The CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) has declared that the struggle for justice for the descendants of enslaved Africans remains unfinished, using Emancipation Day 2026 to renew its call for reparatory justice while welcoming a landmark United Nations declaration recognising the transatlantic slave trade and racialised chattel enslavement as the gravest crime against humanity.
In an Emancipation Day message, the Commission joined people across the Caribbean, Africa and the global African diaspora in honouring “the courage, resistance and unyielding determination” of those who fought against slavery, while stressing that freedom from enslavement did not end the fight for justice, dignity and equality.
The Commission said this year’s observance carries special significance following the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption on March 25, 2026, of the Declaration on the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialised Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime Against Humanity.
According to the CRC, the declaration validates what descendants of enslaved Africans, historians and reparations advocates have argued for decades—that the transatlantic trafficking of Africans and the system of racialised chattel enslavement constituted a brutal and dehumanising crime whose consequences continue to shape the social, economic and political realities of Caribbean societies.
The Commission said the UN declaration strengthens “the moral and political foundation for reparatory justice” and represents a major milestone in the international community’s recognition of historical truth.
The CRC also noted that Emancipation Day coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted at the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.
Describing the Durban Declaration as the most comprehensive international framework for addressing the enduring legacies of slavery, colonialism and systemic racism, the Commission urged governments worldwide to recommit themselves to its full implementation and resist attempts to weaken its relevance.
For CARICOM, the Commission said, Emancipation Day cannot be separated from the region’s reparations movement.
It argued that while political emancipation ended legal enslavement, it did not dismantle the structural inequalities created during centuries of exploitation.
“The wealth extracted from enslaved African labour financed the development of European empires while leaving Caribbean societies to contend with underdevelopment, economic dependency, and persistent racial disparities,” the Commission stated, adding that these historic injustices continue to impede sustainable development and therefore require meaningful redress.
Against that background, the CRC announced the relaunch of its expanded CARICOM Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice: A Manifesto for the Coming Enlightenment.
The Commission said the updated framework is intended to engage former colonial powers, private corporations, academic institutions, churches and civil society in an honest dialogue on historical responsibility while advancing reparatory justice as “an essential pillar of reconciliation, shared human progress and the coming enlightenment.”
Concluding its Emancipation Day message, the Commission called on Caribbean people to draw inspiration from those who resisted enslavement and fought for emancipation.
“Their struggle compels us to continue building societies free from racism, discrimination, and exclusion. Together, let us transform remembrance into resolve and justice into reality for present and future generations,” the Commission said.
