UN Official Addresses Need for Colonial, Enslavement Era Reparations

Click to expand Image The Reparations Task Force meets to hear public input on reparations at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, US, September 22, 2022.  © 2022 Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, stressed the need and urgency forcomprehensive reparatory justice for historical and ongoing harm linked to colonialism and enslavementon October 1 at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. The report is timely as attacks on even minimal diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts mount in the United States and elsewhere.

In an oral statement delivered at the UNHRC session, Human Rights Watch expressed support for his call for a transformative, context-specific, and rights-based approach to reparatory justice, led by the most affected communities.

Whether addressing the US’ legacy of enslavement or European legacies of enslavement and colonialism, Türk stressed that affected communities should drive the design and outcome of reparatory processes. He also said that private institutions, such as museums, corporations, universities, and religious groupsshould take responsibility for their historical benefits, ties, and roles in perpetuating the abuses of colonialism and enslavement.

He called for broad systemic reforms, such as addressing environmental injustices that disproportionately impact Africans and people of African descent as well as international financial systems that contribute toracial inequalities. This is particularly relevant as discussions about reparations around the world gain momentum.

In the US, some states and localities are exploring or already implementing reparative measures despite backsliding at the national level. African and Caribbean countries are working to join their agendas to strengthen their pursuit for reparatory justice by European and other governments, including at the recent Africa-CARICOM summit. The African Union and UN have dedicated the next decade to reparatory justice.

Echoed by African states who spoke at the UNHRC session in Geneva, the UN rights chief’s call to action challenges governments and institutions to reckon with their legacies and move beyond symbolic gestures.

In the US, this means Congress should adopt H.R. 40, which calls for creating an expert commission to study and develop reparation proposals to address the lasting impacts of enslavement and subsequent racial injustices for African Americans. For Europe, it means that governments should accept legal responsibility to address their enslavement and colonial legacies.

Achieving reparatory justice is not only a moral imperative but a right, with associated legal obligations,and a necessary step toward creating equitable societies rooted in acknowledgement, reconciliation, and justice.