Caribbean leaders reject UK debt relief as substitute for slavery reparations

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out direct reparations for slavery, offering instead 40 million pounds in infrastructure funding and debt discussions for smaller nations.

The offer was made during a private retreat for Commonwealth leaders in Antigua. Burnham said he was open to an official apology and wanted to start a structured dialogue on the region's history. He proposed talks on resetting debt for smaller members of the Commonwealth bloc and pledged 40 million pounds, approximately 54 million dollars, for critical infrastructure projects in the Caribbean over the next three years.

Ralph Gonsalves, a former prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and a senior figure in the Repair Campaign, said Caribbean nations would likely welcome the funding. However, he warned that the region would resist treating debt restructuring or development assistance as a form of reparation. He argued that these measures are already part of the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, which all nations signed at the United Nations.

Gonsalves pointed to a 10-point plan created by the Caribbean Community’s reparations commission. That document specifically requests debt cancellation rather than restructuring, along with monetary compensation. The plan argues that existing debts are intergenerational and tied to centuries of colonial extraction. Gonsalves noted that the plan also includes provisions for ecological repair and psychological support, as well as potential repatriation efforts for those who wish to return to Africa.

He warned that development assistance remains discretionary on the part of the United Kingdom. He said the danger lies in shaping the discussion only within the frame of general sustainable development goals rather than the specificities of reparatory justice. He emphasized the need for a separate financial carve-out based on the 10-point plan to address issues like repatriation.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a Labour MP and chair of the House of Commons’ all-party parliamentary group for Afrikan Reparations, said the core issue is agency. Speaking at the launch of a global reparations caravan on Tuesday, she stated that reparative justice must be made with the affected communities, not for them. She argued that agency was the primary thing taken from people of African descent during slavery.

Kingsley Abbott, a human rights lawyer and director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London, agreed that harmed communities must have a decisive say in the process. He told attendees in Antigua that it was time to listen to those who continue to suffer from historical crimes. He said that victims of serious human rights violations in countries like Guatemala, Colombia, and Nepal all wanted to be made whole again.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said the prime minister wants to build stronger relationships to renew the relevance of the Commonwealth. The department said it is already committed to working with partners on global debt issues, the climate crisis, and economic development. It stated that Britain will face its past together while focusing on a future with equality and security.