Prime Minister Mia Mottley has welcomed Britain’s willingness to discuss a formal apology for its role in the transatlantic slave trade, even as disagreement over financial reparations remains unresolved.
Barbados is prepared to enter structured talks with the United Kingdom through CARICOM despite British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s rejection of financial compensation, she said, insisting that differences should not prevent progress on other aspects of reparatory justice.
“Dialogue matters because we are not yet on the same page on every element. On reparations in particular, our views differ, and we will say so plainly and respectfully. Honest disagreement on some questions should not hold back progress on the many others where we can readily agree,” she said in a statement on Friday responding to Burnham.
The British premier has gone further than his predecessors in expressing openness to a formal apology, offering structured dialogue with countries and campaigners affected by slavery ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda from November 1 to 4.
Writing in The Guardian, Burnham expressed sorrow and regret for the suffering caused by the slave trade but maintained that present-day British citizens should not be held financially responsible for historical wrongs in which they played no personal part.
Instead, he proposed a debt restructuring initiative for poorer Commonwealth countries, to be led by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, aimed at extending repayment periods and securing more favourable interest rates.
The discussions carry particular historical weight for Barbados as in 1661, under English colonial rule, the island enacted a pioneer slave code that defined enslaved Africans as property and became a model for similar laws elsewhere.
“That system was built by law and enforced by the State,” Mottley said.
The Prime Minister identified several areas where agreement could be reached, including an apology, investment in health and education, development partnerships to tackle systemic poverty and institutionalised inequality, and fairer debt arrangements for vulnerable countries, as advocated under the Bridgetown Initiative.
She also called for a commitment to confront anti-Black prejudice, maintaining that CARICOM’s Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice should guide the discussions.
The proposed engagement follows the 2024 Commonwealth summit in Samoa, where leaders agreed that the time had come for meaningful dialogue on reparatory justice, although no agreement was reached on reparations.
Mottley credited former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for joining that consensus.
“That decision opened the door to the process now before us,” she said.
The PM also called for continued engagement among CARICOM, the African Union and the United Kingdom, with areas of agreement pursued while outstanding differences are negotiated.
“We should build on that common ground while we continue to talk through our differences – CARICOM, the AU and the United Kingdom.”
Mottley thanked Burnham and British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband for advancing discussions on the legacy of slavery, describing their willingness to engage as recognition that moving to the next stage was both right and morally necessary.
She reaffirmed her commitment to the continuing pursuit of reparatory justice, even if agreement on every demand could not be achieved immediately.
“I say simply, as I have said before: we are not necessarily expected to complete the task, but neither are we at liberty to resile from it.”
(SM)