The Global Reparation Fund is a fund established by the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

and Caricom that seeks

reparations for slavery Reparations for slavery are reparations for victims of slavery. Reparations can take many forms, including financial compensation, legal remedy of damages, public apology and guarantees of non-repetition. Victims of slavery can refer to hist ...

from their former European colonial powers. It was established in 2023. The fund was established by the

and Caricom at the Accra Reparation Conference, a four-day conference in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

in November 2023. It seeks

from the former European colonial powers of African and Caribbean countries. It has not been announced how the fund would operate. The fund will be based in Africa. A draft version of the expected Accra proclamation stated that the African Union would engage with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

to established whether "acts of enslavement against Africans constituted serious violations of human rights at the time they were committed" and that "litigation options" would be explored. The

President of Ghana The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is John Mahama, who won the 2024 presidential elect ...

Nana Akufo-Addo William Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the 13th president of Ghana from January 2017 to January 2025. He previously served as Attorney General of Ghana, Attorney General from 2001 to 20 ...

, said at the conference that "The entire period of slavery meant that our progress, economically, culturally, and psychologically, was stifled. There are legions of stories of families who were torn apart ... You cannot quantify the effects of such tragedies, but they need to be recognised". Akufo-Addo said that the "entire continent of Africa deserves a formal apology from the European nations involved in the slave trade" and that "No amount of money can restore the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade and its consequences. But surely, this is a matter that the world must confront and can no longer ignore". The Secretary General of Caricom, Carla Barnett, said at the conference that "We are at an important inflection point in the global movement for reparatory justice" and that it was critical to "speak with one voice to advance the call for reparations". Delegates from the African Union began discussions on how to work with Caribbean nations in

The Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

in July 2023. An official from the British

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

attended the conference as part of their "standard diplomatic engagement". The British government has resisted potential reparations.

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The Barbadian ambassador to Caricom,

David Comissiong David Comissiong (born 1960) is a Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Vincentian-born political activist, founder of the Clement Payne Movement, and former head of the Barbados, Barbadian government's Commission for Pan-African affairs. He is a fre ...

, said that "people feel encouraged by the amount of work that has been done to create a global reparations movement". The British Parliamentarian

Bell Ribeiro-Addy Bellavia Janet Ribeiro-Addy (born 1 March 1985) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clapham and Brixton Hill (UK Parliament constitue ...

attended the conference and said that the joining of the African Union and Caricom showed that "They’ve sent a very clear message that this is something that can't be ignored any more".

References

{{Reflist 2023 establishments in Africa Reparations for slavery African Union

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See also

References