Britain helped eradicate transatlantic slavery, shouldn’t pay reparations – Kemi Badenoch
Britain helped eradicate transatlantic slavery, shouldn’t pay reparations – Kemi Badenoch
United Kingdom Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has opposed calls for the UK to pay reparations for its historical involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.
She argued that Britain played a pivotal role in ending the practice and should not be held financially accountable for a “crime we helped eradicate.”
Badenoch, in a Thursday post on her X handle, reacted to a United Nations General Assembly resolution adopted on Wednesday.
The non-binding resolution declared the trafficking of enslaved Africans and “racialised chattel enslavement” as “the gravest crime against humanity” due to its scale, brutality, and lasting consequences.
It urged member states to pursue “reparatory justice,” including apologies, restitution, compensation, and other measures to address historical wrongs.
The resolution, spearheaded by Ghana and supported by the African Union and CARICOM nations, passed with 123 votes in favour and three against — the United States, Israel, and Argentina.
The UK, along with 51 other countries, abstained from the vote, citing legal and diplomatic concerns.
Commenting on the resolution, Badenoch, who is of Nigerian descent, criticised the Prime Minister Keir Starmer-led Labour government for abstaining instead of voting against it.
She wrote, “Russia, China and Iran vote with others to demand trillions in reparations from UK taxpayers…and the Labour government abstain!
“Britain led the fight to end slavery. Why didn’t Starmer’s representative vote against this? Ignorance…or cowardice?
“We shouldn’t be paying for a crime we helped eradicate and still fight today.”
According to UN data, over 15 million men, women, and children were victims of the transatlantic slave trade.
Research by the UK’s Royal Museums Greenwich shows that 450,000 of the 3.4 million Africans transported on British ships died during the Atlantic crossing.
While the resolution does not impose legally binding financial obligations or specify amounts, it has amplified longstanding demands from some Caribbean and African nations for compensation.
