British King Charles III arrived on Wednesday on a historic state visit to Samoa where, as head of the Commonwealth, he will attend CHOGM, the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
This is the first CHOGM meeting in the Pacific Islands region and the first to be attended by a British King.
Three thousand delegates gathered in the capital Apia this week, with climate change dominating their agenda and the theme being “One Common Sustainable Future: Transforming our Common Wealth.”
Commonwealth leaders will also finalise the landmark Oceans Declaration, which “aims to accelerate initiatives to build a healthy, sustainable and resilient ocean.”
In the Polynesian nation of 220,000 people, halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, frantic preparations were underway for the meeting between the king and CHOGM leaders.
Charles III and Queen Camilla flew in from Australia after a short official visit that was marked by a protest from an Aboriginal parliamentarian who said, “That’s not my king.” As head of the Commonwealth, the King, accompanied by the Queen, will attend the CHOGM opening ceremony on Friday and host a dinner for Commonwealth leaders.
He will also host a reception for the new heads of government and attend the CHOGM business forum on sustainable urbanisation and investing in climate change solutions.
In addition to Charles III, CHOGM will be attended by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and leaders and officials from 56 countries with roots in the former British Empire.
Some members raised the issue of reparations for the historic transatlantic slave trade at the meeting. A Starmer spokesman told Reuters that Britain was open to talking to leaders who wanted to discuss the issue.
The issue of reparations
The Daily Mail reported earlier that a group of 15 Caribbean countries intend to raise the reparations issue at a Commonwealth leaders’ meeting in Samoa. According to sources, these countries are demanding that Britain pay reparations worth at least £206bn ($270bn) in response to the effects of the slave trade.
A 2023 report by US consultancy Brattle Group said more than 30 countries could claim reparations from Western nations for the transatlantic slave trade. According to the report, which was co-authored by UN International Court of Justice judge Patrick Robinson, Britain should pay $24 trillion in reparations, of which Jamaica could receive $9.6 trillion.
In recent years, Caribbean nations have been increasingly pressing Britain to pay reparations for the historic slave trade, which was active in the 17th and 18th centuries. In June 2022, the then heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, at the Commonwealth summit in Rwanda, acknowledged the errors of colonial policy, but avoided an open apology to the inhabitants of the former colonies. The British press states that Buckingham Palace is making efforts to stay out of the debate on reparations for historical slavery.
