Can reparations paid by UN member states to the descendants of enslaved Africans, facilitate our social, economic, and environmental development ? (e.g. through inclusive holistic implementation of SDG Targets 3, 4, 8, 10 & 16).
The first Pan-African Conference on Reparations for Enslavement, Colonisation and Neocolonisation was sponsored by the Organisation of African Unity 1993 and held in Abuja, Nigeria. The Abuja Declaration urges all countries who were enriched by enslavement and colonisation to review the case for reparations for “Africa and to Africans in the Diaspora.”
What is meant by the right to reparation? What does it mean when it is impossible to repair the situation of the past, or when the victims are deemed too numerous? In this short interview Xavier Philippe, professor of law and administrator of Institut francophone pour la justice et la démocratie (IFJD), explains the meaning of this right in the context of transitional justice. Individual and collective reparations, material or symbolic reparations: in transitional justice, the right to reparation fulfils different objectives and takes multiple forms.
Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly Resolution 60/147 of 16 December 2005
1. Restitution should, whenever possible, restore the victim to the original situation before the gross violations of international human rights law or serious violations of international humanitarian law occurred. Restitution includes, as appropriate: restoration of liberty, enjoyment of human rights, identity, family life and citizenship, return to one’s place of residence, restoration of employment and return of property.
2. Compensation should be provided for any economically assessable damage, as appropriate and proportional to the gravity of the violation and the circumstances of each case, resulting from gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law, such as: (a) Physical or mental harm; (b) Lost opportunities, including employment, education and social benefits; (c) Material damages and loss of earnings, including loss of earning potential; (d) Moral damage; (e) Costs required for legal or expert assistance, medicine and medical services, and psychological and social services.
3. Rehabilitation should include medical and psychological care as well as legal and social services.
4. Satisfaction should include, where applicable, any or all of the following: (a) Effective measures aimed at the cessation of continuing violations; (b) Verification of the facts and full and public disclosure of the truth to the extent that such disclosure does not cause further harm or threaten the safety and interests of the victim, the victim’s relatives, witnesses, or persons who have intervened to assist the victim or prevent the occurrence of further violations; (c) The search for the whereabouts of the disappeared, for the identities of the children abducted, and for the bodies of those killed, and assistance in the recovery, identification and reburial of the bodies in accordance with the expressed or presumed wish of the victims, or the cultural practices of the families and communities; (d) An official declaration or a judicial decision restoring the dignity, the reputation and the rights of the victim and of persons closely connected with the victim; (e) Public apology, including acknowledgement of the facts and acceptance of responsibility; (f) Judicial and administrative sanctions against persons liable for the violations; (g) Commemorations and tributes to the victims; (h) Inclusion of an accurate account of the violations that occurred in international human rights law and international humanitarian law training and in educational material at all levels.
5. Guarantees of non-repetition should include, where applicable, any or all of the following measures, which will also contribute to prevention: (a) Ensuring effective civilian control of military and security forces; (b) Ensuring that all civilian and military proceedings abide by international standards of due process, fairness and impartiality; (c) Strengthening the independence of the judiciary; (d) Protecting persons in the legal, medical and health-care professions, the media and other related professions, and human rights defenders; (e) Providing, on a priority and continued basis, human rights and international humanitarian law education to all sectors of society and training for law enforcement officials as well as military and security forces;(f) Promoting the observance of codes of conduct and ethical norms, in particular international standards, by public servants, including law enforcement, correctional, media, medical, psychological, social service and military personnel, as well as by economic enterprises; (g) Promoting mechanisms for preventing and monitoring social conflicts and their resolution; (h) Reviewing and reforming laws contributing to or allowing gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law.
See the United Nations Framework on a Right to A Remedy and Reparations
NARRATIVES FROM THE GLOBAL AFRIKAN MOVEMENT FOR REPARATORY JUSTICE
"International Law is not the right and preserve of states alone; it is also about the victims of human rights abusein the African diaspora. In that respect, the UN OHCHR conceptual framework speaks to reparations being about repair, and its operational framework on the right to repair.
As early as 1725 demands were made by Africans, to stop enslavement and trafficking of Africans, and in 1790, the Sons of Africa emerged as an international social movement whose membership including leading African Abolitionists such as Olaudah Equiano sought adequate reparations and resitution for injuries enslaved Africans had been subjected to. Notably, the movement for reparations is Pan African, and although the Bristish Empire spanned 3/4 of the known World at its height, it is not a UK-led movement. No successful attempt has been made to sue the British Crown since the 17th century. In that regard, the City of Bristol and London Borough of Lambeth are two contemporary British urbanisms that achieved a measure of success in the Pan African struggle for reparatory justice, and the proposal for an All Party Parliamentary Body appears to be finally gaining traction in 2021.
Pan African organisers recommend a framework for reparations in terms of chattel enslavement of Africans, colonialism and neocolonialism as well as goals, organising processes, etc, including the urgency to mobilise the masses. Notably, the late Pan Africanist British Member of Parliament, Bernie Grant was instrumental in re-invigotating the reparations movement in the !980s and 90s, following the demise of apartheid in South Africa".
Esther Stanford -Xosei,Reparationist, Jurisconsult, Community Advocate, Educator and emerging Ourstorian of the International Social Movement for Afrikan Reparations.
"The Durban Declaration and Plan of Action (DDPA) 2001 includes a paragraph on reparations for African victims of historical human rights abuse. Reparations is also understood in the context of repairing the World in its deepest crisis. We must (therefore) make reparations an international cause celebre similar to the anti-apartheid movement of the 1970s and 80s. To date US $10 mn has been allocated by Evanston, Illinois from cannabis production to fund reparations. Cities and towns in Illinois, Massachusetts, upstate New York, and the State of California are conforming to HR 40, and payment of reparations to African American victims of chattel enslavement, reconstruction, and Jim Crow laws in the USA.
CARICOM wishes its' claim for reparations to former European colonies in the Caribbean can be negotiated, but if this does not happen is prepared to follow the route of litigation. The demands levelled at European states include
1) that former European (metropoles) colonisers engage in the process of repairing their former (satellites) colonies through a Western developmental programme,
2) a claim that private sector and other European organisations implicated in enslavement of Africans are held accountable; e.g. the University of Glasgow has agreed a reparations compact with the University of the West Indies worth £20 million,
3) reparative re-ordering of the international economic and political order, including re-structuring of international bodies and terms of governance, by linking them to the SDGs (e.g. SDGs 10, 16, and 17),
4) In addition , self repair which we as the African diaspora need to do for ourselves.
CARICOM's demands incorporate voluntary repatriation to Africa of the descendants of enslaved Africans, development of the region's 50 million indigenous people, programmes to address public health diseases such asos hypertension and diabetes that can be traced back to the Trans-Atlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans, debt cancellation, and the remval of monuments and statues implicated in the crime of the enslavement of Africans. With this in mind, CARICOM has established a High Level Prime Ministerial Body on Reparations, CARICOM level and national level bodies, as well as a Reparatory Justice Centre".
David Commissiong, Barbados Ambassador to CARICOM
"Reparations or reparatory justice increasingly headlines the debate on inherited responsibility for injustices and knowledge of history in both the Global South as well as the Global North and on both sides of the Atlantic. However, it is important that acknowledgement of past injustices precedes apology and reparations for historical injustices. Material compensation cannot compensate for loss of human lives, and have to be accepted by the victims of human rights atrocities to have desired impact. Moreover, piecemeal acknowledgement of human rights breaches e.g. by France in Algeria and Rwanda, or during Belgian colonial rule of the Congo is inadequate; reconciliation is also required between peoples and not governments alone.
Where reparations are not handled well they can compound the original problem. Notably, in 2021 an offer of £1.3 billion in development aid for the next thirty years, was made as compensation for historical atrocities by German colonisers against Nama, Herero, and other indigenous African peoples in South West Africa. The offer was rejected by the Namibian government as inadequate for those directly affected by the atrocities commited under German colonial rule, as indigenous African victims were robbed of land and other resources leaving them poorer. Moreover their descendants still see themselves as victims of inherited injustices, and therefore reparations should illustrate full recognition of irreversible socio-economic consequences which is a part of their social reality.. Indigenous Namibian people first requested reparations in 1919, as well as during the 1920s, and from 1949 onwards. With this in mind, it is argued that Germany is not dealing with the Herero and other indigenous victims of their colonial rule in SW Africa as they did the Jewish Holocaust".
Pena Brock, Namibian Institute for Reparations
See Racial Violence and Colonial Accountabilities | Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris - YouTube
SUGGESTED LINKS
INTERNATIONAL
In 2021, a series of regional online webinars were organised by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs in collaboration with WCC Spiritual Life, remember "Past Massacres" in Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the World. They are among many virtual events organised this year to mark the 75th anniversary of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs. They may be viewed on YouTube at the following link Webinar series: Remembering Past Massacres - YouTube.
International Human Rights Bodies Provide a Case for Reparations (ibw21.org)
Karenga, M. (2021) Rethinking Reparations: A Collective Solution, Not Separate Settlements (ibw21.org)
The right to reparation in transitional justice - JusticeInfo.net Dec. 2021
The International Network of Scholars and Activists for Afrikan Reparations (INOSAAR) is a collaborative project that is being coordinated by the University of Edinburgh (UK) and Wheelock College (Boston, US). This work is funded through the Arts & Humanities Research Council's AHRC Research Networking Grant and falls under their highlight notice relating to the UN International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-24). Its purpose is to create an international network dedicated to reparations and other forms of transitional justice for the enslavement and genocide of peoples of African descent, including the subsequent oppression and deformation of Afrikan identity....https://www.inosaar.llc.ed.ac.uk/
Rethinking Reparations for Afrikan Enslavement as Rematriation | INOSAAR (ed.ac.uk), is an Online Workshop organised by the International Network of Scholars & Activists for Afrikan Reparations (INOSAAR), held on Thursday 15 July 2021, 6–930pm (BST). A live recording of the event is also posted at the following link on Facebook.
Declaration of the Global African Summit 2012
http://www.dirco.gov.za/docs/2012/diaspora_declaration0525.pdf
Committee for the Elimination of Illegitimate Debt Odious debt (cadtm.org)
Videos from the Pan-Afrikan Reparations Rebellion Groundings (PARRG) 2021 | stopthemaangamizi.com
Maatunbuntumitawo - GAFRIC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/3235369849919114
Stop the Maangamesi https://stopthemaangamizi.com/
Debt Cancellation as Anti-Racism in times of #BlackLivesMatter Protests.
https://youtu.be/FvrO6LYRzAM
Reparations draw UN scrutiny, but those who'd pay say little (apnews.com)
AFRICA
African Views https://www.africanviews.org/
On 16 December 2021 Al Jazeera News broadcast Namibia: The Price of Genocide | History | Al Jazeera, where the Federal Republic of Germany accepts responsibility for genocide in what is now the modern African state of Namibia, but it is argued not enough has been done to right the wrongs of the past. In May 2021 the German government formally acknowledged responsibility for the colonial-era genocide against Namibia’s Herero and Nama peoples, which was the first such atrocity of the 20th century. This occurred between 1904 and 1908 in the name of Imperial Germany, in the territory known then as German South West Africa, and as such, is seen by many historians in modern times as foreshadowing the Nazi Holocaust of World War II.
AMERICAS
Free Haiti Movement www.ezilidanto.com
The April 14, 2021 House Judiciary Committee markup vote on H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act concluded with a 25-17 historic first ever vote on reparations in the United States Congress. Video: Historic Vote on HR-40, Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans (reparationscomm.org).(courtesy of the US National African American Reparations Committee)
Resolution adopted by the American Psychological Association (APA) Council of Representatives on October 29, 2021 Apology to people of color for APA’s role in promoting, perpetuating, and failing to challenge racism, racial discrimination, and human hierarchy in U.S.
Business and Human Rights Legislation | CNCA - RCRCE Access to Canadian Courts
CARICOM TEN POINT PLAN, CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) 2013
Caribbean Pan African Network (CPAN) https://www.emancipationtt.com/cpan/ (within Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago)
EUROPE
JUSTICE NOW ? Tackling legacies of Europe's colonial past in the wake of Black Lives Matter Videos – JUSTICE NOW ? (wordpress.com)
Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition in Europe (PARCOE)
Press Release October 2021: British High Court refuses application for Judicial Review against the UK Government’s failure to take appropriate action in the face of the climate crisis, implicitly accepting the Government’s position that any discriminatory impacts of its climate policies would be “objectively and reasonably justified. Plan B and Global Majority vs to appeal. See PR 4 Oct 21 (planb.earth)
LOCAL
At-sik-hata Nation of Yamassee-Moors - UN #2718 atsikhatanationym (google.com) & https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Truth/CallLegacyColonialism/CSO/At-sik-hata-Nation-of-Yamassee-Moors.pdf
Reparations Task Force Meetings | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General
Please contact DOJ at (213) 519-0504 or email reparation...@doj.ca.gov with any questions.
The DC African American Autonomy Act | by Addison Sarter | Medium
Bristol activists spearhead the call for reparations for the legacy and current damage of slavery and colonialism - The Bristol Cable , HISTORY IS MADE’ AS BRISTOL PASSES SLAVERY REPARATIONS MOTION - GOT KUSH TV,
Motion 5 - London Borough of Lambeth Motion on Reparations: https://moderngov.lambeth.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=46459
PUBLIC ENQUIRY POINT
The Maangamizi Educational Trust (MET). Email: maangamizitrust@gmail.com
See also The Reparation Movement: Greatest Political Tide of the Twenty-first Century - ProQuest
Payback: Why Reparations Matter on the Road to Healing and Reconciliation in America – Peace and Justice Studies Association (peacejusticestudies.org)
Video: Historic Vote on HR-40, Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans (reparationscomm.org)
Reparations in the Caribbean and Diaspora | Caribbean Quilt (utoronto.ca)
The Great Durban Betrayal in: The Pan-African Pantheon (manchesterhive.com)
Legacies of British Slave-ownership - UCL: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/
https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/stories/bristol-transatlantic-slave-trade
Press release issued: 24 May 2021
Exploring how the legacy of the transatlantic slavery continues to impact Bristolians
A new project, led by the University of Bristol, will work with local citizens and communities in Bristol to build a fuller understanding of how the city’s legacy of transatlantic slavery is still impacting on society today.
The project, entitled We are Bristol: reparative justice through collaborative research, is led by Olivette Otele, the University’s Professor of History of Slavery and Memory of Enslavement, and has been made possible thanks to funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) citizen science scheme where members of the public are actively in involved academic research projects as contributors or partners.
This project is one of five that UKRI have invested in, awarding just over £290,000 to the University for the collaboration which puts people at the heart of cutting-edge research. Professor Otele said: “Bristol’s economic, social and cultural life, and the lived experience of its citizens, have been shaped by transatlantic slavery, with the city struggling to address the legacies of this past. “Recent events in Bristol, such as the toppling of Edward Colston statue, have brought into sharp focus the inequalities that still exist and a strong feeling that the history of the city, how it is represented and taught, still remains unresolved. Academics, city partners, citizens and community groups will work together to discuss and examine these important issues to build a greater understanding of the impacts of transatlantic slavery and, importantly, how the city can learn lessons and make changes.”
Four projects, led by a range of academics from the University’s Centre for Black Humanities, will explore the legacy of the slave trade in Bristol in various forms. The first project, led by Dr Richard Stone from the Department of History, will investigate the lives of Bristol’s slave owners and those they claimed ownership of. Using the records of compensation awarded when slavery was abolished in 1834, the team of citizen researchers will identify Bristol’s slave owners and find out how their money has shaped Bristol’s built environment, businesses and charities. The researchers will also use the Caribbean Slave Registers to investigate the lives of those whose forced labour generated this wealth.
Dr Stone said: “We talk a lot about how Bristol has benefited from slavery, but we don’t really have a concrete sense of how much and where. So, the aim of this project is for a team of Bristol researchers to use their skills, both existing and new, to provide some answers to these questions. More importantly, though, we hope to address the problem of the invisibility of the enslaved in Bristol. So now, when looking at a grand Victorian building, you will also be able to see the names of the enslaved people whose labours generated the wealth that built it.”
Dr Jessica Moody, also from the Department of History, will work with creative partners Cleo Lake and Kwesi Johnson in collaboration with citizens, artists and dance groups, to identify sites of memory in Bristol's cityscape. The project will explore these sites and their connections to the histories and legacies of transatlantic enslavement by foregrounding the knowledge and experiences of Bristolians, and by using creative practice-led approaches. The project will culminate in creative performances as new forms of memorialisation at these sites and an Augmented Reality app through which these can be viewed. The app will be developed in collaboration with Digital Technologists, Michele Panegrossi and Luca Biada from FENYCE. Dr Moody said: “We believe that the full impact and trauma of transatlantic enslavement as well as its complex ongoing legacies cannot be understood solely through standard historical, scientific or academic methods. This is an area where the creative arts make a powerful and necessary intervention in research and engagement.
“Through sharing the creative responses developed through this project via an augmented reality app, we can add alternative narratives and engagements with this history and its legacies onto sites in Bristol chosen by our citizen scientists.”
A third project, Bridging Histories, will create a global learning resource for communities exploring issues of contested heritage. This project is directed by Dr Joanna Burch-Brown, current co-chair of the Bristol History Commission and Senior Lecturer in Philosophy. The project will take learners on a journey through exploring street-level history, family history, sharing recipes and poems, being monument detectives. They'll finish up by becoming changemakers, doing something simple to make a positive change in themselves and their communities. Dr Burch-Brown said: “People can join in as individuals, or as groups. Everything participants create will be shared online via social media, creating a public library of positive stories connecting diverse corners of our communities.”
Finally, Dr Marie-Annick Gournet from the Department of English will partner with the Global Majority Teachers Network and Bristol City Council’s education and Skills Directorate to examine how inequalities and racism experienced by people of colour in the education sector are inextricably linked to slavery and its legacy. Dr Gournet said: “The aim of this package is to work with teachers as citizen scientists to develop ways of understanding and teaching of the different aspects of that legacy, equipping them to be agents for change and enhance their own and other educators' ability to address inequalities.”
Councillor Asher Craig, Bristol City Council’s Deputy Mayor added: “Listening to and learning from our communities is an important part of our approach at the council. We’ve partnered with the university in this research to ensure we continue to explore the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade and its continuing impact on the city and its communities.
“We value the contributions that people from different backgrounds make to our city. This is underlined by our commitment to the Public Sector Equality Duty, which enables us to take an active approach to tackling inequality and fostering good relationships in our communities. Our recent citizens’ assembly provided the opportunity for a group of residents, reflecting the diversity of Bristol, to put forward their views and ideas on solutions to a number of challenges for our city. “Bristol has a rich and varied past and the legacy of the transatlantic slavery is one that still impacts citizens in a number of different ways. It’s important that we take the time to learn more now to ensure future generations are educated and feel connected to the history of our city. And that individually and as a collective we can move forward together to build a city of unity, hope and ambition.”
See May: We are Bristol | News and features | University of Bristol
The 2nd Nelson Mandela Human Rights Lecture was held on 14 July 2021, with a panel including former UN HCHR Dr Navi Pillay, and former Chair & Member of CERD Professor Gay McDougall, Ms Edna Maria Santos Roland Chair/Rapporteur of the Group of Independent Eminent Experts on the Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and Ms Mona Rishmawi Chief, Rule of Law, Equality and Non-Discrimination Branch, Office of the United Nations High Commisisoner for Human Rights . A link to a recording can be found here (3) Second Annual Nelson Mandela Human Rights Lecture - YouTube
On September 22, 2021 a series of high-level meetings on the theme "Reparations, racial justice and equality for people of African descent," were hosted by the United Nations General Assembly, at the level of Heads of States and Governments, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA). The World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, from 31 August to 8 September 2001, Member States adopted a landmark document for combatting these scourges: the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. The Declaration embodies the commitments of the international community to address the legacy of the past as well as contemporary forms and manifestations of racism and racial discrimination, including the acknowledgement that slavery and the slave trade are a crime against humanity and should have always been so. The Programme of Action constitutes a comprehensive roadmap recommending how Member States and other stakeholders should implement these commitments.
The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action is a victim-centered framework, which emphasises the plight of victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including Africans and people of African descent, Asians and people of Asian descent, indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees, displaced persons, victims of human trafficking, and persons belonging to various minorities. It reaffirms that States have the duty to protect and promote the human rights of all and should apply a gender perspective, thereby recognising the existence of multiple forms of discrimination. In particular, the Declaration and Programme of Action emphasise that people of African descent continued to be victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance as a consequence of slavery, the slave trade and colonialism. The documents also acknowledged the value and diversity of the cultural heritage of Africans and people of African descent and affirmed the importance and necessity of ensuring their full integration into social, economic and political life.
The General Assembly defined the scope, modalities, format and organization of the high-level meeting in its resolution 75/320. The General Assembly also decided to adopt a political declaration aimed at mobilizing political will at the national, regional and international levels for the full and effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and its follow-up processes at the opening plenary meeting.
General Assembly: High-level Meeting to Commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (Opening Plenary) | United Nations UN Audiovisual Library (unmultimedia.org).
In the first round table, the speakers discuss progress made, challenges encountered and lessons-learned in efforts to eliminate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 20 years after the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. They share their views on the state of play in the fight against racism, in particular through the lens of the situation of people of African descent.
General Assembly: High-level meeting to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (Round Table 1) | United Nations UN Audiovisual Library (unmultimedia.org)
In the second round table, the speakers discuss how addressing past racial discrimination and considering reparations can contribute to moving the fight against racism forward. They also speak about the relevance and pertinence of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action in addressing new and emerging trends in the fight against discrimination.
General Assembly: High-level Meeting to Commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (Round Table 2) | United Nations UN Audiovisual Library (unmultimedia.org)
The closing plenary meeting comprised of the presentation of summaries of the discussions by the Chairs of the round tables, followed by statements from the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights and the Deputy Secretary-General.
General Assembly: High-level Meeting to Commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (Closing Plenary) | United Nations UN Audiovisual Library (unmultimedia.org)
In October 2021 the Maangamesi Educational Trust announced an All-Party Parliamentary Group on African Reparations (hereafter referred to as ‘APPGAR’) is to be established by a cross-party group of U. K. parliamentarians. All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) are informal, cross-party, interest groups of MPs and Peers which meet to discuss, campaign on and promote a certain issue. Many APPGs choose to involve individuals, campaign groups, charities, and other non-governmental organisations from outside the British Parliament, but who are active in the field of interest, to become involved in their administration and activities. They have no official status within Parliament but can, however, be very influential in bringing matters to the attention of Parliament and ministers as well as also encouraging action by other bodies. The APPGAR is to be chaired by (MP’s name withheld until agreements reached).
SHORT DESCRIPTION
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on African Reparations (APPGAR) brings together British parliamentarians, campaigners, communities and other stakeholders to examine issues of African Reparations; explore policy proposals on reparations and make recommendations to the British Parliament on how to redress the legacies of African enslavement, colonialism and neocolonialism today.
OBJECTIVES
1. The APPGAR exists to:
(a) raise parliamentary awareness and public understanding about the meaning of, rationale, and proposals for African Reparations to address the legacies of African enslavement, colonisation and neocolonialism within and beyond the UK.
(b) study, review research and share knowledge about the effects of African enslavement, colonisation and neocolonialism within the British Empire from 1662 to the present.
See Homepage - Caribbean Reparations Commission (caricomreparations.org)
(c) provide a springboard for parliamentary action on African Reparations such as debates, questions for oral and written answers and legislative reform.
(d) accelerate action on the establishment of the All-Party Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for Truth & Reparatory Justice (APPCITARJ) and set out recommendations for the government on African Reparations proposals and measures.
(e) seek evidence on what measures and reforms are needed to address African Reparations at the level of policy.
(f) advise and make recommendations to the UK Government on African Reparations.
(g) stimulate cross-community dialogue on African Reparations and explore interconnections with reparations campaigns and movements of other Majority World Peoples.
To further the above aims the APPGAR and its members and its members will:
· Maintain an important forum for discussion of issues relevant to African Reparations, including measures to implement proposals for African Reparations such as:
(a) the establishment of the APPCITARJ;
(b) debt cancellation and repudiation;
(c) restitution of African cultural property and human remains;
(d) public disclosure about which financial institutions were involved in the enslaver compensation loan taken out by the UK Government in 1835, and restitution of the value of taxes paid by African Heritage taxpayers in Britain until 2015 to service this loan;
(e) declaring 23rd August, the United Nations ‘International Day for Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition’ as a public holiday in the UK.
· Produce high quality reports, publications and calls for action;
· Facilitate events that further the objectives of the APPGAR;
· Attend other events, meetings where influence can be brought to bear.
For further details see M.E.T. Proposal for the APPG on African Reparations (APPGAR) | stopthemaangamizi.com, Agenda item - Motions | Lambeth Council, & ModernGov - bristol.gov.uk
See also SDG Implementation: UK Community Reporting Matrix (Work in progress. v.1)
(PDF) SDG Implementation: UK Community Reporting Matrix (Work in progress. v.1) (researchgate.net)
Meeting Notice and Agenda
Notificación De Reunión y Agenda
The February meeting of the US State of California Task Force on Reparations took place on 24 February 2022 via BlueJeans video and telephone conference. Documents reviewed during the meeting are available on the Task Force’s website at: https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/meetings. Recordings of the Task Force meetings alsoavailable at: https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/meetings.
All Task Force meetings are open to the public. This notice/agenda can be found on the AB 3121 Task Force website at https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/meetings. Please contact DOJ at (213) 519-0504 or email reparation...@doj.ca.gov with any questions.
Thank you.
Message from Stephan Small
"I write to share with you information about a series of short articles on reparations that I have written for a community audience in GB. They are called 'Reparations for Liverpool Imperialism in West Africa'. The point of departure is 'Eveyryne in GB is talking about reparations for slavery in the West Indies, but no one is talking about reparations for imperialism in West Africa'. I am seeking to extend the discussion in GB to look chronologically beyond the period of slavery and geographically from the West Indies to West Africa.
Also geographically from London to Liverpool - because while West Africa was of relatively minor importance to London politicians and businesses (compared to their interest in India, Egypt and Southern aArica) it was of major importance to Liverpool. Liverpool controlled more than 90% of trade with West Africa from the 1870s well into the 20th century.
Here is a link to the first three articles…
Read or Download the Articles here:
Introduction to Reparations for Liverpool Imperialism and West Africa
Liverpool slavery in the West Indies made them rich, Liverpool Imperialism in West Africa made them richer
Politicians and the Political Process
Sincerely,
Stephen Small "
All Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations: Public Event on African Restitution 20th April 2022 5PM -7PM (BST)
On 20 April 2022 Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Chair of All Party Parliamentary Group on African Reparations, hosted a public event on the issue of African artefacts held in UK heritage collections, in collaboration with AFFORD, on the issue of African restitution as part of the work of the All -Party Parliamentary Group work on Afrikan Reparations. The development of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations and its exploration of the issue of African restitution is in an important milestone in progressing the issue of African restitution within the UK, following similar restitution of African artifacts from French and German collections. The formation of the APPG-AR and its agenda for change is unique chance to enter into a dialogue with policy-makers, law makers and heritage professionals on the issue of African restitution.
Panellists in the oublic discussion included Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP – Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations (APPG-AR) and Onyekachi Wambu, Director of AFFORD. The event will be followed by a series of evidence-gathering sessions on African artefacts held in UK heritage collections in Spring 2022.
See The First Pan-African Conference on Reparations | INOSAAR (ed.ac.uk);
Resolution On Fundamental Rights of People of African Descent in Europe – Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ardi-ep.eu);
Afrikan Reparations APPG (parallelparliament.co.uk);
AFFORD publishes guiding documents in Return of the Icons campaign - African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) (afford-uk.org);
Côte d’Ivoire sculptures: unmasking the truth – MisBeeeWrites (msbwrites.co.uk)