Jamaica hails King’s decision to refer slavery reparations petition to privy council as ‘really big deal’

Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s minister of culture, has hailed the King’s decision to refer her slavery reparations petition to the privy council. Photograph: Jess Hurd/PAView image in fullscreenOlivia Grange, Jamaica’s minister of culture, has hailed the King’s decision to refer her slavery reparations petition to the privy council.

Photograph: Jess Hurd/PAJamaicaJamaica hails King’s decision to refer slavery reparations petition to privy council as ‘really big deal’The move comes after Jamaica’s culture minister Olivia Grange travelled to the UK earlier this month to lodge the historic petition.

Prefer the Guardian on GoogleKing Charles has referred a landmark slavery reparations petition from Jamaica to a high-level UK appeals court for legal advice, Jamaica’s culture minister announced in parliament on Tuesday.

Referecendo à mudança como “um negócio realmente grande”, Olivia Grange disse aos deputados de Jamaica que o monarca havia confirmado que suas questões jurídicas foram encaminhadas ao Conselho Privado com sede em Londres – o tribunal final de apelação para territórios ultramarinos do Reino Unido e alguns países da Commonwealth.

The petition seeks guidance on three questions: whether the forced transport of Africans to Jamaica was lawful; whether it constituted a crime against humanity; and whether Britain is under an obligation to provide restitution for slavery and its enduring consequences.

Read more“Indeed we went fearless and boldly into this chapter when we petitioned the king on Monday, September 7, 2026 – one day after the 245th anniversary of the commemoration of the Zong massacre, an event that captures the barbarity of chattel enslavement,” Grange said in parliament.

A Jamaica ativou um mecanismo raramente usado no Judicial Committee Act 1833, que permite ao rei encaminhar questões de “legal or constitutional nature” ao privy council quando não podem ser resolvidas pelos tribunais ordinários, segundo os assessores jurídicos do país.

The minister said that taking the matter to the International Court of Justice, was not an option for Jamaica.

A privy council opinion would not compel the UK government to pay reparations, but Jamaican officials believe it could shape negotiations and legal options and set a precedent for other Commonwealth nations seeking reparations.

No início deste mês, Grange liderou uma delegação jamaicana a Londres para entregar oficialmente a petição. Enquanto estava no Reino Unido, o grupo, advogados e membros do conselho nacional de reparação do país encontraram comunidades da diáspora, deputados, líderes religiosos e instituições culturais – entre elas o British Museum, do qual a Jamaica busca a devolução de artefatos retirados durante o regime colonial.

Tuesday’s announcement follows the Caricom Regional Conference on Reparations, which took place in Barbados last week. Officials at the conference said that Caribbean nations are drawing up a multi-pronged “action plan” with legal options to push the UK into negotiating a decades-long slavery reparations deal.

Leaders in the region are hoping the UK would agree to targeted and constructive negotiation talks at upcoming Commonwealth and UN summits, but they are ready to take the matter to international courts if Britain continues to resist diplomatic options.

Speaking at the conference, Prof Sir Hilary Beckles, the chair of the Caricom Reparations Commission, said reparations was a matter of justice, adding that countries in the region were forced to create viable democracies “out of the mess” of colonialism, which was still having an impact today.

After 300 years of British colonisation, they moved into independence with 80% illiteracy. How do you build a modern nation, not even a competitive economy, with 80% illiteracy?”.

Earlier this month, a spokesperson for Andy Burnham reiterated the British government’s long‑held position that “the UK does not and will not pay reparations”.

Grange told parliament that the country is “awaiting directions from the Judicial Committee of the privy council as to the next steps to be taken in the case. And the attorney general is preparing to deal with the case”.