Virtual Dialogue Cycle: A Latin American Perspective on Reparations

One of the central topics of debate at the Permanent Forum for People of African Descent has been that of Restorative Justice and Reparations for the descendants of the victims of the transatlantic enslaved trade. Various perspectives have been presented on this issue. Additionally, academics, community leaders, politicians, and social organizations, as well as other strategic actors, have joined the call demanding reparations for Afrodescendants and the African continent. It has been extensively argued that the realities of exclusion, poverty, erasure, and underdevelopment faced by Afrodescendants and Africans are directly related to the aftermath of the unacceptable, immoral, unjust, and despicable colonization and enslavement of millions of people over more than three centuries.

Perspectives from the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa have been central in the discussion about reparations for slavery, yet the voices, proposals, and analyses from Latin America have been much less visible and prominent.

In light of this, the Global Coalition Against Systemic Racism and for Reparations, in coordination with the Afrodescendant Institute for Study, Research, and Development and the Afro Women's Center, are conducting a Series of Dialogues on Reparations to consolidate the Latin American perspective.

These dialogues aim to contribute to the global debate on reparations, and highlight the perspective of various strategic actors in Latin America regarding reparations and restorative justice. The implementation of this first cycle of dialogues will provide insights into the main arguments in favour of reparations for descendants of enslaved Africans in Latin America and consolidate an interregional approach that can help advance strategies to overcome historical inequities resulting from slavery and structural racism in the region.