Britain’s foreign secretary says slavery reparations not about cash transfer

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Britain’s overseas secretary mentioned Monday that reparations for the U.Okay.’s function within the slave commerce are usually not in regards to the “switch of money” and reiterated his nation’s place that leans towards specializing in the long run.

There have been calls from a few of Britain’s former colonies for a reckoning over its function within the transatlantic slave commerce, together with on the latest twenty seventh Commonwealth Heads of Authorities Assembly the place leaders referred to as for a “ significant, respectful and truthful ” dialogue of reparatory justice.

Throughout a go to to Nigeria, Britain’s International Secretary David Lammy informed the BBC that being a descendant of enslaved individuals along with his dad and mom from Guyana, he acknowledges that slavery was “horrendous” and had left “scars.”

Nevertheless, individuals need to take into consideration the long run and to not debate about reparations, Lammy mentioned.

“It’s not in regards to the switch of money, notably at a time of a cost-of-living disaster round a lot of the globe, and positively within the U.Okay.,” he mentioned.

Lammy mentioned Britain is pursuing a brand new strategy to relations with African nations that may ship on “respectful partnerships that hear relatively than inform, ship long-term progress relatively than short-term options and construct a freer, safer, extra affluent continent.”

Whereas a handful of countries have apologized for his or her function in slavery, together with the Netherlands, the U.Okay. — whose wealth was constructed with the assistance of the transatlantic slave commerce — has by no means formally accomplished so.

On the latest Commonwealth summit, King Charles III not directly acknowledged the requires reparations however added the previous couldn’t be modified. He as a substitute urged leaders to search out the “proper language” and an understanding of historical past “to information us in the direction of making the proper decisions in future the place inequality exists.”