Reparations for slavery

Reparations for slavery means using the United Nations' rules to make up for the human rights abuses of slavery in the United States and its lasting effects on the people who were enslaved and their families.

There are different ideas about reparations in law and justice systems. Reparations can include things like money or support for the descendants of enslaved people, official apologies to the people or countries hurt by slavery, or honoring enslaved people by naming places after them.

"Victims of slavery" can mean people who suffered in the past or those still affected by slavery today.

According to the United Nations, "reparations" means actions taken by the government to fix human rights abuses. These actions can include giving money, support, or recognition to victims, their families, and affected communities. To count as true reparations, the UN says it must include four parts: giving things back (restitution), payment (compensation), healing help (rehabilitation), and making things right or showing respect (satisfaction).

Some efforts to give reparations for slavery started in the 1700s in North America. In recent years, especially in the 21st century, more people and governments in the UK, the US, and other former colonial countries have started taking steps to address slavery’s lasting harm.

Reparations can be given in many ways. Some examples include affirmative action ; giving money to individuals, creating special education programs like scholarships, making laws or systems to fix unfair treatment, or giving land as part of independence efforts.^[1]

Other forms of reparations include saying sorry and admitting past wrongs, taking down statues, changing street names that honor people who supported slavery, or naming buildings after enslaved people or those who helped end slavery.^[2][3]

Leaders of the U.S. reparations movement have created a simple guide to explain the different parts of reparations for slavery:

1. Reckoning – Learning and thinking deeply about what happened, who caused harm, and why.
2. Acknowledgment – Openly saying that harm was done.
3. Accountability – Taking responsibility and promising to stop and fix the harm.
4. Redress – Taking real steps to make up for the harm, like giving money, support, or changing systems to bring fairness and healing.

Helping poor countries with development aid is usually not considered part of reparations.^[4]

By the 2010s, although many people were asking for reparations, most examples around the world only included admitting that slavery was wrong and giving apologies — but no money or other support was given.^[5][6]

In June 2023, a report by the Brattle Group estimated that the damage caused during and after slavery could be worth over 100 trillion dollars. This report was shared at an event at the University of the West Indies.^[7][8]

Later, in October 2023, the UK Reparations Conference was held, and a group statement said that full justice through reparations must be "pursued and achieved."^[9][10]

Some people believe that just giving money is not enough. They say true reparations should also include the chance to return to the land of their ancestors and major changes to the current political and economic system.^[11]

In December 2022, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, said sorry on behalf of the Dutch government for its part in slavery. He gave this apology at the National Archives in The Hague, with people from different groups who fight for justice.

The Dutch government also promised to spend €200 million to help people learn about slavery, get involved, and deal with its effects today. They also planned to hold an event on 1 July 2023 to remember the history of slavery, together with countries like Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean islands.^[12][13]

The Slave Compensation Act of 1837 was a law made by the UK Parliament on 23 December 1837. It allowed slave owners to be paid money when slavery ended.^[14] About £20 million was given to slave owners as payment for freeing over 40,000 enslaved people in British colonies like the Caribbean, Mauritius, and the Cape of Good Hope.^[15] This was about 40% of the UK's yearly budget at the time, which would be about £16.5 billion today.^[16] Some of the money was paid in the form of government bonds, which delayed the full payment process.^[17]

The Africa Reparations Movement (ARM UK) started in 1993 after the Abuja Proclamation, which came from the First Pan-African Conference on Reparations held in Abuja, Nigeria. This conference was organized by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the Nigerian government.^[18]

In early 1993, British Member of Parliament Bernie Grant spoke around the UK about why reparations for slavery were needed.^[19] On 10 May 1993, he asked the UK Parliament to accept the Abuja Proclamation. The motion said that the world owed a big debt to African people because of slavery and colonization. It asked rich countries that benefited from slavery to consider paying reparations to Africa and African people around the world. It also pointed out the long-term harm caused by slavery, colonization, and racism.

The motion was supported by MPs like Tony Benn, Tony Banks, Jeremy Corbyn, John Austin-Walker, Harry Barnes, and Gerry Bermingham (who later became leader of the Labour Party), along with 46 other Labour MPs.^[20]

The Abuja Proclamation also called for reparations committees to be formed in Africa and in places where African descendants live. In December 1993, Bernie Grant helped create ARM UK. He was the co-founder and chairperson. Others in the group included Sam Walker (secretary), Linda Bellos (treasurer), and trustees like Patrick Wilmott, Stephen A. Small (an academic from Britain who is specialising in slavery^[21][22]), and Hugh Oxley.^[23]