Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Professor Sir Hilary Beckles addressed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday, November 3, as part of a live, open debate on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace.
The meeting was chaired by His Excellency, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines who holds the presidency of the Security Council for November 2020, and opened with remarks from Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ms Amina J. Mohammed.
With an aim to facilitate the exchange of views about the security impacts of modern day conflict drivers and instability, the open debate gathered delegates from around the world, including government Ministers and International Agency Heads. Sir Hilary was the only University Vice-Chancellor invited to participate in the high level meeting which was carried live on The UWI’s public education platform, UWItv.
In his presentation, he addressed reparatory justice as a development paradigm for Caribbean nations and other nations built upon these legacies, stating, “Injustice anywhere is the seed of instability and violence everywhere. The Caribbean, Africa and its diaspora are calling for the reconciliation of peace within the context of reparatory justice.”
He described the Caribbean as being determined to be “the freest zone of humanity in the world. It celebrates the global industry of tourism which is effectively the invitation industry of humanity and its generosity,” he said. “From this space of respected tolerance comes the greatest movement of the 21st century—the reparatory justice movement against the legacies of slavery, violent colonisation and institutional racism.”
“CARICOM has embraced the economic development paradigm framed around reparatory justice that calls for a ‘finance plan’ within the tradition of the post-war Marshall Plan that promoted economic reconstruction in Europe. Such a plan was proposed by Sir Arthur Lewis for the West Indies Federation and was rejected by the British government, though a similar proposal from the Asian colonies was accepted and became known as the Colombo Plan which laid the basis of economic development in postcolonial Asia.”
He called on the Security Council to acknowledge and support the reparatory justice framework and movement that have emerged from the need to repair the continuing suffering caused by extreme extractive colonialism and its instruments of slavery and indenture, and told the Council that The UWI has offered itself as a broker and negotiator of the conversation.
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You will have to start with the African people who enslaved their own to sell to the foreigners.
Careful you don’t irritate the masses with your comment. Some of them are so obsessed with Africa that they overlook the fact that many Africans don’t consider other “blacks” (African-American, Caribbean people) as “Africans”.
@Antigua Citizen and @Truth Be Told…
A…the question is not who enslaved whom, or who sold whom. The question is, why even to this day, the White folks(Germans, Americans) who murdered and tortured their own whites(the purported jews) and the asians(wanna be whites), compensated, and is still compensating these same ones generations(asians and jews) whose foreparents they murdered and tortured, and well?
Israel became a whole nation built on stolen lands, and continued funding to this day!
Asian Nations like Japan which was devastated by the Americans have gotten, and is still getting their billions, so tell me again, why the phuck aren’t descendants of the cruel, heinous, and despicable African Slave trade, be entitled to their compensations, as well?
And, as for this, “africans selling africans, or Africans not liking others of similar Hue, outside of their Continent,” that’s asinine excuse!
Examples the present American stalemate with the POTUS selection, is white against white; yet, whoever wins it benefits, #All phucking WHITES!
The Asians been murdering and torturing each other, yet even when they defeat each other, they still help the other out.
China suppresses her People have murdered and killed millions of her own, as in Mau; yet, still today she has the fastest growing sector of millionaires and billionaires, as she China moves her People around the World to garner, and control world markets.
@Truth @Ras
The more important issue is to realise what happened in the past and not repeat it. Asking for reparations will never happen so we should learn and move on.
Strive to make the world a better place and put leaders in positions who will better our countries and not their personal greed and power.
@Antigua Citizen…yes, yes, yes! I do agree, that, we need to “put leaders in positions who will better our countries and not their personal greed and power;” however, this will be left of up to the People.
What I do know, this world will not become a “better place,” if #WeThePeople sit back in our private cocoons, and do nothing.
As for, “reparations will never happen,” your’re wrong on that one, since, several cities in the USA have already passed legislstion($), specifically tailored, to enact policies( #PoliciesMatter ), to specifically address the issue of reparation’s, and have already allocated funds to address some of the ongoing negative issues, of the African Slave Trade.
The mood and energy is shifting, albeit slowly but, Our elders have this saying, “Tek time, Walk Fast!”
This race is not a 100 yard sprint by Bolt, but moreso, a 26.2 mile marathon by Eliud or Birhanu.
This reparation #Race is not for the swift, but for those with endurance, steadfastness and tenacit, and as you and any other individual knows, from time immortal, the HUE – MELANIN of a HUEman skin has being the reason for(not the only one of course), but it has being and still to this day, the reasons for targeted annihilation; yet, Still We Rise like cream to the top, and we can’t, neither will be be stopped. The Essence of the Omnipotence made us like that, and as a side note even the Military is using our well sort after and hated #MELANIN in their weaponry!
While focusing, on Nations, and the role($) which they play, played, and still playing in the trading of HUEman cargo/commodity, the focus should also be, on individual corporations such as the churches, and other conglomerates which are still thriving today based upon, the fact that they too are still profiting from those investments four, five hundred years ago.
Why not, boycott the churches and stop spending whatever scarce resources we have with these known conglomerates(I know easise said than done)
However, from which ever angle, this is approached from, it must be from a United and solid footing.
To those who keep interjecting, the fact, that “BLACK AFRICANS sold BLACK AFRICANS,” therefore, the claims against other Nations and their People is absurd, I ask them, please tell me, how absurd it is, for the White folks(Germans, Americans) who capture and kill other White folks, as in the purported jews, asians(wanna be whites), got and is still getting billions in funding from their former oppressors?
The only absurd thing IMO is the constant bleating on about African slavery. There is no one alive today in the commonwealth islands who was/is either a slave or a slave owner…Black on black slavery still exists in Haiti and Africa. Over a hundred countries still have slavery. Six countries have significantly high numbers…India (18.4million) and China (3.4million) head the list with Haiti being listed as having the most per capita.
It is also a documented fact that “When France and Britain outlawed slavery in their territories in the early 19th Century, African chiefs who had grown rich and powerful off the slave trade sent protest delegations to Paris and London. Britain abolished the slave trade and slavery itself against fierce opposition from West African and Arab traders.”
Tourism is Antigua’s only industry and many of those (white) tourists come from the UK and USA. To keep heading down the path of creating/preaching division and hate is going to make those potential tourists change their travel plans and go to holiday destinations elsewhere in the world that offer the same beaches etc. and make them feel welcome, instead of the constant you enslaved me, I hate you and I want to be paid. It would appear that Barbados is well on its’ way to making their largest market (the UK) feel uncomfortable by trying to eliminate the history which is all part and parcel to the Caribbean. We can either follow in their footsteps and go broke (or worse still Chinese control) or finally move on from slavery blame and enhance our industry by offering “hate free” hospitality.
@Jeb….according, to your Mulberry Bush logic, Antigua, Barbuda & Redonda would not have brought a lawsuit, against the giant USA at the World Court, since, we would not able to go up against their #FirstWorld intellectuals, and win. We all know how that saga went, and the American tourists have not stop coming to our shores.
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