Governments attending the Africa-CARICOM Summit should closely work with civil society and affected communities to develop a human rights-based approach to reparations, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch issued a question and answer document outlining key international standards that should guide reparatory processes for the lasting impact of enslavement and other colonial atrocities, and why reparations by former colonial powers should be considered an international obligation.
On September 7, 2025, African and Caribbean states will meet in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, for the second Africa-CARICOM Summit. In February, Barbados' Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley spoke to African heads of state about shared historical and cultural ties between Africa and the Caribbean, calling for unity in advancing reparatory justice.
"A unified approach to reparations could be the game changer that empowers communities in Africa, the Caribbean and the diaspora in their struggles for reparatory justice," said Almaz Teffera, researcher on racism in Europe at Human Rights Watch. "African and CARICOM states should closely work with affected and diaspora communities and civil society in Africa and the Caribbean and in Europe to jointly advance reparations in line with international human rights law and standards."
The Human Rights Watch Q&A outlines the applicability of widely accepted international human rights standards on the right to remedy and reparation to address the lasting impacts of enslavement and other colonial crimes. European governments have dismissed the applicability of these international legal standards to address colonial atrocities or their role in the transatlantic slave trade, opting at most to express 'regret' or issue formal apologies, while stopping short of accepting legal responsibility that would give effect to a right to reparation.
Reparations is an umbrella designation under human rights law for many forms of redress, including, but not limited to, apology, restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition. A broader term 'reparatory justice' is also often used by reparations movements worldwide, seeking justice for root causes of harm and systemic inequalities linked to legacies of colonialism, enslavement and the slave trade.
In February 2025, the African Union (AU) dedicated its 2025 flagship theme to "Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations." Civil society was a key driver behind the adoption of the theme, seeking a common African position on reparations and strengthened institutional frameworks to advance reparations on the continent.
In July, African leaders committed to dedicate the next decade to reparations. This follows the Caribbean Community's "Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice" of 2014, a state-led reparations framework that seeks to address the lasting impacts of colonialism and enslavement in the Caribbean.
Communities have called for reparations for decades and even centuries. Human Rights Watch has produced research in support of communities' calls for reparations, including in the case of the ongoing colonial injustices against the Chagossian people, who were forcibly removed from their islands by the UK and the US in the 1960s to make way for a military base in the UK's last African colony. A new treaty between the UK and Mauritian governments seeks to regulate sovereignty over the Chagos Islands but fails to provide for full reparations for Chagossians.
European governments have long resisted calls for reparations. Germany, for instance, recognized in 2021 that German colonial crimes against the Ovaherero and Nama peoples in what is now Namibia amounted to genocide but contended that this does not amount to a duty to provide reparations because relevant international law, at the time, did not give rise to a right to reparation. The new German government confirmed this position in response to a recent parliamentary question.
During his term as UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Pablo de Greiff, made clear that reparatory processes that intentionally or inadvertently excluded affected communities violate international human rights law and standards. Neither the UK government nor the German government meaningfully consulted affected communities in processes that purported to reckon with colonial legacies in Chagos and in Namibia.
The AU compiled policy guidelines on transitional justice that recognize reparations to address historical injustices, in line with binding international and regional human rights law. They also reaffirm that African states have an obligation to ensure that reparatory processes are inclusive, consultative, and victim-centered, to guarantee that communities most affected shape their outcomes.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples have all emphasized that the right to reparation also applies to colonial atrocities.
Most states, including European governments and the United States are bound as state parties to the UN Convention on the Elimination on Racial Discrimination, which provides a right to reparation for violations linked to contemporary systemic racism, including where abuses are rooted in colonialism and enslavement.
"Reparations are key to healing inter-generational trauma and to pave the way for an equitable future of dignity and restoration for European, African, and Caribbean societies that continue to be affected by the legacies of enslavement and other colonial atrocities," Teffera said. "African and Caribbean states are facing a defining moment to signal that the pursuit of reparations is a global demand rooted in international law, collective memory, and moral responsibility."
