Colombia's VP calls on former colonial powers to confront past as UN forum opens

15/4/2025 6:16

Colombia's Vice President Francia Marquez, an advocate of slavery reparations, urged former colonial powers to take responsibility for their past wrongs and

called for a global reparations fund, at a United Nations forum on Monday.



In her opening speech at the fourth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) in New York, Marquez said the fund would be used to help eradicate legacies of slavery and colonialism, without providing further details.



"Colonial states, states that fostered... that form of domination based on the definition of race have to assume the responsibility of restoring the human dignity of people of African descent," Marquez earlier told Reuters in an interview.



While the issue of reparations has gained momentum worldwide, from Africa to the Caribbean, so has the backlash. Many of Europe's leaders have opposed even talking about reparations.