Bell Ribeiro-Addy

I rise very deliberately today, on 25 March, as it is the UN’s International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and the very day on which a UN resolution formally declaring that slave trade is a crime against humanity is being debated. It is yet to be confirmed whether the UK will support that resolution. Further to the online petition of the all-party parliamentary group for Afrikan reparations, which has received almost 2,000 signatures, I present a petition on behalf of British residents who are outraged that the Government have never issued an unequivocal apology for Britain’s central role in African chattel enslavement and colonialism. Expressions of sorrow and regret are not an apology; nor are they befitting the crimes committed or Britain’s role in one of the gravest crimes in human history. We cannot begin to address the legacy of this injustice without first having the courage to acknowledge it. Atonement must start with truth. The petition states: “The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to issue a full and meaningful apology, on behalf of the UK government, for Britain’s role in African chattel enslavement and colonialism, and establish an All-Party Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for Truth & Reparatory Justice. And the petitioners remain, etc.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of the United Kingdom Declares that the Houses of Parliament and the UK government have not yet apologised for Britain’s role in African chattel enslavement and colonialism; further declares that the “deep sorrow and regret for our nation’s role in the slave trade” as has been previously expressed by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, does not constitute a meaningful apology for the enslavement, trafficking, genocide and extensive colonial crimes that our country engaged in; further declares that an official apology in our country’s name and the establishment of an All-Party Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for Truth & Reparatory Justice can be the beginning of action to address its legacy; and further declares that once an apology has been offered, the UK can begin to engage with those nations and communities affected on discussions of reparatory justice, which can extend beyond monetary payment. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to issue a full and meaningful apology, on behalf of the UK government, for Britain’s role in African chattel enslavement and colonialism, and establish an All-Party Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry for Truth & Reparatory Justice. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003179]