GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – The Caribbean Community (Caricom) Reparations Commission (CRC), on Wednesday, said the struggle for reparatory justice is at a defining moment, with growing global awareness and an expanding coalition within Global Africa.

In a message observing the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, the CRC said while it welcomes the declaration of the African Union Decade for Reparations (2026 – 2035), as a historic commitment that strengthens the global reparations movement, it is renewing its “call for restitution and compensation through comprehensive programmes of repair and the implementation of sustained measures to dismantle structural and institutional racism.

“The Commission reaffirms that the crimes against humanity of racialised chattel enslavement, the trafficking of enslaved Africans and genocide, were carefully orchestrated to fuel the growth of Europe and systematically underdeveloped Africa and the Caribbean. The legacies of these deeply entrenched historical systems of exploitation continue to shape global inequality until today,” it said.

The CRC said it is using Wednesday’s observance to pay tribute to the 15 million African men, women, and children “who endured the horrors of chattel enslavement for over three hundred years in the Americas.

“We remember the untold suffering caused by the trauma of the Middle Passage, the brutality of slavery and the despair of being denied their humanity, their freedom and their dignity. However, we also remember their countless acts of courage and defiance against a racialised system of European domination. We honour their relentless resistance towards ending one of the greatest injustices in human history, which was perpetrated against African people,” Caricom CRC said.

The CRC said it is also honouring their memory by carrying forward their fight for freedom and justice in accordance with the Caricom Ten POINT Plan for Reparations, which outlines the Region’s collective vision for justice in the context of regional development priorities.

It said that it is also recommitting to continued dialogue, advocacy and public education and that “the struggle for reparatory justice is at a defining moment, with growing global awareness and an expanding coalition within Global Africa.

“The Commission recognises and celebrates the resilience of our ancestors to slavery and transatlantic trafficking in the face of crushing adversity. The Commission further calls on the international community to take decisive action to repair the harmful legacies, recognising that justice for the victims of African enslavement is justice for humanity,” it said.