The foreign secretary of the United Kingdom stated on November 4th, 2024, that the “transfer of cash” is not the goal of reparations for the United Kingdom’s involvement in the slave trade. He also reaffirmed his nation’s stance, which tends to be future-oriented.
A “meaningful, respectful, and truthful” debate of reparatory justice was demanded by leaders at the recent 27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, one of several requests for a reckoning with Britain’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.
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“As a descendant of enslaved people with parents from Guyana, I recognize that slavery was ‘horrendous’ and had left ‘scars,’ ” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the BBC during a visit to Nigeria.
But, according to Lammy, people would rather consider the future than argue over restitution.
“It’s not about the transfer of cash, particularly at a time of a cost-of-living crisis around much of the globe, and certainly in the U.K.,” he stated.
To achieve “respectful partnerships that listen rather than tell, deliver long-term growth rather than short-term solutions, and build a freer, safer, more prosperous continent,” Lammy stated that Britain is adopting a new strategy for dealing with African countries.
The United Kingdom, whose riches were accumulated via the transatlantic slave trade, has never publicly apologized for its slavery part, while a few other countries, such as the Netherlands, have.
King Charles III impliedly accepted the demands for reparations during the most recent Commonwealth conference, but he also stated that the past could not be altered. Instead, he called on leaders to know the history and the “right language” “to guide us towards making the right choices in the future where inequality exists.”
