CARICOM, the Caribbean Community, established its Reparations Commission in 2013. The Commission produced a ten-point plan for reparatory justice that has since become the primary document driving the international reparations campaign. Understanding what CARICOM is, who runs it, how the Commission operates, and what the ten-point plan actually says, is essential to evaluating the campaign.
CARICOM is a political organisation of Caribbean governments. It is not a representative body for Caribbean people globally. Its member states include nations with significant governance problems, high debt levels, and poor records on corruption and accountability. The political interests of CARICOM member governments are not necessarily identical to the interests of ordinary Caribbean people.
The ten-point plan ranges from the reasonable, a formal apology, to the vague, psychological rehabilitation, to the economically questionable, debt cancellation for governments rather than direct assistance to people, to the logistically absurd, repatriation to Africa. Examining each point reveals a document designed for political impact rather than practical implementation.
