MEDIA ADVISORY | CARICOM Reparations Commission Delegation to Visit United Kingdom for Strategic Advocacy Engagements

The CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) will undertake a groundbreaking visit to the United Kingdom from 17 – 20 November 2025 to advance its advocacy for reparatory justice. The delegation’s mission is to strengthen strategic partnerships and promote a joint programme of public education and engagement on the reparations agenda.

The visit is being organised with the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, which will host the delegation’s meetings and events.

The six-member delegation will be led by Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Chairman of the Commission. The CRC delegation comprises: Mr. Eric Phillips, Vice Chair, CRC and Chairman, Guyana Reparations Committee; Ambassador David Comissiong, Ambassador to CARICOM and Vice Chair, Barbados National Task Force on Reparations; Dr. Niambi Hall Campbell Dean, Chairperson, Bahamas National Reparations Committee; Mr. Arley Gill, Chairman, Grenada National Reparations Committee; Dr. Hilary Brown, Programme Manager, Culture and Community Development, CARICOM Secretariat.

Members of the media are cordially invited to join a briefing with CRC representatives, who will share an update on the delegation’s mission.

What: Media Briefing

Where: University of London | Senate House

Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU United Kingdom

When: Tuesday, 18 November 2025

3:00 PM GMT | United Kingdom

9:00 AM CST | Belize

10:00 AM EST | Jamaica

11:00 AM AST | Guyana | Trinidad and Tobago | Barbados

12:00 noon SRT | Suriname

Virtual participation: Please register to join the discussion via the following link: https://caricom.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75c5fdf8c5e3abc8136da5288&id=f062479151&e=1834752308

Members of the media are kindly requested to join the meeting at least 10 minutes before the scheduled start time.

Additional information

This marks the first official visit by the CRC to the UK as a collective body. The itinerary includes high-level engagements with:

• High Commissioners and Ambassadors from CARICOM Member States and the African Union
• UK Parliamentarians, including members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations
• Civil society leaders, academics, media professionals, and members of the Caribbean diaspora

The visit underscores the CRC’s commitment to building international alliances and fostering dialogue around reparatory justice, historical accountability, and socio-economic transformation.

Updates on the mission will be shared via CARICOM.org, CARICOM Social Media platforms and our WhatsApp Community: https://bit.ly/CARICOMWhatsApp 

Editor’s Notes:

• Over the past 12 years, the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) has led a vigorous campaign of advocacy and public education on reparatory justice, following its establishment by the Thirty-Fourth Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government in 2013. The CRC has played a pivotal role in revitalising the global movement for reparations.
• Through symposia, public lectures, panel discussions, and publications, the CRC has deepened public understanding of the historical and ongoing impacts of over 300 years of chattel enslavement in the Caribbean. Its conferences—often in collaboration with leading scholars and advocates—have introduced new insights into topics such as the origins of the Western banking system, intergenerational trauma, and the link between slavery and the high prevalence of non-communicable diseases like hypertension in the Region.

• The CRC recently revised the CARICOM Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice, which was originally adopted in 2014 and last updated in 2018. The Ten Point Plan has now been reimagined to reflect shifting global dynamics and incorporate emerging historical and scientific evidence.
• A 2025 poll commissioned by The Repair Campaign, surveying over 2,000 UK adults, revealed widespread gaps in public knowledge about Britain’s role in transatlantic slavery and colonialism. Key findings include:
  • 85% were unaware that Britain forcibly transported over 3 million Africans to the Caribbean.
  • 89% did not know that Britain enslaved people in the Caribbean for more than 300 years.
  • 63% now support a formal apology to Caribbean nations and descendants of enslaved people—up 4% from 2024.
  • 40% support financial reparations, also reflecting a 4% increase from the previous year.
• In 2024, CARICOM made notable strides in advancing the reparations agenda within the Commonwealth. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Apia, Samoa, in October 2024, Heads endorsed language in the final communiqué recognising transatlantic slavery and the trafficking of enslaved Africans as crimes against humanity. Heads also agreed that “the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity.”