

When we spoke about this, Davis said he was all appreciative of the terrible impact the transatlantic slave trade had on the African diaspora and that justice was needed, Davis told news outlet Politico.

However, British officials succeeded in removing this separate section from the statement. Instead, the statement made a much shorter reference to future discussions on compensatory justice.

It referenced discussions on reparative justice related to the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans and chattel enslavement and agreed that the time has come for meaningful, truthful and respectful dialogue to build a common future based on equity .

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (centre) watches dancers perform at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Apia, Samoa, Friday, October 25, 2024. [William West/AP]
If Britain has to pay reparations, how much will it be?

Even if the joint statement issued by the leaders at the summit included an instruction to pay compensation, it is not legally binding. But this will increase pressure on the UK to consider reparations.

In June 2023, the Brattle Group Report on Transatlantic Chattel Slavery Reparations was published.

Brattle is an economic consulting group based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. This group studies economic issues for organizations and governments around the world.

Brattle edited the report from the University of the West Indies, and former International Court of Justice legal scholar Patrick Robinson provided insight into it.

The report estimated that Britain would have to pay $24 trillion in reparations.

To whom can compensation for slavery be paid?

The Brattle report said Britain should pay reparations to 14 Caribbean countries. These include Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Other countries involved in the transatlantic slave trade, including Portugal, the Netherlands, and France, also refused to discuss reparations or decided to refuse to pay them.

In 2019, some countries, including the Netherlands, apologized. However, the Netherlands also ruled out paying compensation and instead created a fund worth about $216 million (200 million euros) to promote social initiatives in the Netherlands, the Dutch Caribbean and Suriname.

In the past, slave owners were paid reparations for their slavery. In 1833, after passing legislation abolishing slavery in the British Empire, the British government agreed to compensate slave owners £20 million for the loss of their property. This would be worth around $2.6 billion (£2 billion) today.

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