British officials initially insisted that slavery reparations should not be placed on the agenda of the Commonwealth leaders’ summit in Antigua and Barbuda, according to Ralph Gonsalves, a former prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and a senior figure in the Repair Campaign. Gonsalves said Britain was “vehement” about keeping the issue off the formal agenda and that British officials, joined by Canadian officials, even raised the prospect that the British prime minister would not attend if it were included.
Gonsalves also said officials circulated what he called an untruth that India did not want the matter on the agenda. He said India had been supportive of the UN General Assembly resolution on March 25, 2026. The issue is not on the official agenda of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, which begins on Sunday. The stated priorities for the 56-nation bloc include trade, climate resilience and finance, sustainable debt, democracy and investment in opportunities for young people.
Britain’s position shifted when British Prime Minister Andy Burnham went further than his predecessors by agreeing to structured dialogue on reparatory justice and to consider an apology, in an op-ed for the Guardian. Gonsalves welcomed the decision but said the UK had come “kicking and screaming” to the conversation. He said the structured dialogue itself was unlikely to take place at the summit, but he expected leaders to discuss its format and details during their private retreat.
Prof Sir Hilary Beckles, chair of the Caribbean Community Reparations Commission, had described the meeting as “the Chogm of reparations” and said reparatory justice was “the number one item” for the Caribbean. Guyana’s president, Irfaan Ali, welcomed Burnham’s statement and called for a Commonwealth subcommittee to work out the details of the dialogue over the next six to 12 months. Ali said talks should move beyond putting a price on the indignity of slavery and toward addressing its developmental consequences, including health, education, social services and infrastructure.
Barbados’s prime minister, Mia Mottley, thanked Burnham for “breaking new ground” while making clear the two sides remained divided. She said views on reparations differed and identified an apology, investment in health and education, tackling systemic poverty and inequality, and fairer debt terms as areas where agreement could be reached. The Bahamas prime minister, Philip Davis, said the talks were not simply about “historical remembrance” but about the enduring consequences of slavery and the importance of justice, acknowledgment and meaningful redress.
The summit opens on Sunday, the 45th anniversary of Antigua and Barbuda’s independence from British colonial rule. King Charles has indicated he will not follow Burnham by offering a full apology. King Charles and Burnham are expected to be greeted by protests as they travel through Antigua’s capital, St John’s, to attend Commonwealth events, with calls for an apology and reparations displayed on billboards, placards and T-shirts and raised at a candlelight vigil.
Kemi Badenoch told broadcasters that an apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade would be a “navel-gazing distraction,” describing slavery as an evil “in which people from every continent and region participated.” Gonsalves responded that he would like to sit down with “my dear sister Kemi” to explain what the discussion is about, adding that he would like to discuss how reparatory justice could help heal fractures arising from Britain’s multicultural and ethnic tensions. The British government did not immediately comment.
Sources: The Guardian World.