Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre has rejected Britain’s position that reparations are not the answer to slavery’s lasting effects, warning that a formal apology would be incomplete without action to repair the damage.
Speaking as Chair of the Caribbean Community in an October 31 statement, Pierre welcomed British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s willingness to consider a formal state apology and begin structured dialogue. But he insisted that reparations must remain on the agenda.
“An apology is an essential first step, and we would receive a formal apology from the British state as a moment of historic importance,” Pierre said. “But an apology without repair is incomplete.”
The statement comes ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, where Pierre said he expects to meet Burnham in the coming days.
Pierre described the British leader’s expression of sorrow and openness to an apology as a significant development, noting that CARICOM has sought dialogue on reparatory justice for more than a decade.
However, he challenged the argument that Britain’s responsibility falls away because people living today had no personal involvement in slavery.
“Reparatory justice has never been about individual guilt. It is about the responsibility of states and institutions — and that responsibility does not expire with the passing of generations.”
Pierre argued that the British state legislated for, protected and profited from slavery. He contrasted compensation paid to enslavers at Emancipation with the absence of land, wealth or compensation for formerly enslaved people.
He linked that legacy to continuing challenges across the Caribbean, including chronic disease, unequal access to education and opportunity, economic vulnerability and national debt.
CARICOM, he said, wants negotiations to cover its Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice, including a formal apology, health and education initiatives, cultural restitution, psychological rehabilitation, technology development, debt cancellation and monetary compensation.
“A dialogue that begins by placing reparations outside the room cannot be a complete dialogue,” Pierre said.
He also called for discussions to address the genocide of Indigenous Peoples and harm suffered by people brought from India and China under colonial systems.
Addressing a proposed British initiative led by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown to restructure debt for the poorest Commonwealth countries, Pierre said CARICOM would examine it seriously.
However, he warned that income classifications routinely exclude Caribbean countries from concessional assistance despite their exposure to climate disasters and economic shocks. Meaningful relief, he argued, must account for vulnerability rather than income alone.
Debt relief, he added, cannot replace reparatory justice.
Pierre said CARICOM’s reparations bodies, led by Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Sir Hilary Beckles, stand ready to agree on the terms, agenda and timetable for talks with Britain.
“Our ancestors did not receive justice in their lifetime,” he said. “We owe it to them, and to the generations who will come after us, to see this work through with dignity, with patience, and with resolve.”
