“Face-to-face discussion on reparatory justice is absolutely important”–CARICOM Chair

“While there have been instances of people offering a public apology or even a quantum, as in the case of the Church of England, there has been no face-to-face discussion which we deem as absolutely important because if you can't see me or hear me, it is not appropriate to be able to make a judgment as to who or what I am and what I should receive.” – CARICOM Chair and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley

CARICOM leaders have agreed that a face-to-face conversation on reparations with all stakeholders is essential.  This was stated by CARICOM Chair and Prime Minister of Barbados, Hon. Mia Amor Mottley during the closing media conference for the 48th Regular Meeting of the Conference on Friday, 21 February in Barbados. In her remarks, the Chair highlighted leaders' continued advocacy for reparatory justice and underscored that the issue is a high priority for the body.

“The Heads agreed that the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee (PMSC) on Reparations would meet, but that without prejudice to this, we were settled on the need for an apology and the need for compensation remains absolutely important to us”, explained the Chair.  

She added that convening the PMSC on Reparations is a priority and that the members would be responsible for refining the Region’s negotiating mandate for reparations. “While there have been instances of people offering a public apology or even a quantum, as in the case of the Church of England, there has been no face-to-face discussion which we deem as absolutely important because if you can't see me or hear me, it is not appropriate to be able to make a judgment as to who or what I am and what I should receive.”

During his remarks at the media conference, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Hon. Philip Davis, stated, “We're also looking now at what legal avenues that we could engage to ensure that we can have perhaps a judicial response or answer if the negotiations fail.”

Reparatory Justice is not a new concept

Prime Minister Davis also shared examples of other groups receiving reparatory justice:

 “We also wanted to point out that reparations for wrongdoings and similar situations are not new. With regard to the Jews and the Holocaust, the Germans negotiated the 50 billion dollar reparations. Jews are still, today, I think, getting cheques for the harm that was done to that Community during that period. The South Korean Comfort Ladies were compensated by Japan in the tune of…one billion dollars, and which goes to them and their families and to provide cultural and other assistance for them. And the United States themselves…I think it was in 1988; they passed a reparation act to compensate the US citizens of Japanese descent who were detained during World War II.”

 “This is information that we have to put forward to ensure that people don't think that this is some new aberration by the African descendants,” Prime Minister Davis stated.

The PMSC on Reparations was established under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister of Barbados and comprises the Chair of the Conference and the Heads of Government of Guyana, Haiti, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname to oversee the work of the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC).