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CWA # 1149, 21 November 2023
NIAS AFRICA STUDIES
Africa’s debate on colonial reparations

  Sneha Surendran

Africa: The debate on colonial reparations
Sneha Surendran

On 1 November, King Charles III conveyed his “greatest sorrow and deepest regret” for the “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence” committed on the Kenyans during their struggle for independence against colonial rule. He made the comments during a state visit to Kenya.

On 1 November, Germany’s President Frank Walter-Steinmeier expressed shame for the pain inflicted by his country on Tanzanians during the latter’s anti-colonial uprisings, stating: “I would like to ask for forgiveness for what Germans did to your ancestors here.”

On 16 November, delegates attending the Accra Reparation Conference in Ghana decided to set up a Global Reparation Fund to persuade former colonial states to contribute compensation for the enslavement of millions of Africans in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Ghana’s President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo called out Britain and another European state who benefitted at the expense of Africans, stating that: “It is time for Africa — whose sons and daughters had their freedoms controlled and sold into slavery — to also receive reparations.”

Recently, the call for colonial reparations has grown louder in Africa. The advocates of reparations argue that the enduring impact of colonisation on countries and communities necessitates a response from former colonial masters to address the historical injustice. Through reparation, they expect- acknowledgement, redressal and closure. It includes a formal apology, the institution of “truth and reconciliation” commissions to investigate the impact of colonialism, financial compensation to the victims and socio-economic programs to address the inequalities that have resulted from past atrocities and discriminatory policies.

Background to the reparation calls in Africa
The clamour for reparations stems from the popular sentiments demanding colonial powers to take accountability and rectify the atrocities they have committed within Africa and other colonies. The transatlantic slave trade between the 16th to 19th centuries resulted in over 12 million Africans being transported to the Americas to work as slaves. Enslaved people were forced to work in sugar and tobacco plantations, mines and households. They were also subjected to extreme physical, mental and sexual violence and dehumanisation. The extraction of natural resources and the breakdown of local economic structures destroyed local markets. The imposition of foreign languages and religions impacted the social fabric of the colonised people, eroding their identity, culture and way of life. 

The effects of colonialism continue to linger in the form of economic disparities and geopolitical power imbalances. The economies of the colonised states had been finetuned to act as export markets, leaving them with limited industrial infrastructure. Social hierarchies imposed by the colonial powers had by then been ingrained into society. 

Responses to the call for reparations
In 2001, South Africa hosted a UN-led World Conference Against Racism. It was here that the push for colonial reparation gained traction. Subsequent responses have been mixed.

Former colonies have remained steadfast in their demand for reparations. In 2013, for the first time in its history, Britain agreed to compensate over 5000 Kenyans who were tortured by the colonial government during the Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s. During his recent visit, King Charles III refrained from apologising for the Mau Mau genocide in Kenya upsetting the community. 

In 2014, CARICOM put forth the 10-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice which asserted that European nations had implicitly participated in the trade of Africans, the genocide of indigenous communities and in the creation of “legal, financial and fiscal policies” leading to the enslavement of Africans. The proposal unanimously called for the colonisers to issue a formal apology, set up a repatriation program for displaced people and invest in development programs and cultural initiatives.

Germany, in 2021, formally acknowledged their role in committing genocide during their occupation of Namibia. They also announced compensation worth over EURO 1.1 billion. 

Despite innumerable calls, Britain has refused to officially apologise for the crimes it committed in its capacity as a coloniser. It has also refused to commit to reparatory justice. When questioned regarding the same, current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak responded with an outright “No,” stating that the focus should be on “understanding our history and all its parts, not running away from it...” and that “trying to unpick our history is not the right way forward.” These statements are contradictory. A formal apology can carry legal implications. It can be construed as an admission of guilt. Consequently, former colonising powers use the term “expressing regret” to sidestep the acknowledgement of past wrongs and the need for atonement.

The UN has largely been unable to establish a legal mandate that is binding on all its members. Given that the UN consists of both the perpetrators and victim nations of the colonial era, finding consensus on the issue of reparations is difficult. As a result, the UN’s actions have been largely limited to drawing global attention to the problem of reparations, facilitating dialogues and conferences and providing unbiased assistance relevant to addressing postcolonial issues such as international law, human rights and international peace and security. Numerous resolutions that align with reparations have also been passed by the UN. For instance, the “Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States” indicates in Article 16 that colonialism has impeded development and that all states that practised colonialism are responsible for the restitution and full compensation for the exploitation, depletion and damage of natural resources in postcolonial states. 

However, while these resolutions exist, these are recommendations that ultimately fall to the discretion of individual states. This has led to ignorance on the part of former colonial states. 

Why are reparations opposed?
The main argument against reparations has been that individuals and governments responsible for colonial-era atrocities are no longer in positions of power and those who directly experienced colonialism have passed away. This was how, in January 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that there would be “no repentance nor apologies” for France’s colonising of Algeria. Moreover, certain authorities advocating for reparations have a track record of engaging in human rights violations, corruption cases and misappropriation of public funds. Their involvement undermines the credibility of the reparations, raising doubts about the genuine allocation of funds to the rightful recipients and for the intended purposes. Another argument is that compensation to victim communities and countries is the perpetuation of their victimhood status. The reparations debate points out that the economic instability and poverty in these regions stem from the actions of these so-called "benefactors" during centuries of colonial exploitation and that this poverty is not natural but was manufactured.

Sneha Surendran is a Postgraduate Scholar at OP Jindal University, Haryana.

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