SVG’s Opportunity to Redefine South-South Cooperation

“Reparations Diplomacy”: SVG’s Opportunity to Redefine South-South Cooperation August 23rd marks the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, a day of profound significance for both the Caribbean and Africa. This day calls us to remember not only the historical atrocities but also the deep-seated and ongoing effects of slavery and colonisation on public health, economic development, and cultural heritage in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), CARICOM, and Africa. SVG is uniquely positioned to advance “Reparations Diplomacy,” which we view as a strategic approach for SVG to build bilateral relationships with African nations, rooted in shared history, culture, and present-day post-colonial challenges. Reparations Diplomacy – a novel concept – rests on two fundamental pillars: collective advocacy for reparations and the pursuit of deeper South-South economic cooperation. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves already has a strong voice on the issue of slavery reparations in both regional and international forums, notably helping to establish the CARICOM Reparations Commission in 2013, which in 2020, adopted its Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice, a landmark framework to guide the region’s reparation efforts. Pursuing a deliberate policy of Reparations Diplomacy could amplify Prime Minister Gonsalves’ global call for reparations while...