King Charles III acknowledged this Friday that there are “painful aspects” of the past that continue to resonate in the ties between the United Kingdom and several of the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations (Commonwealth), during his speech at a summit of the group in Samoa where the issue of reparations for slavery is expected to be discussed.
“None of us can change the past, but we can wholeheartedly commit to learning its lessons and finding creative ways to correct enduring inequalities,” the monarch remarked in Apia, the capital of Samoa, during his opening speech at the summit. Commonwealth leaders.
Some Commonwealth countries seek to address the payment of reparations for the slave trade by the United Kingdom at this summit, which runs until Saturday with the participation of leaders of the group, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer; his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese; the Papuan Prime Minister, James Marape; and Singaporean, Lawrence Wong.
In this sense, the monarch of England also urged the 56 members of the Commonwealth to “find the appropriate means and language” to address inequalities and opt for “respect”, instead of the “language of division”, according to the speech broadcast by Samoan media.
With his speech, Charles III supported Starmer, who this week advocated focusing on the future, given the desire of several former colonies that London compensate them for the slave trade in the history of the United Kingdom, a country that abolished slavery in the early of the 19th century.
Previously, a spokesperson for the British Government had stressed on Monday that it will not pay compensation or apologize for the past slave trade, which is estimated to have involved the transportation of 3.1 million enslaved Africans to its then Caribbean colonies between the 17th and 19th centuries.
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Commonwealth nations to issue slavery reparations agreement
But despite the British refusal, Commonwealth leaders want to make a call to “debate restorative justice in relation to the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and property slavery,” according to the British public broadcaster BBC published today, citing the draft summit communiqué.
The statement would also reflect “that the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation to forge a common future based on equity,” according to the source who points out that British officials pressured not to issue a separate text. about repairs.
These can take many forms, including financial, debt relief, an official apology, educational programs, museum construction, economic support, and public healthcare.
For the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, the members of the bloc have demonstrated since their creation, 75 years ago, “an unparalleled capacity” to sit down and dialogue “together as equals” despite the “painful history” that the unite
Thus, they have been able to face “some of the most serious challenges in history”, remaining “firm when it mattered most”, according to the transcript of the speech of this British lawyer from Dominica, a former British colony, published on the Commonwealth portal. .
It is estimated that there were around twenty million Africans transported as slaves by English, Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danish and other nations’ ships from the end of the 15th century to the 19th century.
At that time, European ships carried rum, firearms, textiles and other goods to Africa, where they bought slaves who were then transported to the plantations of the Caribbean to return from there loaded with sugar, coffee and other products.
With a combined population of 2.7 billion people, the Commonwealth encompasses wealthy nations such as the United Kingdom, Australia, India and Canada, as well as other developing nations that were former British colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
With information from EFE.
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