CARICOM leaders are set to join forces with the African Union in an unprecedented coalition aimed at intensifying global advocacy for reparatory justice, in what officials describe as a significant escalation in the campaign for compensation for slavery and colonialism, officials announced Thursday.
The announcement was made on Thursday during the opening of the 31st meeting of the Regional Cultural Committee (RCC) at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, where cultural leaders from across the Caribbean gathered to discuss policy and finalise plans for CARIFESTA XV.
Advisor on social development at the CARICOM Secretariat, Beverly Harry Emmanuel, confirmed that the region’s leaders were moving to formalise ties with the African Union around a shared reparatory justice agenda.
“Steps are being taken by our Heads of Government to form a coalition with the African Union for increased joint advocacy on this important human rights movement for justice and development,” she said.
Emmanuel told delegates the timing is critical, following a declaration by the United Nations that 2025 marks the start of the Second International Decade for People of African Descent, and a proclamation by the African Union that this year is one for “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations”.
The strengthened alliance is expected to give added weight to the work of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, which has led the region’s legal and moral campaign for reparations since 2013.
Its ten-point action plan includes calls for a full formal apology, debt cancellation, cultural restoration, and education reform.
Emmanuel said cultural ministries have a frontline role to play in public education and regional dialogue.
“Ministries with responsibility for culture continue to have an important role to play in facilitating public education and dialogue on reparatory justice,” she said, “and enabling the people of the region to reclaim and value aspects of their cultural heritage which were either lost or denigrated through centuries of oppression.”
She also highlighted other ongoing regional efforts to uplift the cultural industries, including the Creative Caribbean programme, which is currently providing targeted grant support to 78 creatives and cultural entrepreneurs in 15 CARICOM member states.
The programme is also backing legislative development and regional data collection to strengthen the creative economy.
While much of the week’s focus in Bridgetown is on preparations for CARIFESTA XV, officials noted that regional cultural development must also be tied to deeper social justice goals, including climate resilience, cultural identity, and reparatory justice.
“This RCC provides yet another opportunity for reflection, review and renewal,” Emmanuel told the gathering.
“The RCC has been instrumental in shaping cultural policy at the national and regional levels and infusing the regional culture programme with new ideas, new approaches and new perspectives.”
(SM)
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