Senior Reporter
The Government has no intention of withdrawing Trinidad and Tobago from the Commonwealth despite Britain’s position on reparations for slavery, Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers has said.
Sobers was responding yesterday to a suggestion by University of the West Indies lecturer and historian Dr Jerome Teelucksingh that Trinidad and Tobago consider leaving the Commonwealth as a show of dissatisfaction with the British Government’s refusal to support financial reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade.
“I am quite certain that Trinidad and Tobago has no intention of pulling out of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is an extended family, just as we are part of Caricom and part of the Organisation of American States (OAS). To pull out of the Commonwealth, no, that’s not something that we would consider at all,” Sobers said on the sidelines of the Trinidad and Tobago-European Union Partnership Dialogue at the Hilton Trinidad in St Ann’s.
Teelucksingh had also suggested that Caribbean countries consider withdrawing from the Commonwealth, imposing visa restrictions and applying economic pressure, including trade measures, against countries unwilling to pay reparations.
However, Sobers said Trinidad and Tobago would continue to pursue dialogue and diplomacy.
“I think dialogue is always the first approach when dealing with situations like that, and that is the approach that Trinidad and Tobago will adopt. If there’s an issue that we need to rectify, we will have a discussion on it and try and see how best we can get it resolved,” he said.
Sobers also addressed concerns over the Government’s failure to reconstitute the National Reparations Committee more than a year after it was disbanded. He said the Government remains committed to re-establishing the body but wants to ensure the right people are appointed.
“The commitment still stands. And as I indicated previously, we will do it in due course. We want to make sure that we get the right persons on the committee, and we will have them appointed at the most appropriate time,” he said.
The committee’s re-establishment has been advocated by the Emancipation Support Committee and historian Dr Claudius Fergus, among others.
Sobers returned from Antigua and Barbuda on Thursday night after representing Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), where reparations featured prominently on the agenda in the presence of King Charles III.
The issue gained renewed attention following the United Kingdom’s indication that it was willing to discuss an apology for its role in the transatlantic slave trade, while stopping short of supporting financial compensation.
Sobers described Britain’s position as an important development.
“It was a first clear step by the UK in coming out to indicate something on this topic of reparations, which I think all countries who participated in discussions with the UK felt very happy about. And Trinidad and Tobago felt the same way as well,” he said.
However, the question of how Caribbean countries should pursue reparatory justice, particularly financial compensation, remains a subject of debate across the region.
Visa talks continue with UK
Meanwhile, Sobers said Trinidad and Tobago is continuing efforts to have the United Kingdom reconsider visa restrictions imposed on its nationals nearly two years ago.
He confirmed that discussions had taken place with senior British officials, including the UK Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, but declined to provide details because of the ongoing nature of the talks.
“The matter is an ongoing one. I wouldn’t want to comment on where we are at right now, but there have been things that we have been approached to do, and we are in the process of getting them done,” he said.
The UK introduced a visa requirement for Trinidad and Tobago nationals on March 13, 2025, ending their previous access to the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system.
British authorities said the measure was necessary to address abuse of the ETA programme and protect the integrity of the country’s immigration system.
