UK’s £18tn slavery debt is an underestimation, UN judge says

A UN justice says the UK is apt to beryllium much than £18tn successful reparations for its historical relation successful transatlantic slavery.

A study co-authored by the judge, Patrick Robinson, says the UK should wage $24tn (£18.8tn) for its slavery engagement successful 14 countries.

But Mr Robinson said the sum was an "underestimation" of the harm caused by the enslaved trade.

He said helium was amazed immoderate countries liable for slavery deliberation they tin "bury their heads successful the sand".

"Once a authorities has committed a wrongful act, it's obliged to wage reparations," said Mr Robinson, who presided implicit the proceedings of Slobodan Milosevic, the erstwhile Yugoslav president.

Mr Robinson spoke to the BBC up of his keynote code astatine an lawsuit to people Unesco's Day for Remembering the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Abolition astatine London's City Hall connected Wednesday.

He's been a subordinate of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) since 2015 and has been researching reparations arsenic portion of his honorary presidency of the American Society of International Law.

He brought unneurotic a radical of economists, lawyers and historians to nutrient the Brattle Group Report connected Reparations for Transatlantic Chattel Slavery.

The report, which was released successful June, is seen arsenic 1 of the astir broad attempts yet to enactment figures connected the harms caused by slavery, and cipher the reparations owed by each country.

In total, the reparations to beryllium paid by 31 erstwhile slaveholding states - including Spain, the United States and France - magnitude to $107.8tn (£87.1tn), the study calculates.

The valuation is based connected an appraisal of 5 harms caused by slavery and the wealthiness accumulated by countries progressive successful the trade. The study sets retired decades-long outgo plans but says it is up to governments to negociate what sums are paid and how.

In his code astatine the London mayor's office, Mr Robinson said reparations were "necessary for the completion of emancipation".

He said the "high figures" successful the Brattle Report "constitute a clear, unvarnished connection of the grossness" of slavery.

In his ain speech, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the transatlantic enslaved commercialized "remains the astir degrading and prolonged enactment of quality exploitation ever committed".

"There should beryllium nary uncertainty oregon denial of the standard of Britain's engagement successful this depraved experiment," Mr Khan said.

The Brattle Report has generated involvement wrong the reparations movement, but the governments implicated are highly improbable to judge its recommendations.

Caribbean countries person sought slavery reparations from these governments for years with constricted success.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dismissed calls for the UK authorities to apologise and wage reparations for its relation successful slavery.

British authorities and the monarchy were participants successful the trade, which saw millions of Africans enslaved and forced to work, particularly connected plantations successful the Caribbean, betwixt the 16th and 19th centuries.

Britain besides had a cardinal relation successful ending the commercialized done Parliament's transition of a instrumentality to abolish slavery successful 1833.

The British authorities has ne'er formally apologised for slavery oregon offered to wage reparations.

When asked if helium thought Mr Sunak would instrumentality the Brattle Report seriously, Mr Robinson said: "I surely anticipation helium will."

Mr Robinson said helium hoped Mr Sunak would alteration his sentiment connected reparations and urged him to work the Brattle Report.

But helium added: "For me, it goes beyond what the authorities and the governmental parties want.

"Of people they should acceptable the tone. But I would similar to spot the radical of the United Kingdom progressive successful this workout arsenic a whole."

When asked if the £18.8tn fig could beryllium excessively little, Mr Robinson said: "You request to carnivore successful caput that these precocious figures, arsenic precocious arsenic they look to be, bespeak an underestimation of the world of the harm caused by transatlantic chattel slavery. That's a remark that cannot beryllium ignored."

He said the sums successful the study "accurately bespeak the enormity of the harm origin by slavery".

He said: "It amazes maine that countries could think, successful this time and age, erstwhile the consequences of that signifier are wide for everyone to see, that they tin hide their heads successful the sand, and it doesn't interest them. It's arsenic though they are successful a benignant of la la land."

As to however reparations could beryllium achieved, Mr Robinson said that was up the governments to decide.

"I judge a diplomatic solution recommends itself," helium said. "I don't regularisation retired a tribunal attack arsenic well."

The ineligible presumption of reparations demands by states is highly contested.

Representatives of Caribbean states person antecedently stated their volition to bring the contented to the ICJ, but nary enactment has been taken.

Reparations are broadly recognised arsenic compensation fixed for thing that was deemed incorrect oregon unfair, and tin instrumentality the galore forms.

In caller years, Caribbean leaders, activists and the descendants of enslaved owners person been putting Western authorities nether expanding unit to prosecute with the reparations movement.

Some of the descendants of enslaved owners - specified arsenic erstwhile BBC writer Laura Trevelyan, and the household of 19th Century Prime Minister William Gladstone - person attempted to marque amends.

In effect to the BBC's petition for comment, the UK authorities pointed to comments made by Foreign Minister David Rutley successful Parliament earlier this year.

He said: "We admit the relation of British authorities successful enabling the enslaved commercialized for galore years earlier being the archetypal planetary unit to thrust the extremity of the enslaved commercialized successful the British empire."

He said the authorities believes "the astir effectual mode for the UK to respond to the cruelty of the past is to guarantee that existent and aboriginal generations bash not hide what happened, that we code racism, and that we proceed to enactment unneurotic to tackle today's challenges".