June 27, 2025
Jamaica continues its fight for reparations with new calls for King Charles to take the conversation to UK’s Privy Council.
The country of Jamaica is taking its fight for reparations to King Charles in hopes that he’ll present the case to the UK’s Privy Council.
During a June 24 meeting, the Jamaican parliament announced plans to petition King Charles to seek legal guidance from the London-based Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on the matter of slavery reparations, Reuters reported. The Council, which acts as the top court of appeal for UK overseas territories and several Commonwealth nations, can review matters referred by King Charles, who, under the Judicial Committee Act of 1833, remains Jamaica’s head of state despite its independence from Britain in 1962.
“We will be submitting a petition to His Majesty King Charles III to refer to the Privy Council a set of questions that we want answered within his current position as head of state of Jamaica,” said Jamaica’s culture minister, Olivia Grange.
During the Atlantic slave trade, hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans were brought to Jamaica, shaping the country’s majority-Black population. Today, many live in poverty, alongside a smaller mixed-race community and a small, affluent white population.
Scholars and advocates argue that the legacy of slavery left a stain on the country that’s evident through present-day inequalities. While calls for reparations have long persisted, Jamaica’s latest appeal to King Charles is aimed at keeping the issue in the public eye. However, the topic remains controversial, with many European leaders choosing to ignore the conversation altogether.
Grange stated that the Jamaican government is asking the council to determine whether the forced transport and enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was legal at the time, and whether it qualifies as a crime against humanity. The government is also urging the council to consider whether Britain has a responsibility to provide reparations to Jamaica for the injustices of slavery and its lasting effects still felt today.
This latest effort follows a bill introduced by Jamaica’s government in December to remove King Charles as head of state. While the King expressed deep sorrow over slavery in a 2022 speech to Commonwealth leaders, Britain, like other former colonial powers, has continued to reject calls for reparations.
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