What are reparations and why is the topic so awkward for Keir Starmer?

The issue of reparations – also called reparatory justice – has been a hot topic in international relations for decades.

Put simply, it just means money or other assistance paid by one person, group or entity to another in order to make up for damage they caused.

But in a global context, it often refers to the expenses paid by the loser in a war (like those incurred by Japan and Germany after World War II) or by those involved in the slave trade.

Slavery reparations are currently at the top of the news agenda in the UK, as several Commonwealth leaders vowed to bring them up at a summit in Samoa.

Yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer ruled out compensation for countries affected by Britain’s historical role in the slave trade – and his official spokesperson said he would not be apologising for it either.

That’s despite five Labour MPs calling for Britain to lead discussions over the issue at the meeting.

What are slavery reparations?

Slavery reparations are payments made by organisations or countries to those who were impacted – or whose ancestors were impacted – by the buying and selling of human beings.

For example, Georgetown University in the US launched a fund two years ago that would award $400,000 annually to projects that would benefit the descendants of people who were enslaved on plantations in Maryland.

And in 2021, the Jesuit order of Catholic priests announced it would raise $100 million for the descendants of the people they once owned.

It becomes a much more significant issue with a much larger price tag attached when scaled up to the level of entire countries, though.

Britain played a leading role in the transatlantic slave trade for centuries from around the year 1500, along with several other European nations.

British parliamentarians and campaigners were instrumental in bringing the trade to an end in the 19th century – but not before millions of Africans were taken from their homes and forced to work in the Caribbean and Americas.

Countries in Africa and the Caribbean are among those calling for compensation for the lingering damage 190 years on from the Slavery Abolition Act.

A report published last summer, co-authored by UN judge Patrick Robinson, concluded that the UK alone would be required to pay just under £19 trillion to 14 countries.

What have UK politicians said about reparations?

Ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, five Labour MPs – Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Nadia Whittome, Clive Lewis, Dawn Butler and Marsha de Cordova – said reparations should be on the agenda.

In an appearance on the Today programme yesterday, Ribeiro-Addy said it was ‘extremely disrespectful’ of the government to try and dictate the terms of the conversation around the issue.

She said: ‘The idea that the UK still has that kind of veto reeks of the colonialism that people are still seeking some sort of resolution to.’

In April last year, then-PM Rishi Sunak rejected a call for reparations in similar terms to those used by Sir Keir, saying ‘trying to unpick our history is not the right way forward’.

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