UK’s £18tn slavery debt an underestimation - UN Judge

 The UK is likely to owe more than £18 trillion in reparations for its historical involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, according to a United Nations court.

The UK should pay $24tn (£18.8tn), according to a report co-authored by the judge Patrick Robinson, for its involvement in slavery in fourteen different countries.

According to Robinson he was amazed that some slave-owning nations believe they can "bury their heads in the sand" and that the amount was a "underestimation" of the harm the slave trade has caused.

UK’s £18tn slavery debt is an underestimation, UN judge says https://t.co/vvTgVYCnbc

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 “Once a state has committed a wrongful act, it’s obliged to pay reparations,” said Mr Robinson, who presided over the trial of Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav president.

As part of his honorary chair of the American Society of International Law, Mr. Robinson, a member of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) since 2015, has been studying reparations.

To create the Brattle Group Report on Reparations for Transatlantic Chattel Slavery, he gathered a team of economists, attorneys, and historians.

The analysis estimates that 31 former slave-holding states, including Spain, the United States, and France, must collectively pay reparations totaling $107.8 trillion (£87.1 trillion).

The estimation is based on an evaluation of the five negative effects of slavery and the financial gains made by participating nations. The study lays out long-term payment schedules but asserts that it is up to the governments to decide what amounts are paid and how.

Robinson stated that reparations were "necessary for the completion of emancipation" in his statement at the London mayor's office.

The "high figures" in the Brattle Report, according to him, "constitute a clear, unvarnished statement of the grossness" of slavery, he claimed.

The transatlantic slave trade, according to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, "remains the most degrading and pervasive act of human exploitation ever committed."

“There should be no doubt or denial of the scale of Britain’s involvement in this depraved experiment,” Mr Khan said.

 Carribean and African Countries both have sought reparations from the West for years without any headway.

For me, it goes beyond what the government and the political parties want. Khan added

“Of course they should set the tone. But I would like to see the people of the United Kingdom involved in this exercise as a whole.

 Mr. Robinson responded to the question of whether the £18.8 trillion figure might be too low by saying, "You need to keep in mind that these high estimates, as high as they appear to be, indicate an underestimating of the reality of the damage caused by transatlantic chattel slavery. That statement must be taken seriously.

He claimed that the figures in the report "truly reflect the magnitude of the harm done by slavery."

It amazes me that countries could think, in this day and age, when the consequences of that practice are clear for everyone to see, that they can bury their heads in the sand, and it doesn’t concern them. It’s as though they are in a kind of la la land.” he said