Jamaica to highlight slavery reparations petition to King Charles

The Jamaican government will highlight to King Charles a petition over slavery reparations on Monday, the country's culture minister Olivia Grange has said.

It will ask the King, who serves as Jamaica's head of state, to refer three questions to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the country's highest court, over the legality of the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica.

Grange said it could pave the way for a "long outstanding settlement for the hundreds of years of the most horrific abuse that our African ancestors endured".

She will also meet with British Museum officials to discuss the repatriation of artefacts taken during the colonial era.

The three questions which the Jamaican government is asking the King to refer to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) are: whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was legal under English law, whether it broke international law, and whether Britain now has a legal duty to provide redress.

The petition, which is not a demand for payment, goes to the King who then refers it to the JCPC.

King Charles has no personal discretion in deciding whether to make a referral.

Grange said: "Once we get the answers, or once we get a response to those questions, then the next steps will be determined."

Buckingham Palace has been working closely with the Governor General of Jamaica to ensure the petition is correctly lodged.

A Palace spokesperson said: "His Majesty has on many occasions expressed his personal and wholehearted commitment to promoting greater understanding around the issue of slavery and finding ways to address historic wrongs for the benefit of communities today."