Britain faces a “time of reckoning” over slavery as a Caribbean delegation arrives in London to ramp up its demands for reparations.
Representatives from Jamaica and other former colonies are preparing to petition the King as campaigners pursue a new legal route that could strengthen future claims against Britain.
The delegation is being led by Jamaica’s Culture Minister Olivia Grange, with legal documents set to be filed with the Privy Council on September 7.
Campaigners hope the unprecedented move could ultimately establish whether Britain has a legal obligation to provide a “remedy” for slavery and its consequences.
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Bert Samuels, deputy chairman of the Jamaican National Committee on Reparations and one of the lawyers behind the strategy, said Britain was facing a “time of reckoning”.
Mr Samuels, who is the grandson of an enslaved African, told The Telegraph: “The significance of the filing of the petition is seismic. The questions on which the monarch is being invited to seek an opinion from his Privy Council represent a defining moment for the victims of centuries of slavery during British rule in Jamaica.”
He added: “Through Charles’s dual role as head of state of England and head of state of Jamaica, he is compelled to take responsibility for the wrongs committed by the former against the latter, and to provide a meaningful remedy.”
The campaign centres on the King’s constitutional position as Jamaica’s head of state.
Jamaica wants the monarch to refer three questions to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which remains the country’s final court of appeal.
The first asks whether the forced transportation of Africans to Jamaica and their subsequent enslavement were lawful under the common law at the time.
A second asks whether the practice constituted a crime against humanity under international law for which Britain bears responsibility.
The third asks whether the UK is consequently under an obligation to provide a remedy to the Jamaican people.
Campaigners hope a favourable legal opinion could strengthen the case for reparations and potentially provide a route for other Caribbean nations to pursue similar claims.
The strategy was originally proposed by Jamaican lawyer Frank Phipps KC and subsequently developed by Mr Samuels and other legal figures.
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Members of the delegation may not secure direct access to the Royal Family during their visit.
However, they are expected to meet political figures sympathetic to their cause, including Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations.
Ms Grange is also expected to promote the campaign through meetings and discussions with Britain’s Caribbean diaspora.
She will be joined by Sir Hilary Beckles, chairman of the University of the West Indies and head of the Caribbean Community Reparation Commission.
Sir Hilary has previously insisted that the campaign is not about extracting “billions” from European countries, instead arguing for partnerships designed to support Caribbean development.
The commission suggested in July that reparations could also include the decolonisation of British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean.
Pressure on Britain has also widened beyond the Caribbean, with the African Union backing calls for reparations.
Lawyers have separately explored seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice as part of the campaign.
The approach mirrors the legal strategy used in the long-running dispute over the Chagos Islands.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion stating that Britain’s continued administration of the archipelago was unlawful and should end as rapidly as possible.
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