The 3rd CARICOM Regional Conference on Reparations opened on September 17 at the Wyndham Grand Sam Lord’s Castle in Saint Philip, Barbados, under the theme “Reparatory Justice as the Coming Enlightenment.” Hosted by the CARICOM Reparations Commission, the Barbados Government and the CARICOM Secretariat, the event streamed its proceedings on CARICOM and UWI TV.
Unlike past gatherings, this conference seeks to move from advocacy to action. The revised CARICOM Ten‑Point Plan, now branded the Manifesto for the Coming Enlightenment, will guide a Bridgetown Action Plan that sets measurable reparatory‑justice targets for 2027‑2031.
Opening speakers included Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, CARICOM Secretary‑General Dr Carla Barnett, and Reparations Commission Chair Sir Hilary Beckles. Delegates ranged from CARICOM ministers and national commissions to UN representatives, academics, civil‑society members, and diaspora advocates from North America, Europe, and Latin America.
The conference also aligns with the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration, the Second International Decade for People of African Descent, and the African Union Decade for Reparatory Justice. It follows the UN General Assembly’s March 25 2026 resolution recognising the trafficking and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity, and the June 17 2026 Africa‑Caribbean “Next Steps” conference in Ghana.
Journalists and stakeholders are urged to monitor the emerging Bridgetown Action Plan and any Trinidad and Tobago‑specific announcements that may shape the region’s reparations trajectory.
