Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee (PMSC) on Reparations

The Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee (PMSC) on Reparations is a high-level governance body of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) tasked with steering the Region's official campaign for reparatory justice. Chaired by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, it directs the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) in seeking compensation from European nations for the transatlantic slave trade and native genocide.  

Core Responsibilities and Focus 

• Policy Oversight: The PMSC oversees the implementation of the CARICOM Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice, which outlines the Region's demands for a formal apology, indigenous development programmes, debt cancellation, and reparations.  
• Strategic Directives: The Sub-committee reviews and updates the Ten-Point Plan and determines priorities for global engagements, including the United Nations and other international forums.  
• Diplomatic Engagement: The PMSC favours a "diplomacy of engagement" over protest, holding formal dialogues and negotiating with European governments and institutions.  

Structural Composition 

The sub-committee comprises a select group of Caribbean Heads of Government to ensure high-level political backing. In addition to the Chair (Prime Minister of Barbados), the Committee's makeup historically and actively includes: 

• The Chair of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government 
• The Heads of Government of Guyana 
• The Heads of Government of Haiti 
• The Heads of Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines 
• The Heads of Government of Suriname  

• Initiation: The PMSC was formed in July 2013 following a formal proposal by St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves. 
• Global Push: The PMSC actively pushes the international community to recognise the legacies of these historical systems. 
• International Milestones: The sub-committee continues to push forward the agenda following major victories, such as the UN General Assembly adopting a historic resolution classifying the trafficking of enslaved Africans as a crime against humanity.