The CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) is set to visit the United Kingdom from July 13 to 16, 2026, to advance its advocacy for reparatory justice. According to Antigua Observer, the delegation aims to strengthen strategic partnerships and promote public education and civil society engagement on the reparations agenda, with meetings and events hosted by the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London.
The CRC delegation includes Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Chairman of the CRC; Dorbrene O'Marde, Chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission and Vice Chair of the CRC; Eric Phillips, Chairman of the Guyana Reparations Committee and Vice Chair of the CRC; Professor Verene Shepherd, Vice Chair of the CRC and Vice Chair of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; and Ambassador David Comissong, Barbados Ambassador to CARICOM. Dr. Ron Daniels, Convenor of the National African Reparations Commission in the United States, will also join the group.
The visit comes at a pivotal moment in the international reparations movement. In March 2026, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark Ghana-led resolution declaring the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and chattel enslavement as the "gravest crime against humanity." Ghana subsequently hosted the High-Level Consultative Conference on Reparations in Accra in June 2026 — described as a "historic turning point for Africans and People of African descent" — bringing together governments, international organisations, legal experts, and civil society leaders to develop a unified framework for reparatory justice worldwide.
Also this month, the revised "CARICOM Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice: A Manifesto for the Coming Enlightenment" was finalised and approved by the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government. The document positions reparations as a "global human rights imperative," and the heads of government agreed to several additional initiatives to advance the region's reparations agenda.
The delegation's UK visit also coincides with preparations by CARICOM Member States for CHOGM 2026, scheduled to be held in Antigua and Barbuda.
Members of the media are invited to attend a briefing with CRC representatives, who will provide an update on the delegation's mission and upcoming initiatives.
