Britain's King Charles faced calls to reckon with his country's colonial past Friday, as a summit of Commonwealth allies turned into a factious debate about the legacy of slavery and empire.
Leaders from the 56-nation Commonwealth -- made up mostly of British ex-colonies -- gathered for a summit in Samoa, hoping to prove the bloc is still relevant.
But instead of uniting to tackle pressing issues like climate change, Charles III's maiden summit as king has been overshadowed by history.
Many African, Caribbean and Pacific nations want to see Britain -- and other European powers -- pay financial compensation for slavery, or to at least make political amends.
They want this summit in particular to commit to a discussion on the topic of reparatory justice -- a debate Britain's cash-strapped government has tried to stymie.
The Bahamas' Prime Minister Philip Davis told AFP that a debate about the past was vital.
"The time has come to have a real dialogue about how we address these historical wrongs," he said. "Reparatory justice is not an easy conversation, but it's an important one. The horrors of slavery left a deep, generational wound in our communities, and the fight for justice and reparatory justice is far from over".
The British royal family, which benefited from the slave trade over centuries, has also faced calls to apologize.
But the monarch stopped well short of that on Friday, asking summit attendees 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."
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has publicly rejected calls to pay reparations, and aides have ruled out an apology at the summit.
A draft summit communique calling for debate on colonialism is the subject of fierce negotiations.
One diplomatic source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that developed countries were trying to water down the language in the final communique.
"The call for reparations isn't simply about financial compensation; it's about recognizing the enduring impact of centuries of exploitation and ensuring that the legacy of slavery is addressed with honesty and integrity," Davis insisted.
Joshua Setipa from Lesotho -- who is one of three candidates vying to be the next Commonwealth's secretary-general -- said reparations could include non-traditional forms of payment such as climate financing.
"We can find a solution that will begin to address some injustices of the past and put them in the context happening around us today," he told AFP ahead of the summit.
Kingsley Abbott, Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London said the apparent inclusion of the text on reparatory justice was a "significant advancement" for the Commonwealth.
He told AFP it "reveals the door to meaningful dialogue is opening".
The British monarch is concluding an 11-day tour of Australia and Samoa, both independent Commonwealth states -- the first major foreign trip since his cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
© 2024 AFP
12 Comments
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Some dude
Maybe he can take reparations from the proceeds of Boris Johnson's autobiography. Should raise a few quid.
TaiwanIsNotChina
He ain't got that much money anymore. Were they too ashamed to go begging to the UK Parliament?
Some dude
He ain't got that much money anymore. Were they too ashamed to go begging to the UK Parliament?
The royals are pretty minted, believe me. If we trimmed them down a bit, we'd raise a decent amount of money which could then be used for other things.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finances_of_the_British_royal_family
proxy
History is thousands of years old but it was the British Empire that banned slavery in all its colonies in 1834.
You are welcome, world.
Human trafficking, i.e. slavery was rife in Lesotho until about only 10 years ago.
Joshua Setipa has a few reparations to pay himself.
OKuniyoshi
Good start, return all looted/robbed/plundered/etc cultural/art/etc items. Instead of hiding behind purposed enacted legislations to avoid such responsibilities.
Attilathehungry
PRoxy is right. The UK should ask for reparations for using the Royal Navy to block and charge slave ships operating off the coast of Africa. Or for bringing technology, medicine, infrastructure, and the rule of law to the colonies.
Seriously, enough of this demanding apologies and Great Leap Forward style grovelling.
konjo4u
Best wishes to the King.
And I
And the best hope for western democracy
Without a hitch
Cheers
Mr Kipling
Him mum paid $12 million to the girl who said Prince Andrew slept with her on Epstein's Island, even though Andrew said he had never met her. They must have plenty of cash.
Wasabi
The monarch should end as we are not in the middle age now.
Mr Kipling
Problematic as the slave trade was a legal business at the time. Also the Africans were slave traders too. And of course all those involved are now long dead....
Moonraker
It's the sympathetic versus the unsympathetic. The unsympathetic will always see possible exploitation of those who show any sympathy simply as a way to justify their own flint-heartedness and they may even dig in. They will accuse the sympathetic of merely being virtue-signallers and not acting in good faith because it is possible that the sympathetics' morals are making them feel guilt about their own lack of them. Guilt should not be felt under any circumstances because it implies responsibility to the wronged. Avoiding responsibility is also important for them. All kinds of sophistry will be displayed to avoid it. On the other hand, the sympathetic really can be exploited by self-interested actors within and without. There are, among the sympathetic, those who fly the sympathetic flag but are really also narcissists and self-interested. Even the otherwise unsympathetic can sometimes feign sympathy for those they think of as like themselves. Maybe some believe deep down that it is actually they who are deserving of sympathy and resent others getting it. There are bad actors all round. In the end it is not about reason or history, it will often come down to whether you feel humans are good or bad, naive or wise.
Mocheake
Welcome? For what? For CENTURIES they stole everything, brought disease, death and destruction and after somewhat gaining a conscience they banned something only in the letter of the law as it was not particularly enforced. The American Confederates benefitted and extended the U.S. Civil war by trading with elements in the U.K., among other things. You're welcome for the REAL history, not his-story lesson. What the hell does Lesotho have to do with that?
EvilBuddha
History is thousands of years old but it was the British Empire that banned slavery in all its colonies in 1834.
And replaced it with indentured labour. Why do you think there are so many people of Indian origin in Africa, Caribbean, Malaysia among other places.
But I have nothing against the British Empire since they made up for all their misdeeds by giving the world the gentleman's game - cricket.
Only the most civilized person can appreciate this sport, which also explains why most of the Western nations are not interested, and also why England itself has struggled with declining interest in the game.