Reparations for slavery not a debate but test of credibility of international law

A maquette for a Hyde Park statue honouring enslaved Africans lost in the slave trade, pictured in London on August 18, 2008.

Photo credit: File | AFP


Reparations for the transatlantic slave trade are not a matter of debate but an outstanding legal obligation. This article argues that the modern global economy was built through slavery and continues to preserve the material advantages it produced, even as international law recognises the harm.