The Governance Council of the United Nations University unanimously appointed Professor Sir Hilary Beckles as its honorary chairman/chancellor, effective May 2025. The announcement, made during a meeting in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 7, coincides with the university’s 50th anniversary, according to a Jan. 7 press release from the University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine.
Beckles, the vice chancellor of UWI, is renowned for his leadership in advocating for reparatory justice and addressing the historic role of institutions, including the Church of England, in the transatlantic slave trade. He described the appointment as a “signal honor” for UWI, enhancing the university’s global reputation.
In his honorary role, Beckles will provide leadership to the rector and council of the UN University, based in Tokyo, and guide its strategic direction. According to UWI, his mandate includes fostering confidence among international stakeholders, including United Nations leadership, faculty, private investors, and students.
Beckles brings extensive experience to the role, having served the UN in various senior capacities. These include consultant to the United Nations Development Report on Latin America and the Caribbean and vice president and historian for UNESCO’s Slave Routes Project. He has also addressed the UN General Assembly on reparatory justice.
The United Nations University has research and teaching institutes in multiple countries, and Beckles’ appointment strengthens its ties to global higher education and development initiatives.
Beckles also chairs the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC), formed in 2013 by Caribbean leaders to seek reparations for the transatlantic slave trade. In a June 2020 interview with Al Jazeera, he criticized institutions such as the Church of England and British financial entities for their limited responses to reparations.
“These institutions need to come back to the site of their enrichment and participate in the legacy,” Beckles said in a UWI press release at the time. “This is not unreasonable. It is moral and just and the kind of standard management thinking one would expect in the 21st century.”
He further rejected public apologies as insufficient: “To issue statements of regret and apology from a distance as a public relations exercise… in public spectacle is unacceptable and absolutely rejected by the people in the Caribbean. What they are asking for is dialogue, negotiation and participation in a system of economic development that will help these societies to move forward.”
Under Beckles’ leadership, the CRC developed a 10-point Plan for Reparatory Justice, outlining measures for addressing the legacy of slavery. The plan includes calls for a formal apology, indigenous peoples’ development programs, funding for repatriation to Africa, establishment of cultural institutions, return of cultural heritage, assistance in public health, education programs, historical and cultural knowledge exchange, psychological rehabilitation, access to technology for development, debt cancellation, and monetary compensation.
Beckles’ appointment to the United Nations University underscores his commitment to advancing global education and justice, further solidifying the Caribbean’s voice in international discussions on development and reparatory justice.