A UN report calling on countries to consider financial reparations for transatlantic slavery has been hailed as a significant step forward by campaigners.

The report by the UN secretary general, António Guterres, said no country had comprehensively accounted for the past and addressed the legacy of the mass enslavement of people of African descent for more than 400 years. 

“Under international human rights law, compensation for any economically assessable damage, as appropriate and proportional to the gravity of the violation and the circumstances of each case, may also constitute a form of reparations,” the report said.

“In the context of historical wrongs and harms suffered as a result of colonialism and enslavement, the assessment of the economic damage can be extremely difficult owing to the length of time passed and the difficulty of identifying the perpetrators and victims.”

The report stressed, however, that the difficulty in making a legal claim to compensation “cannot be the basis for nullifying the existence of underlying legal obligations”.

Campaigners have described the report as an important step forward in the fight for reparative justice.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the Labour MP and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Afrikan reparations, said: “This is a hugely significant step for the international reparations movement. For decades, grassroots organisations have fought for this level of recognition for their claim. 

“Those who were enslaved were not in a position to push for reparations, but their descendants who continue to suffer the impact of African chattel slavery are.”

She added: “UK civil society organisations are coming together in Black History Month to discuss this more widely as the all-party parliamentary group on Afrikan reparations hosts its inaugural conference – Charting a Pathway to Reparations.”

Michael McEachrane, a researcher and member of the UN permanent forum on people of African descent, agreed the report was “a huge step forward”, but added it came amid significant recent activity on the international stage.

McEachrane said: “There seems to be a big emphasis on reparations as a matter of financial compensation [in the report]. Various initiatives at the UN level, including the Caricom call for reparatory justice, moves way beyond a conception of reparations as a matter of financial compensation.

“There is no financial compensation for 500 years of enslavement and colonialism, and what most of us are calling for is a systemic and structural transformation.”

A recent report by the UN permanent forum on people of African descent, which was sent to the human rights council and general assembly, also called for reparative justice.

McEachrane said: “To address the lasting consequences of these histories – in terms of inequities, structural and systemic injustices, lack of equal enjoyment of human dignity and rights – that will include financing, but the point is not the financial compensation, but the structural and systemic transformation.”

The secretary general’s report concluded that states should consider a “plurality of measures” to address the legacies of enslavement and colonialism, including pursuing justice and reparations, and contributing to reconciliation.

A leading UN judge stated recently that the UK would no longer be able to ignore the growing calls for reparation for transatlantic slavery.

In April the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, refused to apologise for the UK’s role in the slave trade or to commit to paying reparations.

Judge Patrick Robinson, who presided over the trial of the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević, said the international tide on slavery reparations was shifting and called on the UK to change its stance.

Robinson said: “I believe that the UK will not be able to resist this movement towards the payment of reparations: it is required by history and it is required by law.” 

During this year’s Nane Nane event in Mbeya, the United States government and the United Republic of Tanzania announced USAID’s new food security activity Tuhifadhi Chakula (“Let’s Save Food”), a five-year, $24 million initiative to be implemented by the Tanzania Horticulture Association in partnership with the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) Center.

By targeting and reducing food loss and waste, the USAID Tuhifadhi Chakula project will increase food security, improve livelihoods, increase employment, and generate export opportunities for Tanzania – especially among women and youth.

In Tanzania, 40-50 percent of crops are lost between the field and the end market. USAID’s Tuhifadhi Chakula project will work with farmers, traders, processors, and other actors in the value chain to cut food loss and waste in half.  The project was designed in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and aligns with its National Post-Harvest Management Strategy.  The project will initially operate in the Arusha, Mbeya, Morogoro, Njombe, Pwani, Tanga, and Zanzibar regions of Tanzania.

“Today, we celebrate Tanzania’s significant strides in the agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors,” said USAID/Tanzania Mission Director Craig Hart speaking during the Nane Nane event in Mbeya.“Kilimo ni uti wa mgongo and together with determination and perseverance, we can navigate the pathway to a more promising and sustainable future.”

While in Mbeya, Mission Director Hart visited the sites of several on-going USAID Feed the Future Projects, including Kilimo Tija (“Productive Agriculture”), the Private Sector Strengthening Activity, and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa activities. Together, these activities are focusing on agriculture-led growth by strengthening the private sector; promoting improved technologies, practices, and inputs; bolstering horticulture, and facilitating value addition.

Recently, Tanzania received a renewed designation as a Feed the Future focus country. During her June visit to the country, USAID Administrator Samantha Power reaffirmed the robust partnership between the United States and Tanzania concerning food security and nutrition, poverty reduction, and agricultural growth. Craig Hart, the newly-appointed USAID/Tanzania Mission Director, also expressed his appreciation for the long-standing and fruitful relationship between USAID and Tanzania during a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Hussein Bashe and at the Nane Nane event in Mbeya. By Bob Koigi, African Business Community 

The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has condemned the attacks on journalists who were covering a security operation at an illegal alcohol brewing den in Matungulu, Machakos County on Monday.

The journalists, Mike Ndunda from Kamba TV, Richard Muasya from Athiani FM and Boniface Mutisya from Mutongoi TV, had been invited by the local chief Francis Mulinge to cover the raid in Katine area.However, they were attacked by a group of individuals as they recorded the operation.

The MCK said that the attacks violated the journalists’ basic human rights and undermined the principles of free speech and open discourse that are vital for a democratic society. 

“Freedom of the press is a fundamental pillar of a democratic society, and journalists play a crucial role in keeping the public informed by highlighting societal evils. It is essential that journalists can carry out their work without fear of violence or intimidation,” MCK CEO David Omwoyo said in a press statement on Tuesday, September 19.

Omwoyo urged the law enforcement authorities to take swift and decisive action to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the attacks, which it said were crimes against the journalists’ rights and privileges protected by law under the Constitution and the Media Council Act, 2013.

“Protecting the safety and freedom of journalists is a shared responsibility, and we must all work together to ensure that they can continue to do their vital work without fear of violence or reprisal,” said Omwoyo. 

He encouraged anyone aggrieved by the media to report any complaints to the Complaints Commission, which is legally mandated to mediate on the same, instead of taking the law into their own hands. By David Njaaga, The Standard