MALUA, Samoa- In a dramatic turn at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malua, Samoa, Caribbean nations successfully pushed the contentious issue of slavery reparations onto the international agenda, outmaneuvering initial British attempts to sidestep the topic.
The summit’s final communiqué, endorsed by all 55 member states including the United Kingdom, acknowledged that “the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity” regarding the transatlantic slave trade and chattel enslavement.
This breakthrough came despite earlier protestations from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office that reparations were “not on the agenda.” The language closely mirrors a previously leaked draft obtained by the BBC, suggesting a diplomatic victory for Caribbean member states over British resistance.
However, the final text notably omitted a leaked provision that would have committed members to “prioritize and facilitate further and additional research on the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and chattel slavery,” indicating some successful pushback from the British delegation.
Starmer, speaking ahead of his government’s first budget, attempted to downplay the significance of the development. “None of the discussions have been about money, our position is very, very clear in relation to that,” he insisted, characterizing his experience as “a very positive two days” focused primarily on resilience and climate issues.
Yet behind the scenes, tensions simmered. Sources with knowledge of the proceedings revealed that several nations raised the subject of reparatory justice during Friday’s sessions with Starmer present. The British Prime Minister’s subsequent press conference was delayed by over an hour as negotiators wrestled with the communiqué’s final wording, though Starmer claimed, “The delay was not on paragraph 22 on reparations; that was locked down hours ago.”
While acknowledging that he “understand[s] the strength of feeling,” Starmer maintained his preference for “looking forward, not back,” pivoting to focus on “climate resilience, on education, on trade and on growth to better enable us to address the inequalities of today.”
The summit also saw Ghana’s Foreign Minister Shirley Botchwey elected as the Commonwealth’s new secretary-general in a closed-door retreat. Ghana recently hosted a conference on reparations, but Botchwey told a debate hosted by the Chatham House think tank last month: “It had moved from financial reparations now to justice in terms of what do we get for climate? What do we get in terms of the development cooperation framework?”
The issue of reparations will again resurface when a delegation of Caribbean nations visits the UK next year, ensuring that despite British reluctance, the reparations dialogue has gained unprecedented momentum within the Commonwealth framework.
This watershed moment at the Samoan summit marks a significant shift in how the Commonwealth confronts its colonial legacy, with former colonies successfully forcing their one-time imperial power to engage with historical injustices it had long sought to avoid. (WiredJA)
