The secretary-general of the Commonwealth, a 56-nation group headed by Britain’s King Charles, said on Wednesday \u200bshe expected member nations to make progress towards beginning negotiations on reparations for the transatlantic slave trade. The Commonwealth, which grew out of the British \u200bEmpire, is one of the world\u2019s largest international organisations, representing around 2.7 billion people. Its \u200bmembers include Australia, India, 21 African nations \u2060and Caribbean states such as Barbados and Jamaica. Charles has spoken of his profound regret over slavery and has backed research into \u200bthe British monarchy\u2019s historical \u200clinks to the trade. However, Britain, like most former colonial powers, has dismissed calls for reparations. In an interview, Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey, a former foreign minister of Ghana who has \u200bpublicly backed reparations from Great Britain, said she was supporting member countries in seeking redress. “My understanding is that there’s some m
ovement in terms of having parties around the table to decide on the way forward, and \u200cthe different forms of \u200creparations, how to deal \u200bwith it going forward will be discussed,” she told Reuters. Discussions would be multi-lateral and would likely involve regional groups the Caribbean Community and the African Union, she added. CALLS FOR COMPENSATION GROW From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were abducted and \u200bsold into slavery by European merchants. Britain was responsible for transporting an estimated 3.2 million people, making it the second most active European nation after Portugal, which enslaved nearly six million. The African Union last year made reparations its theme \u200bof the year, and is working on developing a joint stance among member states. The Caribbean Community has a 10-point reparation plan including a demand for debt forgiveness. That has been opposed by Britain, though Botchwey said she was open to other symbolic f
orms of redress. “The UK is saying that probably we can’t pay financial reparations. Reparations do not \u200chave to be only financial,” Botchwey said. “So once the parties sit, they will be able to come to mutual understanding.” KING A ‘GREAT ASSET’ Charles has been under pressure over his younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s friendship with convicted \u2060U.S. sex offender and financier Jeffrey \u200bEpstein. Buckingham Palace said on Monday it was ready to support any police inquiry after new documents suggested Mountbatten-Windsor may have shared confidential British trade documents with Epstein. He was cast out of the royal inner circle and stripped of many of \u2060his titles by the king \u2060over his close relationship with Epstein. Charles, who \u2060became king in 2023 after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth, has been a “great asset” to the Commonwealth, Botchwey said. “What is happening outside the Commonwealth, I may not b<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The secretary-general of the Commonwealth, a 56-nation group headed by Britain’s King Charles, said on Wednesday \u200bshe expected member nations to make progress towards beginning negotiations on reparations for the transatlantic slave trade. The Commonwealth, which grew out of the British \u200bEmpire, is one of the world\u2019s largest international organisations, representing around 2.7 billion people. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n