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The CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) is a regional body established after a 2013 decision by Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government. It prepares and advances a case for reparatory justice over harms the Commission identifies as Indigenous genocide, the transatlantic slave trade, chattel slavery and colonial rule. Its work includes research, public education, coordination among national committees, diplomacy and proposals for redress—not deciding legal claims or awarding compensation.
How the Commission was formed
In July 2013, CARICOM Heads of Government unanimously supported regional action on reparations for slavery in the Caribbean and Indigenous genocide. They agreed that a committee chaired by Barbados’s prime minister, with other CARICOM leaders, would oversee a commission composed of national reparations committee chairs and a University of the West Indies research representative. They also called for national committees and described the effort as a development conversation that should pursue reasonable avenues toward an amicable solution. CARICOM’s July 2013 communiqué records that decision.
The first Regional Conference on Reparations, held in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, from 15 to 17 September 2013, set out the proposed structure and aims. It elected Professor Hilary Beckles as chair and named vice-chairs for intergovernmental relations, research and mobilization. The conference communiqué describes a mandate to build the moral, ethical and legal case; advise the Prime Ministerial Subcommittee on Reparations; coordinate national bodies; conduct historical and legal research; educate and consult the public; advocate diplomatically; develop proposals for reparative programmes and projects; prepare a damages brief; and respond to media coverage. The conference communiqué sets out those functions.
What the Commission seeks
The Commission’s programme asks European governments to take part in a reparatory justice process. Its plan frames the harms as Indigenous genocide, African enslavement and extractive colonialism. These are the Commission’s claims and framing; the plan itself does not establish legal liability for any particular state. CARICOM describes the Ten Point Plan as a development and reconciliation programme, rather than a demand limited to individual cash payments. The Ten Point Plan explains the Commission’s proposals and rationale.
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Measures in the Ten Point Plan
The official plan page sets out measures including:
- A full formal apology.
- Repatriation for people who wish to return to ancestral homelands.
- An Indigenous Peoples Development Programme.
- Caribbean cultural institutions to document and interpret the region’s history.
- Public health initiatives.
- Education measures.
- Psychological rehabilitation.
- Technology transfer and scientific collaboration.
- Debt cancellation and support addressing debt burdens.
These are proposals in CARICOM’s programme, not an implemented package of benefits. The plan is intended for Caribbean governments and people, while also serving as a guide for the broader global African reparations movement. It identifies the UK, Europe and enslaving nations as targets for demands related to the historical harms it describes. CARICOM’s plan description provides that framing.
What role it plays—and what it does not
The CRC’s role is to assemble and present a case, support regional and national coordination, educate the public, conduct advocacy and formulate proposals. It is not described in the official materials as a court or an adjudicative body. In a 2014 address to the British House of Commons, Commission chairman Professor Sir Hilary Beckles said its members were tasked with preparing and presenting an evidentiary basis for the view that Britain and other European states benefiting from enslavement, Indigenous genocide and indentureship “have a case to answer in respect of reparatory justice.” CARICOM published the address.
Current status of the plan
CARICOM reported on 27 February 2026 that Heads of Government had tasked the Prime Ministerial Subcommittee on Reparations with reviewing a revised plan and advising on priority actions. The statement described the plan, endorsed in July 2014, as the guiding framework for negotiations with European nations, and noted a Commission mission to the United Kingdom in November 2025. CARICOM’s February 2026 release documents that stage.
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On 10 July 2026, CARICOM said Heads of Government approved the Revised CARICOM Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice at their 51st Regular Meeting, held 5–8 July. The release says the Commission developed the revised manifesto and describes it as seeking redress from European nations for the transatlantic slave trade and genocide of Indigenous peoples. CARICOM’s approval announcement reports that decision. The release does not provide the full revised plan text, so it does not establish whether every detail of the earlier plan remains unchanged.
The official reports document regional decisions and continuing advocacy. They do not establish a concluded settlement, a final agreed compensation amount or a court judgment awarding reparations to the Commission.
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How to interpret figures in the plan
CARICOM’s Ten Point Plan page asserts that more than 10 million Africans were transported to the Caribbean. It also gives figures of an Indigenous population “over 3,000,000 in 1700” and “less than 30,000 in 2000.” These are figures published by the Commission’s plan; the underlying historical estimates have not been independently verified here. They should be attributed to CARICOM rather than presented as uncontested demographic estimates.
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