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The CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) is a regional body established after a 2013 decision by CARICOM Heads of Government. It prepares and advances the case for reparatory justice over historical harms that CARICOM identifies as Indigenous genocide, the transatlantic slave trade, chattel slavery and colonial rule. Its work includes research, public education, coordination among national committees, diplomacy and proposals for redress—not deciding legal claims or awarding compensation.
How the Commission was formed
In July 2013, CARICOM Heads of Government unanimously supported regional action on reparations for Caribbean slavery and Indigenous genocide. They called for national reparations committees and agreed that a regional commission should be overseen by a committee chaired by Barbados’s prime minister and including CARICOM leaders. The agreed approach was framed as a development conversation that would use reasonable avenues toward an amicable solution.
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The first Regional Conference on Reparations, held in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, from 15 to 17 September 2013, set out the proposed structure and aims. It elected Professor Hilary Beckles as chair and appointed vice-chairs for intergovernmental relations, research and mobilization.
What the Commission does
The CRC’s mandate brings together several kinds of work. The 2013 conference communique assigned it to:
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- Build the moral, ethical and legal case for reparatory justice, and advise the Prime Ministerial Subcommittee on Reparations.
- Coordinate national reparations bodies and conduct historical and legal research.
- Educate and consult the public, and pursue diplomatic advocacy.
- Develop proposals for reparative programmes and projects, prepare a damages brief and respond to media coverage.
In a 16 July 2014 address to the British House of Commons, Beckles described the Commission’s task as preparing and presenting evidence for the claim that Britain and other European states enriched by enslavement, Indigenous genocide and indenture “have a case to answer in respect of reparatory justice.” This is the Commission’s advocacy position; it is not a court finding that a particular state has legal liability.
What reparations it seeks
The Commission asks European governments to take part in a reparatory justice process. CARICOM’s Ten Point Plan presents reparations as a programme for development and reconciliation, not simply as an individual cash payment. The earlier plan describes measures including:
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- A full formal apology.
- Repatriation for people who wish to return to ancestral homelands.
- An Indigenous Peoples Development Programme.
- Caribbean cultural institutions to document and interpret the region’s history.
- Public health initiatives and education measures.
- Psychological rehabilitation.
- Technology transfer and scientific collaboration.
- Debt cancellation and support addressing debt burdens.
These are proposals in CARICOM’s programme, not an implemented package or benefits already agreed with European governments. CARICOM describes the plan as intended for Caribbean governments and people, while also serving as a guide for the broader global African reparations movement.
What has changed, and what has not been settled
On 27 February 2026, CARICOM said Heads of Government had asked the Prime Ministerial Subcommittee on Reparations to review a revised plan and advise on priority actions. That release described the earlier plan, endorsed in July 2014, as the guiding framework for negotiations with European nations. It also noted a Commission mission to the United Kingdom in November 2025.
On 10 July 2026, CARICOM reported that Heads of Government approved the Revised CARICOM Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice at their 51st Regular Meeting, held from 5 to 8 July. The release said the Commission developed the revised manifesto and described its aim as seeking redress from European nations for the transatlantic slave trade and genocide of Indigenous peoples. The detailed text of the revised plan is not available in the cited release, so the specific measures in the earlier plan should not automatically be treated as unchanged in the revision.
CARICOM’s public reports document regional decisions and continuing advocacy. They do not establish a concluded settlement, an agreed compensation amount or a court judgment awarding reparations to the Commission.
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