CARICOM is due to meet in Barbados for its third regional reparations conference, aimed at turning renewed international recognition of slavery’s legacy into an action plan.

The three-day reparatory justice meeting is scheduled for September 17-19 at the Wyndham Grand Sam Lord’s Castle in St. Philip, bringing together Caribbean governments, African Union representatives, reparations advocates, academics and civil-society groups.

Hosted by the CARICOM Reparations Commission, the Barbados government and the CARICOM Secretariat, the Barbados reparations conference comes as the bloc seeks to move the debate from principle to delivery. Under the theme “Reparatory Justice as the Coming Enlightenment,” the meeting is to focus on how the revised Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice could be implemented and linked more closely with Africa and the wider African diaspora.

Regional push follows new international recognition

It follows a March United Nations General Assembly resolution that described the trafficking of enslaved Africans and the system of racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as "the gravest crime against humanity." CARICOM leaders said the vote marks an important milestone in their campaign for wider international recognition of enslavement’s lasting effects.

The bloc also moved in July to endorse its revised Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice, which was described as "A Manifesto for the Coming Enlightenment." The plan expands CARICOM’s earlier framework and ties reparations more directly to wider questions of development, inequality and the long-term effects of colonial exploitation.

CARICOM said the conference would not simply restate the case for reparations. Instead, it is expected to examine the practical steps governments and institutions could take, and to assess the wider international movement that has gathered pace in recent years. The focus reflects a shift in tone, with the forum presented as a special reparatory justice event rather than a debate over whether reparations are justified - a formal forum with ministerial interventions, president’s remarks, audience Q&A and closing comments.

Plans move from recognition to action

Sir Hilary Beckles, chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, said in June that the argument for redress had already been established.

"We believe that the legal case has been made," he said. "We are now into phase two, which is the programme of reparatory action."

His comments capture the direction CARICOM is trying to take at the Barbados meeting, where the discussion is expected to centre on implementation rather than persuasion.

Carla Barnett, CARICOM’s secretary-general, argues that reparations should be linked with development rather than treated only as compensation for historical wrongs.

Speaking at the first CELAC-Africa High-Level Forum in Bogotá in March, she said: "It must therefore be seen as justice plus development. It must not be seen as charity."

According to formal remarks by President John Dramani Mahama, the UN resolution on the trafficking and enslavement of Africans marks a historic breakthrough, and follow-up structures such as advisory councils and expert panels are needed to turn moral claims into action.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who chairs CARICOM’s Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Reparations, is due to address the opening ceremony alongside Barnett and Beckles. Mottley is one of the region’s strongest public voices on the issue. Speaking at a reparations conference in Ghana in June, she said: "There should be no retreat on repair."

The conference is also expected to include representatives of the African Union, national reparations bodies, the United Nations and activists from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Latin America. CARICOM said the wider participation is intended to deepen cooperation with Africa and the global African diaspora.

Expected outcome is new action plan

One of the main expected outcomes is a 2027-2031 Action Plan for Reparatory Justice. CARICOM said the plan is intended to set measurable targets for joint initiatives involving organisations across the global African community. The conference is expected to clarify who would be responsible for delivery, how the work would be funded and what benchmarks would be used to judge progress.

The meeting is to feature a high-level session with CARICOM heads of government, members of the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Reparations and African Union representatives. It is also expected to consider what practical commitments, if any, governments would make beyond reaffirming support for the wider campaign.

The revised Ten-Point Plan broadens CARICOM’s demands beyond financial compensation. It includes calls tied to education and training, public health, cultural restoration, technology transfer, debt relief and formal apologies. It also places greater emphasis on the harms suffered by women and by Indigenous Caribbean communities, reflecting a wider understanding of the damage caused by slavery and colonial rule.

The Barbados conference is intended to turn CARICOM’s long-running reparations campaign into a structured programme with measurable next steps.