Hon. Alva Baptiste, delivered a strong appeal for reparations during his address to the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly. His appeal renewed the country’s steadfast call for justice and compensation for the lasting consequences of the transatlantic slave trade.

Minister Baptiste stressed that the call for reparations is rooted in the acknowledgement of the inhumane treatment that African peoples have had to endure.

“I speak to you today as one who is conscious of how the transatlantic slave trade inflicted unimaginable suffering, dehumanization and economic exploitation upon millions of Africans," he said during his contribution on September 29. "This is why we are adamant about our just cause for reparations from Europe for the African slave trade. It is a moral imperative rooted in justice and the acknowledgement of profound historical injustices that have had long-lasting consequences on African people.”

Saint Lucia has already taken concrete steps on the issue, by establishing a Special National Committee on Reparations; and has aligned with the wider Caribbean to amplify the call for justice on regional and international platforms.

Caribbean countries that have consistently pressed for reparations include Barbados, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and The Bahamas. Together, these countries, through their national committees and the CARICOM Reparations Commission, have called for acknowledgement, formal apologies, reparative payments, and development support from former colonial powers.

Saint Lucia’s contribution at the UN General Assembly reinforces the Caribbean’s unified position that reparatory justice is not just a regional cause, but a global moral obligation.