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UN judge urges UK to address slavery reparations

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Brighton, UK
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Patrick Robinson has said payment to countries impacted by transatlantic slavery is β€˜required by law’.Β 

A UN judge sparked national outrage on Tuesday after statements made about UK slavery reparations.Β 

Patrick Robinson, a judge at the international court of justice, said the UK can no longer ignore growing calls for reparative payments over the long-standing cultural, social, and economic impacts of transatlantic slavery.Β 

β€˜They cannot continue to ignore the greatest atrocity, signifying man’s inhumanity to man. They cannot continue to ignore it.

Reparations have been paid for other wrongs and obviously far more quickly, far more speedily than reparations for what I consider the greatest atrocity and crime in the history of mankind: transatlantic chattel slavery,’ Robinson said.

The value of said reparations is estimated to be around Β£18.8tn, but Robinson has said this is still an β€˜underestimation’ of the damage caused by the slave trade. He suggested that in order to address these figures, payments should be made over a longer period of time, between 10 and 25 years.

It’s no surprise that public response has been mixed – although that may be somewhat of an understatement.

Swathes of users on X (Twitter) have lashed out at Robinson’s comments, with a large number of posts featuring aggressive language and outright racism.Β 

Many are questioning where demands for similar payments would end, should the reparations be granted.

β€˜So…we’ll be getting reparation payments from the French for Napoleon then? [sic]’ said one X user.Β 

Others simply revealed their lack of historical knowledge, with X user @Adie996 suggesting the UK should be β€˜proud of its history’ in that it was one of only β€˜a few countries in the world to abolish slavery’.Β 

Britain may have played an integral role in abolition’s success, but this fact is a large factor in the nation’s historical amnesia. The Western world repeatedly falls back on its role in abolition so as to conveniently deny its equally vital part in transatlantic slavery’s initial existence.

In April, the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, refused to apologise for the UK’s role in the slave trade or to commit to paying reparations.Β 

Robinson responded by addressing the growing need for a shift in outlook, regardless of political stance.Β 

β€˜The tide is changing, the political tide, the global tide is moving. The United Kingdom – [including] both principle parties, the Conservative party and the Labour party and the other parties, which are just as important – need to take into account that movement is a movement in favour of reparations’, he stated on Tuesday.Β 

The historical record is unequivocal in revealing the scale of devastation that the transatlantic slave trade wrought upon African societies.Β 

Millions were subjected to unspeakable cruelty, forced labour, and degradation, their lives and cultures systematically shattered. Proponents of reparations argue that addressing this historical atrocity is a moral obligation, as well as a step toward reconciliation and healing.

The question of whether Britain should follow through with reparation is a complex one. But it’s ultimately an opportunity for introspection.

We can’t change history, but the way we acknowledge and learn from it can – and will – profoundly shape our future.Β Β 

Contributing Writer Brighton, UK

I’m Flo, (She/Her) a remote writer at Thred. I recently completed a Masters in Visual Anthropology, and seek to interrogate the ways digital spaces can amplify marginalised voices in the arts and cultural sectors. Follow me on LinkedIn orΒ ping me some feedback via email.

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