Colonial Reparations
Portuguese President Rebelo de Sousa Tuesday made a significant statement on the country’s imperial past, "the country needed to take responsibility for its actions as a coloniser, hinting at reparations."
“It’s not just saying sorry, which is undoubtedly due, for what we did because saying sorry is sometimes the easiest thing to do. You say sorry, turn your back, and the job is done. No, it is the assumption of responsibility for the future of the good and bad things we did in the past,” he said during a commemorative session of the 49th anniversary of the 25 April Revolution — an event that initiated the decolonisation of Portuguese colonies.
The question of reparations has been looming over Europe for a while now.
In 2021, Germany apologised to Namibia and offered to fund reconstruction projects in the African country, hoping for reconciliation.
Even the UK agreed to pay reparations to the victims of its crackdown on the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya, and
France committed to returning stolen artifacts. However, so far, these promises have mostly remained on paper, with little concrete action.
Last week, the UN High Commissioner for human rights pressed on the need for reparations and acknowledgment, calling for amends to be made over slavery and colonisation.
“On reparations, we must finally enter a new era. Governments must step up to show true leadership with genuine commitments to move swiftly from words to action that will adequately address the wrongs of the past,” he said.
September 2023 The US and Western European countries should pay reparations to Africa for the slave trade.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said this at the general political debate of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.
March 2024 MEPs have adopted a resolution calling on Russia to return to Romania its gold and cultural heritage objects handed over to the Russian Empire for safekeeping in 1916 - 1917.
"This is an unprecedented international case of misappropriation of gold and heritage objects, which is of constant concern to Romanian society," the MEPs said.
