The Andrew HOlness led administration will submit a petition to King Charles III on Monday seeking legal guidance on Britain’s role in the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica.
According to Culture Minister Olivia Grange, the petition will ask the King, Jamaica’s head of state, to refer three questions to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC), the country’s highest court.
The Government wants the JCPC to determine whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was lawful under English law, whether it violated international law and whether Britain now has a legal obligation to provide redress.
Grange said the process could help pave the way for a ‘long outstanding settlement’ over the centuries of abuse endured by enslaved Africans and their descendants.
The petition does not seek a specific payment. Once it is submitted, the King is expected to refer the questions to the JCPC and has no personal discretion over whether the referral is made.
‘Once we get the answers, or once we get a response to those questions, then the next steps will be determined,’ Grange said.
Buckingham Palace has been working with Jamaica’s governor-general, Sir Patrick Allen to ensure the petition is properly lodged.
A Palace spokesperson said King Charles has repeatedly expressed his commitment to promoting greater understanding of slavery and addressing historical wrongs for the benefit of affected communities.
Following the abolition of slavery across most of the British Empire in 1833, the British Government paid £20 million in compensation to slave owners. The loans used to finance those payments were not fully repaid until 2015.
Grange questioned why compensation had been provided to slave owners, while the descendants of enslaved people had received no comparable remedy.
She is also scheduled to meet British Museum officials to advance discussions on the return of artefacts taken from Jamaica during the colonial period.
‘They are priceless, they are significant to the story of Jamaica and we are working to bring them home,’ Grange said.
During a visit to Jamaica in 2015, then British prime minister David Cameron ruled out reparations for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. While describing slavery as ‘abhorrent in all its forms,’ Cameron urged Jamaica to move beyond the painful legacy and focus on building for the future.