The CARICOM Reparations Commission was established in 2013 by a decision of CARICOM Heads of Government. Its mandate is to prepare the case for reparatory justice for the region’s indigenous and African descendant communities. It is chaired by Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies and a historian of Caribbean slavery.
Beckles is a serious scholar whose academic work on slavery in Barbados and the Caribbean is well regarded. His political role in the reparations campaign is distinct from his academic work, and his advocacy has at times gone beyond what the historical evidence supports. His public statements have attributed Caribbean underdevelopment almost entirely to slavery and colonialism in ways that the more nuanced version of the argument he makes in his academic work does not fully support.
The Commission is funded through CARICOM and through the University of the West Indies. It has no independent legal status and no power to initiate legal proceedings. Its function is political advocacy, the preparation of arguments and the organisation of pressure rather than the conduct of litigation.
