Caribbean ambassador calls to establish slavery tribunal

A high-level Caribbean ambassador said on Wednesday it was crucial to establish a new international special tribunal to seek reparations for transatlantic slavery and its legacies in today’s society. Reuters reported earlier this month that support was building among African and Caribbean nations for the creation of such a tribunal on atrocities dating to transatlantic slavery. For over four centuries, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, forcibly transported thousands of kilometres by mainly European ships and merchants and sold into slavery. David Comissiong, the Barbados ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and a well-known reparations advocate, said a tribunal was needed as there was no international court properly equipped to deal with reparations claims of such magnitude and complexity. Comissiong was speaking at the third session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) in Geneva. The PFPAD initially suggested the establishment of the tribunal last year. He said the tribunal would require a “positive decision” by the UN General Assembly, the organisation’s main policy-making organ. “Let us resolve to put in the international advocacy work to successfully deliver the creation of this critical institution at the U.N. General Assembly,” he added. “Let us all rally around...