A Jamaican delegation has arrived in Britain to submit a landmark slavery reparations petition to King Charles, Jamaica’s head of state, as the Caribbean nation seeks legal answers that could shape its pursuit of reparatory justice.
Culture Minister Olivia Grange, who travelled to London with members of Jamaica’s National Council on Reparations, said the petition will be lodged with the King on Monday and addresses the continuing consequences of slavery for Jamaica.
The petition asks the King to refer three questions to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Jamaica’s highest court, concerning the enslavement of Africans in the country.
They concern whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was lawful under English law, whether it violated international law, and whether Britain now has a legal obligation to provide redress.
The petition itself does not demand payment, and Grange said Jamaica’s next steps would be determined after receiving responses to the questions.
King Charles has no personal discretion over whether to make the referral, according to the BBC, while Buckingham Palace has worked with Jamaica’s governor general to ensure the petition is correctly lodged.
Grange said inherited systems linked to slavery continue to disadvantage Jamaica, including in education and health, while limiting its ability to confront contemporary challenges.
Jamaica established a national reparations mechanism in 2009 and has continued pressing for recognition of slavery’s enduring effects.
The delegation’s visit comes amid broader Caribbean and international efforts to advance reparatory justice, including a UN resolution in March describing chattel slavery as the gravest crime against humanity and a Caribbean reparations manifesto launched in June.
A UN committee said last month that countries were legally obliged to consider reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and measures addressing continuing racial discrimination.
Buckingham Palace said Charles has repeatedly expressed a commitment to improving understanding of slavery and addressing historic wrongs for communities today.
During the visit, Grange is also scheduled to meet British Museum officials about repatriating Jamaican artefacts taken during the colonial era and to meet UK parliamentarians later in the week.