Beckles says reparations movement has entered final phase — The Rio Times
In Barbados, Sir Hilary Beckles, chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, said that the movement to redress the harm caused by slavery has entered its final phase. This was reported by The Rio Times.
Beckles spoke on September 18, 2026, at a CARICOM conference held from September 17 to 19 under the slogan “Reparatory justice as the coming Enlightenment.” According to him, the movement is in its “fifth wave,” and its participants have no intention of retreating.
Updated CARICOM plan
CARICOM, which consists predominantly of former British colonies in the Caribbean region, is seeking reparatory justice from the United Kingdom, other European states, and all states that enslaved people. The regional reparations commission has operated since 2013.
Beckles presented a revised CARICOM Ten-Point Plan. According to The Rio Times, it places separate emphasis on the experience of enslaved women, since slaveholding legislation passed enslaved status through the mother.
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He also cited figures according to which 600,000 Africans were brought to Barbados, while 83,000 people remained enslaved at the time of emancipation in 1834. For Jamaica, Beckles cited 1.5 million Africans brought there and 300,000 enslaved people at the time of emancipation.
UN General Assembly decision
On March 25, 2026, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution describing the transatlantic trade in Africans and the enslavement of Africans as “the gravest crime against humanity.” The document, introduced by Ghana on behalf of the African Group, was supported by 123 states; three countries voted against it, while another 52 abstained.
The United States, Israel, and Argentina opposed the resolution. Washington said it does not recognize a legal right to reparations for such crimes. The organizers of the conference in Barbados planned to adopt an action plan for 2027–2031 with measurable targets.
