British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said the concept of reparations for former colonial countries affected by slavery “is not about the transfer of cash”.
In his first comments since 56 Commonwealth leaders signed a statement saying the time had come for a conversation on reparations, Lammy told the BBC this was not “the debate people want to have”.
The British government previously ruled out paying reparations for slavery and Downing Street said its position also included “other forms of non-financial reparations”.
Lammy said Britain would instead try to develop relationships with African countries by sharing skills and science.
During his first visit to Africa as foreign minister, Lammy said reparations are not about money, “especially at a time of cost of living crisis”.
Reparations are measures to make amends for past actions that are considered wrong or unfair.
Cash payments – where a state gives money to a country whose communities it has enslaved – are the most commonly understood form of reparations.
But they can take many forms, including an official apology or investing in healthcare and education.
Speaking in Lagos, a Nigerian port city once at the center of the transatlantic slave trade, the foreign secretary said the period was “horrific and terrible” and had left “scars”.
“I am the descendant of enslaved people, so I recognize that.”
The British government and monarchy, together with other European countries, played a key role in the centuries-long slave trade from 1500 onwards.
Historians believe that more than three million enslaved Africans were transported by British ships.
Britain also played a key role in ending the trade, with Parliament passing an act to abolish slavery in 1833.
Lammy said it was right that an apology had been made “and that we commemorated the abolition of the slave trade” when Labor was last in power.
Britain has never formally apologized for its role in the slave trade, although then-Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair said in 2007: “Well, actually I said it: we’re sorry. And I’ll say it again now.”
Lammy’s comments followed discussion of reparations at a summit of Commonwealth leaders in Samoa in October.
Amid growing calls from Commonwealth leaders for reparations for the country’s role in the slave trade, Downing Street had insisted the issue would not be tabled.
But Sir Keir Starmer later signed a document calling for talks on ‘restorative justice’ alongside other Commonwealth leaders.
Lammy acknowledged that Caribbean countries had developed a 10-point plan for restorative justice.
But he said he believed developing countries would benefit through things such as the transfer of technical skills and scientific expertise from Britain.
Lammy spoke to the BBC at the start of a trip in which he will visit Nigeria and South Africa, one of the continent’s largest economies.
He said Britain needed “a new approach to Africa” and wanted to launch a five-month consultation period with African countries.
He said much had changed since the last Labor government, where the emphasis was “largely on development”.
He said he hoped for greater cooperation between Britain and African countries.
‘What I’ve heard is that Britain has taken a step back in recent years.
“I think we can do a lot together in the coming months and years.”
Asked about other issues related to Africa, Lammy said the conflict in Sudan was “of great concern” and that he planned to make it a priority in November, when Britain takes over the rotating presidency of the Security Council. United Nations has.
He said the loss of life was “incredible and exceeds other conflicts around the world”, and planned to address the humanitarian situation and plans for a “peaceful outcome”.
He added that it was “a major concern that Sudan has not received the international attention it needs,” given the “huge implications” in Africa and beyond.
