By: Angelica O’Donoghue,
Member, Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission (ABRSC)
Another year passes, and once again, we ceremoniously join in Commonwealth Day celebrations, standing side by side with our fellow member states. But as we do so, one must ask: what exactly is common about the wealth of the Commonwealth? The vast economic and social disparities between the architects of the Commonwealth and the majority of its member states are glaringly unjust.
The inequities within the Commonwealth are undeniable—vast differences in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and the ability to respond to external economic shocks. Even debt burdens reveal the stark contrast: developing Commonwealth nations bear disproportionate debt-to-GDP ratios, while their former colonial rulers maintain economic dominance. If we are to speak of commonality, then surely it should not be found in systemic disadvantage.
Out of the 56 Commonwealth countries, only 7 are considered developed, while the remaining 49 are developing nations. The United Nations classifies 44 countries globally as Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and 10 of those are within the Commonwealth. This should force us to confront an uncomfortable reality: What is so “common” about this wealth? What tangible benefits have truly been derived from this prestigious designation?
What is common, however, are the deeply entrenched legacies of colonialism, particularly in the Caribbean. What is common are the towering monuments to the enslavers, the persistence of their language, their religion, their laws, and their institutions—all reminders of historical subjugation. What is common is the enduring social, economic, and environmental degradation that defines the lives of many former colonies. The Center for Reparation Research (CRR) references the 2001 Durban Declaration and Program of Action, which acknowledged the worst legacies of colonialism: “poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion, economic disparities, instability, and insecurity that affect many people in different parts of the world, particularly in developing countries.”
If 49 out of 56 Commonwealth countries are developing nations, is that the common denominator of the Commonwealth? A history of being systematically underdeveloped?
Club Membership.
Membership in the Commonwealth has long required adherence to a set of so-called democratic principles. Countries must demonstrate good governance, rule of law, free elections, and human rights. A failure to uphold these principles can result in suspension or expulsion. Yet, while former colonies must abide by these conditions to remain within the club of their former colonizers, those same colonizers refuse to uphold the fundamental principles of justice when it comes to reparations for slavery.
As recently as 2024, Downing Street dismissed the issue of slavery reparations, stating it was “not on the agenda” ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa. It was only after global backlash that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was forced to engage in discussions on reparations, as Commonwealth leaders declared that “the time has come.”
So again, what is so common about the Commonwealth, when the very artery that connects this realm was built on slavery and exploitation, yet the call to repair that severed artery—through reparations—is met with dismissal and delay?
Reparations: The Real Commonality.
Reparations, in its simplest form, means to amend a wrong or injury committed. It is rooted in repair—restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, and the guarantee of non-repetition. In international law, it is an accepted principle that nations, institutions, or individuals responsible for crimes must take action to repair the damage they have done.
International law has recognized that chattel slavery, which was the foundation of the Commonwealth, was and is a crime against humanity. It was a gross violation of human rights. And yet, despite the requirement that Commonwealth members must uphold human rights, there remains no justice for this historical crime.
Let us not think that the call for reparations is recent. It is not born of modern diplomacy or academic debate. Reparations began the moment conquest and colonization began. It was present in indigenous wars of resistance, in African rebellions against enslavement, in every act of defiance against oppression. The demand for justice has never ceased – it has simply evolved, moving from uprisings and revolutions to formal requests, petitions, policy papers, and international advocacy.
A Call to the Commonwealth.
We must recognize the truth: The most common call within the Commonwealth is for reparations. A full and formal apology. The recognition that the damage inflicted upon generations of people across the Global South must be repaired.
As members of this so-called Common-Wealth, it is our duty to make that call louder and more unrelenting than ever before. Reparations Now.
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It’s all neocolinial instruments set up by particularly the royal family as elongation of colonialism which continue the tie to our so call independent countries, even the OAS block is an instrument set up by the usa to infantilized our so call leaders and corrupt them, the benifit goes to white monopoly capital domination of our resources in extractive industry like hotel and real estate as in Barbuda lands, only the white investors would realize the full economic potential of our land resources as our corrupt lethargic politicians give them for peanut change with of course them getting pennies that elevate above the masses they are supposedly representing, if we were to nationalize our land resources we would be labeled communist like Cuba , Venezuela and Grenada under Maurice bishop, our leaders are just dealers parading as academic Infront of us, they won’t make the wealth common among the black masses who suffered 400 years of slavery, abject poverty is our lot.
When we talk about “reparation”, we only talk about repatriating for the Africans that were enslaved and their peoples. But what about the indigenous peoples that were or is the inhabitants of some of these countries/lands that the slave masters and their slaves have now grabbed hold on?
They, these indigenous are owed something, even more than the former enslaved.
So yes, let us talk about reparations and let us include the indigenous as well.