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Former St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister and current Opposition Leader joins growing Africa-Caribbean push for coordinated international action on reparations

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent and the Grenadines — Former Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph E. Gonsalves, has been invited by the Government of Ghana to serve on a new high-level global body aimed at advancing the international reparatory justice agenda.

The invitation was announced by The Repair Campaign, where Dr. Gonsalves serves as Senior Advisor/Elder, and follows his participation in the High-Level Consultative Conference on Reparatory Justice held in Accra, Ghana, in June 2026.

Ghana hosted the conference as part of efforts to move the reparations discussion from advocacy and historical recognition towards coordinated international policy and action. The gathering followed the March 25, 2026 adoption of United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/80/250, which received the support of 123 UN member states.

According to The Repair Campaign, Dr. Gonsalves has now been invited to serve as a member of the Global Advisory Council on Reparatory Justice, where he is expected to contribute political experience, Caribbean perspectives and decades of advocacy on the issue.

Gonsalves said he accepted the invitation with “a deep sense of honour and purpose,” describing it as an opportunity to build on growing international momentum and take the reparatory justice movement beyond CARICOM.

“I look forward to working with the Government of Ghana, fellow Council members and other stakeholders to advance a coordinated global agenda for justice and repair,” he said.

Ghana had announced during the June conference the establishment of several global mechanisms intended to advance reparatory justice, including a high-level advisory body of heads of government, eminent leaders and other public figures tasked with providing strategic guidance.

The wider initiative is expected to strengthen cooperation between Africa, the Caribbean, the wider African diaspora and international partner institutions, while developing a more coordinated approach to questions surrounding acknowledgement, restitution, development, cultural restoration and other forms of repair.

Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, reportedly highlighted Gonsalves’ “distinguished statesmanship, longstanding contribution to Caribbean integration and unwavering advocacy for reparatory justice” in extending the invitation.

Ghana has emerged as one of the leading international voices pushing for stronger global engagement on reparations. Foreign Ministry officials have described the March UN resolution as a major diplomatic milestone acknowledging both the historical injustices associated with the trafficking and enslavement of Africans and their continuing consequences.

The Accra conference subsequently adopted what became known as the “Accra Next Steps Commitments on Reparatory Justice,” outlining a broader framework for moving the international movement towards practical implementation. The process has brought together African governments, CARICOM interests, scholars, civil society organisations and members of the global African diaspora.

Gonsalves brings decades of political and regional experience to the initiative.

He served as Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines from 2001 to 2025 and currently serves as Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary representative for North Central Windward, according to the official House of Assembly listing.

Throughout his political career, Gonsalves has been one of the Caribbean’s most persistent advocates for reparatory justice arising from the transatlantic trafficking and enslavement of Africans, colonial exploitation and the historical treatment of Indigenous peoples.

His 2015 book, The Case for Caribbean Reparatory Justice, brought together speeches and writings reflecting his arguments for a sustained regional and international movement.

The Repair Campaign said other prominent Caribbean leaders invited to participate in the global initiative include Jamaican Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley.

Mottley was among the regional voices addressing the June Accra gathering, where she called for a stronger and more unified Africa-Caribbean approach to the reparatory justice movement.

For the Caribbean, Gonsalves’ appointment represents another potentially influential voice at a time when the reparations movement is increasingly being positioned as an international diplomatic and development issue rather than solely a regional campaign.

And Ghana appears determined to keep that momentum moving.

The West African nation has continued calling for an evidence-based and internationally coordinated agenda involving Africa, the diaspora and global partners, with discussions extending to areas including restitution, formal acknowledgement, rehabilitation, cultural restoration and development.

TIMES CARIBBEAN