Global Circle for Reparations and Healing, a cohort of organisations working to tackle legacies of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, has set a new standard for reparation advocacy.
The new standard aimed to bridge the gap on global reparation and address the root causes of the legacies of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, colonialism, neo-colonialism and racism, especially against blacks around the world.
The call was in a communiqué issued and copied the Ghanaian Times, yesterday, after a meeting on Reparations and Racial Healing Summit, held in Accra, to discuss and examine options for addressing reparation in the world.
The statement said recognising the past historical injustices, including the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and colonialism, there was the need to advance an agenda that would addresses the root causes of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
It said in 2021, 23 organisations were selected by the John D. and Catherine T. Macarthur Foundation, as part of its Equitable Recovery Grant Initiative.
The communique said the cohort meets regularly to develop strategies to amplify and support each other’s work.
“To that end, the Global Circle believed it imperative for reparations advocates, scholars, artists, and activists from around the world to come together to dialogue, learn from each other, and hopefully strengthen opportunities for collective action to advance a reparations and healing agenda worldwide,” it added.
At the end of the meeting, it was agreed that experts from around the world should convene at Italy to deepen their understanding of the role of the Global North in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and its legacies of colonialism, neocolonialism, racism, apartheid, genocide and plunder.
Participants also agreed that experts should meet the Roman Catholic Church on the issue of accountability for its role in initiating and facilitating the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
They also agreed to institute a global summit to bring reparations and racial healing practitioners together, to learn about the current reparations and racial healing landscape, increase the knowledge base about practical steps being implemented internationally, to advance reparations and healing, and lay the groundwork for relationships upon which to develop collective action.
BY VIVIAN ARTHUR
