Barbados PM Mottley Calls for United Africa-Caribbean Front on Reparatory Justice

Accra: Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados has called for a united Africa-Caribbean front to advance the global campaign for reparatory justice. She highlighted the international community's defining moment in its quest for accountability over the transatlantic slave trade and its enduring consequences. According to Ghana News Agency, Prime Minister Mottley addressed the High-Level Consultative Conference on the Next Steps to the Landmark United Nations Resolution on the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans in Accra. The Barbadian leader emphasized the need for Africa and its diaspora to transform historical recognition into concrete action and repair. She declared, "We have come to Accra to declare that the age of accountability has finally reached the greatest crime against humanity." The conference marked a historic moment in the global struggle for reparatory justice, following the adoption of the landmark United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/R ES/80/250 earlier this year. This resolution recognized the trafficking and racialized chattel enslavement of Africans as among the gravest crimes against humanity. The Accra conference is part of efforts to operationalize the UN resolution adopted on March 25, 2026. The event seeks to develop practical mechanisms for advancing reparatory justice through international cooperation, legal action, cultural restitution, and economic transformation. The initiative aims to move the reparations agenda from symbolic recognition to concrete implementation by strengthening collaboration among governments, international organizations, legal experts, civil society groups, and diaspora communities. The three-day conference has gathered Heads of State and Government, ministers, scholars, legal experts, civil society leaders, and representatives of the African diaspora. Their discussions focus on strategies for implementing the landmark UN resolution and advancing justice for Africans and people of African descent worldwi de. Prime Minister Mottley commended President John Dramani Mahama, the Government of Ghana, and the African Union for their leadership in adopting the resolution and convening the conference. She noted that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) had spent nearly a decade advocating reparatory justice and believed the Accra conference would help forge stronger partnerships between Africa, the Caribbean, and other global stakeholders. Prime Minister Mottley stressed that the movement for reparatory justice is driven by a desire to promote healing, reconciliation, and human dignity rather than hostility or vengeance. She emphasized the need for accountability and moral courage in confronting the atrocities of slavery and their ongoing impacts on people of African descent. The Barbadian leader acknowledged her country's historical role in slavery, noting that Barbados' parliament enacted the 1661 Slave Code. This legal framework codified the treatment of enslaved Africans as property and influenced similar legisla tion across the Caribbean and North America. Prime Minister Mottley called for coordinated international efforts to address the historical and contemporary consequences of slavery, including economic inequalities, racial discrimination, and psychological trauma. She highlighted CARICOM's revised Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice, which outlines measures such as formal apologies, cultural restitution, indigenous peoples' development programs, and economic development. The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of unity within the reparations movement to achieve meaningful progress. She traced the roots of the modern reparations movement to broader Pan-African struggles for liberation and justice, citing milestones like the 1896 Battle of Adwa in Ethiopia and Ghana's independence movement under Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Prime Minister Mottley urged African countries to pursue policies promoting social justice and development within their societies, citing Barbados' investments in free education, univ ersal healthcare, and land redistribution programs as examples. She also stressed the need for strengthened ties between Africa and the Caribbean, arguing that closer cooperation could unlock significant economic, cultural, and developmental opportunities. As part of efforts to preserve historical memory, Prime Minister Mottley announced that Barbados would unveil a monument later this year commemorating 570 enslaved Africans buried at the Newton Plantation. Designed by Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, the monument is part of Barbados' initiative to reclaim and preserve its Atlantic heritage.