UK government refuses slavery reparations as Jamaica urges king to act

Britain expresses sorrow over slavery, but rejects financial compensation.

Jamaica and other commonwealth countries have lobbied the UK for slavery reparations for many years, but to no avail [File: Gilbert Bellamy/Reuters]

The United Kingdom’s government has reiterated that it rejects reparations for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade as Jamaica has petitioned King Charles III over the issue.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s spokesperson said on Monday that “the UK does not and will not pay reparations”.

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Successive British governments have refused to engage in discussions about slavery reparations, while accepting that the country significantly benefitted from the trade.

UK leaders have previously acknowledged the horrors of slavery and continue to do so, but have never formally apologised for Britain’s role in sustaining it.

Burnham’s spokesperson labelled the practice as “abhorrent”, but maintained that position and insisted no compensation will be paid.

A delegation led by Jamaican Culture Minister Olivia Grange delivered a petition to Buckingham Palace on Monday, asking King Charles to seek legal advice from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.

The petition poses three questions for the king to consider: whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was legal under English law; whether it violated international law; and whether the UK has a legal obligation to provide compensation for the harms caused by slavery.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the final court of appeal for Jamaica and some other Commonwealth countries and territories.

The Jamaican delegation is seeking $10bn in reparations and says it is the first time a Commonwealth country has tried to use this legal route.

King Charles is currently in Scotland and was not present at the palace as the petition was delivered.

“Once again Charles ducks for cover when the issue of slavery and empire is raised,” said Graham Smith, CEO of anti-monarchy campaign group Republic.

Minister Grange is also seeking the return of Caribbean artefacts held in British museums. Despite the king’s absence, and the government’s reiteration that reparations will not be paid, Grange told the Reuters news agency that she was “encouraged”.

Last month, a United Nations committee concluded that countries are legally obliged to consider slavery reparations, warning that racial discrimination could not be tackled without “a full commitment to review and redress the ongoing harms and consequences of the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised slavery”.

英国对奴隶制表示哀悼，但拒绝提供经济赔偿。

牙买加和其他英联邦国家多年来一直游说英国进行奴隶制赔偿，但始终无果。[图片：吉尔伯特·贝拉米/路透社]

英国政府重申，拒绝就英国在跨大西洋奴隶贸易中所扮演的角色进行赔偿，而牙买加已就此问题向查理三世国王提出请愿。

英国首相安迪·伯纳姆的发言人周一表示，“英国现在不支付赔偿金，将来也不会支付赔偿金”。

列表 1/3：奴隶制赔偿是合理的，但究竟是谁欠谁的？

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列表 3（共 3 条）：为什么阿克拉奴隶制赔偿正义会议如此重要

历届英国政府都拒绝就奴隶制赔偿问题进行讨论，尽管他们承认英国从奴隶贸易中获益匪浅。

英国领导人过去曾承认奴隶制的恐怖，并且现在仍然如此，但从未就英国在维持奴隶制中所扮演的角色正式道歉。

伯纳姆的发言人称这种做法“令人憎恶”，但坚持这一立场，并坚称不会支付任何赔偿。

由牙买加文化部长奥利维亚·格兰奇率领的代表团于周一向白金汉宫递交了一份请愿书，请求查尔斯国王向伦敦枢密院司法委员会寻求法律建议。

请愿书向国王提出了三个问题供其考虑：在英国法律下，牙买加奴役非洲人是否合法；它是否违反了国际法；以及英国是否有法律义务对奴隶制造成的伤害提供赔偿。

枢密院司法委员会是牙买加以及其他一些英联邦国家和地区的终审法院。

牙买加代表团寻求 100 亿美元的赔偿，并表示这是英联邦国家首次尝试使用这种法律途径。

查理国王目前在苏格兰，请愿书递交时他不在宫中。

“每当奴隶制和帝国问题被提及，查尔斯又一次躲避了，”反君主制运动组织“共和国”的首席执行官格雷厄姆·史密斯说。

格兰奇部长还要求归还英国博物馆收藏的加勒比海文物。尽管国王缺席，且政府重申不会支付赔偿金，格兰奇告诉路透社，她感到“鼓舞”。

上个月，联合国一个委员会得出结论，各国有法律义务考虑奴隶制赔偿问题，并警告说，如果不“全面致力于审查和纠正贩运被奴役的非洲人和种族化奴隶制造成的持续伤害和后果”，就无法解决种族歧视问题。