King Charles refers Jamaica's reparations petition to the Privy Council
Culture Minister Olivia Grange told parliament Jamaica is awaiting directions from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on next steps.
KINGSTON, Jamaica. King Charles has referred a petition from Jamaica on reparations for slavery to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for an opinion on its merits, giving a boost to the Caribbean's long-running campaign for reparatory justice.
Culture Minister Olivia Grange announced the development to lawmakers late on Tuesday, September 22. She said the King had acted on the petition, filed on behalf of the region earlier this month, despite suggestions from international sceptics that it would be cast aside.
She did not say when the petition was forwarded. "We are awaiting directions from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as to the next steps to be taken in the case. We will keep the cabinet and the parliament updated on the developments," she said.
Three questions
Because Jamaica is not yet a republic, the King remains head of state, so the petition was delivered to him seeking legal guidance "for the cause of reparatory justice".
Jamaica wants the Privy Council, the country's highest court, to determine whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was legal under English common law, whether it violated international law, and whether the UK has a legal obligation to provide a remedy.
Grange said Jamaica "should pursue reparations in the name of our African ancestors who endured hundreds of years of enslavement on this island, and in the name of the people of Jamaica".
"They were forced to work for free. This went on every day for hundreds of years. It was the gravest crime against humanity," she said.
Commonwealth summit
King Charles, who has scheduled visits to The Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua from the end of the month, was in Scotland when Jamaica made its move. The issue is expected to be discussed at the Commonwealth leaders' summit in Antigua early next month.
The announcement came days after a reparations review summit in Barbados, where participants recommitted to pursuing the case.
CARICOM is building its case against Britain and other European nations. It points to a colonial-era precedent in which Britain settled with more than 5,000 Kenyan Mau Mau claimants for £20 million. The region has also obtained a legal opinion from a British law firm on the strength of its claim.
