Introduction
In the past decade more and more countries and entities have apologized for the historical role they have played in the global slave trade. Recognition is an important step but there are growing calls for financial reparations as a next step. There is historical precedent for reparation for former slave owners (they were compensated for their lost “property”), but no large scale reparations for enslaved people or their descendants has ever occurred.
The question of modern day slavery reparations is a contentious issue. Few formerly enslaved people are alive and determining to which degree, if any, their descendants are eligible for monetary reparations is a complicated practical and ethical question. As is determining which persons, organisations or nations should pay such reparations. The committee should set practical guidelines and a framework for such reparation.