Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley announces new manifesto urging reparations for slavery

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley on June 18 announced a new, updated manifesto from Caribbean leaders pressing for reparations related to the transatlantic slave trade and centuries of enslavement. Mottley made the announcement at a conference in Ghana that she described as historic, aimed at advancing the region’s broader reparations effort.

According to the report, the document sets out a framework arguing that the harm caused by slavery must be addressed through reparatory action. It is positioned as a case grounded not only in ethics, but also in legal and moral reasoning, and is intended for use in consultations with other governments across the Caribbean.

The manifesto’s updated emphasis includes specific attention to the damage inflicted on African women during slavery. The report says that this focus is part of the revised presentation that Caribbean leaders are preparing to bring into their discussions with states that would be asked to support reparations initiatives.

The announcement was framed as a step toward collective regional momentum. The report states that the updated manifesto is being considered by other Caribbean countries, indicating that the next stage of the effort will depend on how those governments respond to the document’s arguments and proposed approach.

While the report does not detail any specific compensation mechanism or timeline, it describes the manifesto as part of a diplomatic and policy push, with the Ghana conference serving as a venue for rallying support beyond Barbados. The effort appears aimed at strengthening the legal and ethical rationale that advocates intend to carry into regional and international conversations.

For Barbados, the public release of the manifesto underscores a policy objective that will likely require sustained intergovernmental coordination. For other Caribbean governments, the decision to consider the document suggests they may be weighing how to translate the asserted moral, ethical, and legal case into formal positions and, where applicable, negotiations.

The next steps will hinge on whether the participating governments adopt the manifesto as a shared basis for action, and on any subsequent statements or documents clarifying how reparations would be sought and implemented in practice.