The CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) has strongly condemned a proposal by Britain’s right-wing Reform UK party to halt all new visas for nationals of Antigua and Barbuda and 18 other Caribbean countries pursuing slavery reparations.
Reform UK said the “Reparations Lock” would apply to work, study, family, and visitor visas. Party spokesperson Zia Yusuf described reparations claims as “insulting,” arguing Britain should be credited for abolishing slavery.
Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, CRC chairman, criticised the proposal as a continuation of “toxic racism,” warning that punishing victims seeking justice echoes arguments used to oppose emancipation in 1833. He highlighted that the 1833 Emancipation Act compensated slave owners, not the enslaved, who were forced into four years of unpaid labour to fund their own freedom.
Other CRC officials, including Dobrene O’Marde and Professor Verene Shepherd, emphasised the historical and regional sacrifices made to achieve emancipation, challenging Reform UK’s claims of British benevolence.
The CRC reaffirmed its commitment to government-to-government dialogue and urged European leaders to engage on reparatory justice. The issue is expected to feature prominently at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda later this year, where the CRC plans a major reparations event.
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