(Reuters) – The European Union (EU) stated on Tuesday that Europe’s involvement in the slave trade in the past caused immense suffering to millions of people. The EU hinted at the need for reparations for this “crime against humanity”.
Between the 15th and 19th centuries, around 12.5 million Africans were forcibly taken into slavery by European ships and sold, with almost half of them sent to Brazil by Portugal.
The idea of reparations for slavery has a long history and is gaining worldwide momentum. This week, EU leaders and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) met in Brussels for a two-day summit.
At the start of the event on Monday, Ralph Gonsalves, premier of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, current holder of CELAC’s presidency, expressed his desire for the final statement of the summit to address the “historical legacies of native genocide and enslavement of African bodies” as well as “reparatory justice”.
However, some European governments were cautious about including language on reparations, according to diplomats.
EU and CELAC agreed on a paragraph that acknowledged and deeply regretted the “untold suffering inflicted on millions of men, women, and children due to the transatlantic slave trade”. The statement emphasized that slavery and the transatlantic slave trade were not only abhorrently barbaric but also of great magnitude. It denounced slavery as a “crime against humanity”.
In the joint statement, both sides referenced a 10-point reparations plan proposed by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which called on European countries to formally apologize for slavery and take various measures, including a repatriation program and support to address public health and economic crises, as well as debt cancellation.
The CARICOM reparations commission believes that the ongoing racial victimization of the descendants of slavery and genocide is the underlying cause of their present suffering, according to the plan.
Earlier this month, Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologized for the Netherlands’ historical involvement in slavery, and in April, King Charles expressed support for research into the British monarchy’s links to slavery.
In Portugal, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated that his country should apologize for its role in the transatlantic slave trade. However, critics argue that apologies alone are insufficient and practical measures are necessary to address the historical injustice.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony, Belen Carreno, and Andrew Gray; Editing by Grant McCool)
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