CARICOM Reparations Conference 2026 and Shashamane

In September 2026, Caribbean governments met in Barbados to turn reparatory justice into action. What it means for repatriation and Shashamane.

From September 17 to 19, 2026, Caribbean governments, scholars and civil society met in Barbados to turn the call for reparatory justice into a plan of action. One proposal on the table led straight to Shashamane, the land granted to our Federation in 1948.

The Third CARICOM Regional Conference on Reparations was hosted by the CARICOM Reparations Commission, the Government of Barbados and the CARICOM Secretariat. Its theme, "Reparatory Justice as the Coming Enlightenment", set the tone for three days of work at Sam Lord's Castle in Saint Philip.

The conference came six months after a historic vote. On March 25, 2026, the United Nations General Assembly described the trafficking and racialized chattel enslavement of Africans as "the gravest crime against humanity". For the first time in more than a decade, the region gathered to decide what should follow such words.

A plan, not only a principle

CARICOM relaunched its expanded Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice, adopted by Heads of Government in July 2026. Its priorities include public health, education, psychological rehabilitation, cultural development, debt cancellation and compensation. The conference was also expected to adopt a 2027–2031 Action Plan with measurable targets.

"These are the crimes against humanity that we can never forget," said Dr. Carla Barnett, Secretary-General of CARICOM, at the opening. She described reparations as being "about recognition, accountability and transformation". Twelve Member States now have a national reparations commission or committee.

Return to Africa, back on the agenda

For members of our Federation, one proposal deserves particular attention. Rastafari representatives presented a Jamaica–Ethiopia pilot program to help Caribbean people who wish to resettle in Africa. It would connect them with the established community in Shashamane, Ethiopia.

The proposal asks for a joint CARICOM–African Union working group, a technical review within 90 days and a 12-month planning phase before any relocation. Its authors want the pilot included in the 2027–2031 Action Plan.

Shashamane is part of our own story. In 1948, Emperor Haile Selassie I granted land there to The Ethiopian World Federation, Incorporated for people of the diaspora who wished to return. Seventy-eight years later, the idea that inspired that grant is being discussed at the level of governments.

What comes next

The coming months will show whether the pilot moves forward and how the new Action Plan is put into practice. We will follow both closely and share what we learn in the Journal.

In the meantime, the conversation belongs to all of us. Talk about it at your next Local meeting. And join us on December 1 for Pledge Day, when the Federation gathers online to renew its commitment to Unity, Solidarity, Liberty, Freedom and Self-Determination.

*Sources: Official conference website · CARICOM — From Resolution to Action · Voice Online, Sept. 22, 2026 · Barbados Today, Sept. 17, 2026*