Caricom Demands British Virgin Islands Return and Slavery Reparations

The Caricom Reparations Commission conducted a four-day official visit to the United Kingdom from July 13 to 16, 2026, to establish a framework for slavery reparations negotiations. Representing 12 states, the delegation demanded the return of the British Virgin Islands and the total decolonization of all remaining British overseas territories. The commission launched a new manifesto for reparatory justice, calling for formal apologies from King Charles III, monetary compensation, debt cancellations, and targeted improvements in public health and education.

During the trip, commission members met with British parliamentarians and senior clergy from the Church of England to encourage the continuation of Project Spire, a reparations program. The delegation criticized the United Kingdom and European Union for abstaining from a March U.N. resolution that labeled the trafficking of enslaved Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. These demands precede the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Antigua and Barbuda this November.

In a parallel legal move, the government of Jamaica intends to file a formal petition in early September asking King Charles III to refer legal questions regarding reparations to the Privy Council. Ron Daniels, head of the National African-American Reparations Commission, noted that reparations efforts in the United States are serving as a blueprint for these proceedings.