We want to note that Africa is not a poor continent; instead, it has been impoverished by  slavery, colonialism and corruption. This impoverishment continues to burden our continent  today, in part because of various governments’ ongoing economic policies that put profit before people, discriminate against African people and other people of colour, support unfair trade policies that maintain ‘global-economic Apartheid’, and much more. It is time to right these wrongs. We have chosen not to come up with our definition of reparations, and to instead allow individuals, communities and countries to define what reparations mean to them based on their historical context and lived realities. We recognise that for some countries, reparations may mean financial compensation for atrocities and exploitation in the hands of former slave-traders or colonial powers. For others it may mean repairing structural injustices that are a result or continuation of historical injustices. For some communities, reparations could mean the return of stolen properties, artefacts, cultural or spiritual items. For Africa’s small-holder farmers, it could mean environmental repair, self-determination and sustainability. 

In the immediate short term, we ask that governments write off debts owed by all African countries, given that the ongoing economic challenges have been made even more devastating by the COVID-19 pandemic.