The 56-member Commonwealth agreed the “time has come” for discussions about the legacy of the “abhorrent” transatlantic slave trade Saturday, in a landmark joint statement that raised the prospect of future reparations.
Gathering for a summit in Samoa, leaders held lengthy and occasionally tense talks over one of the most sensitive aspects of their shared and troubled past.
The bloc brings together Britain and most of its former colonies, many of which are still scarred by the brutal trade that saw an estimated 10-15 million slaves ripped from Africa over four centuries.
African, Caribbean and Pacific nations have pressed for Britain — and other European powers — to pay financial compensation for slavery, or to make political amends.
In a closing statement, Commonwealth leaders noted calls for “reparatory justice” for the “abhorrent” transatlantic trade and agreed that “the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation”.
While Britain and other colonial powers have occasionally apologised for slavery in broad terms, they have baulked at the idea of paying financial reparations, which could come with a hefty price tag.
During the summit, London tried to avoid making explicit commitments, while trying to prove the Commonwealth was still relevant and could work together.
The meeting’s conclusion was delayed for hours as leaders and officials tried to hammer out a compromise.
That compromise text may stop short of what some former colonies wanted.
“The time has come to have a real dialogue about how we address these historical wrongs,” Prime Minister Philip Davis of the Bahamas told AFP at the summit.
“The horrors of slavery left a deep, generational wound in our communities, and the fight for justice and reparatory justice is far from over.”
But experts said the summit could be historic nonetheless.
“The commitment to conversations on reparatory justice wedges open the door for dialogue,” said Kingsley Abbott, of the University of London’s Institute of Commonwealth Studies.
“The Commonwealth” he said, “should see this as an opportunity to lead on a potentially historic process, and to do so with vision and courage.”
– ‘Painful’ past –
For Britain — still staking out its place in the world after empire and leaving the European Union — the summit had high stakes.
Among the delegates were Prime Minister Keir Starmer and King Charles III, his first summit as monarch and as head of the Commonwealth.
The British royal, whose family benefited from the slave trade over centuries, had faced calls to apologise personally.
He stopped well short of that on Friday, asking delegates to “reject the language of division”.
“I understand, from listening to people across the Commonwealth, how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate,” he said.
“None of us can change the past. But we can commit, with all our hearts, to learning its lessons and to finding creative ways to right inequalities that endure.”
Charles left to return to London before the final summit communique had been agreed.
– Blue Pacific –
Commonwealth leaders found more common cause on the “existential” issue of climate change.
They agreed to an “Ocean Declaration”, which recognises national maritime boundaries even if sea levels continue to rise.
They also agreed to protect at least 30 percent of the ocean and to restore at least 30 percent of degraded marine ecosystems by 2030.
“What the ocean declaration seems to do and to say is that once your marine boundaries are fixed, they are fixed in perpetuity,” outgoing Commonwealth Secretary General Baroness Patricia Scotland told AFP.
Commonwealth leaders also agreed to name Ghana’s foreign minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey as the new secretary general.
A former lawmaker, she has served as foreign minister for the past seven years, notably steering Ghana’s two-year tenure on the UN Security Council, ending December 2023.
She has backed the drafting of a free trade agreement among Commonwealth member states and has previously said she stands for reparations.
“Truly humbled by the overwhelming support of the Commonwealth Heads of Government in selecting me as the incoming Secretary-General of the Commonwealth” she posted on social media.
“The work indeed lies ahead!”
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