Commonwealth Games Federation should establish a Reparations Fund to assist with funding for sport development of Commonwealth sport in the Caribbean.
This is the call from former Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee and Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) president Brian Lewis.
Below, Lewis makes out his case for a reparations fund.
In 1911, The Festival of Empire competition was arranged to celebrate the Coronation of King George V. In October 1891, John Astley Cooper suggested a festival to foster goodwill and understanding in the British Empire. From 1930 to 1950, the Games were called the British Empire Games. The name was changed to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games until 1962. From 1966 to 1974, it was the British Commonwealth Games. In 1978, the Games was re-branded as the Commonwealth Games.
March 25 is the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The International Decade of People of African Descent (2015- 2024) was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in a resolution (68/237) adopted on December 23, 2013.
The theme of the International Decade of People of African Descent is: Recognition, Justice and Development. We are into the final year of the decade.
Slavery, an affront to, and a crime against humanity is the foundation for the enrichment and generational wealth of slave and plantation owners and their descendants.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (The CGF), the umbrella organisation that leads the Commonwealth Sport Movement, should be in front of the dialogue about redressing the legacies of empire, imperialism, colonialism and slavery.
Surrounded by the power and wealth of those who benefited from chattel slavery, the resistance of European governments and organisations to put reparation on their agenda is unwavering. European slavery investors became and remain the political and economic élites.
The system and institutions built on the foundation of the brutality and inhumanity of the transatlantic slave trade are large and in charge.
The complex web built by colonialism, slavery and empire is widespread. The inhumanity and brutality of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade destroyed millions of lives and generations.
The Commonwealth Games is a symbol and legacy of British Empire colonialism. The historical truth of the Commonwealth Games sport-washing history is an irrefutable stain on the Commonwealth Games Federation (The CGF).
The CGF has control and responsibility for the Commonwealth Games. To atone and move past its incontrovertible history, The CGF must be in the vanguard of unpacking, unburdening and unlearning the legacies of slavery, colonialism and empire.
According to the United Nations, the International Decade will provide an opportunity to recognise the significant contribution made by people of African descent to our societies and to propose concrete measures to promote their full inclusion and to combat all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
The International Decade’s theme, “People of African Descent: Recognition, Justice and Development,” consists of three goals, which align with the theme. They include the following:
Recognition: To promote a greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies.”
Justice: To adopt and strengthen national, regional and international legal frameworks in accordance with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and to ensure their full and effective implementation.
Development: To strengthen national, regional and international action and cooperation in relation to the full enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights by people of African descent, and their full and equal participation in all aspects of society.
These goals must continue to be pursued and a Reparations Fund would be a necessary step in the right direction.
