- Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK Conservative Party, said Britain should have voted against the UN resolution on slavery reparations
- She criticised the UK government for abstaining, claiming the resolution demanded trillions of pounds from British taxpayers
- Ms Badenoch argued the UK should not pay reparations, noting Britain led the fight to end slavery
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK Conservative Party, has said Britain should have voted against the recent United Nations resolution describing slavery as the “greatest crime against humanity.”
She further noted that the UK should have called for reparations from former colonial powers.
Source: Getty Images
Badenoch, who is of Nigerian descent, criticised the UK government for abstaining, arguing that the resolution demanded trillions of pounds from British taxpayers.
In a post on X, she wrote:
“Russia, China, and Iran vote with others to demand trillions in reparations from UK taxpayers…and the Labour government abstain! Why didn’t Starmer’s representative vote against this? Ignorance…or cowardice?”
UN resolution calls for reparations fund
The UN General Assembly passed the resolution, introduced by Ghana, recognising the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity.
It called for the creation of a reparations fund to address the historic damage caused by the trade but did not specify the amount. Member states were also urged to consider issuing formal apologies.
The resolution was supported by 123 countries. Only three nations, Argentina, Israel, and the US, voted against it, while 52 countries, primarily European, abstained.
Britain, Portugal, and Spain, all former colonial powers, were among those who abstained. African nations, including Nigeria, voted in favour.
Read also
US and Israel refuse to condemn slavery as gravest crime against humanity in UN resolution
UK role in slavery debated
Badenoch argued that the UK should not be held liable for reparations, noting its historical role in abolishing the slave trade.
“Britain led the fight to end slavery. We shouldn’t be paying for a crime we helped eradicate and still fight today,” she said.
The transatlantic slave trade forcibly transported an estimated 15 million Africans between the 15th and 19th centuries, with many dying during the Middle Passage and countless survivors subjected to forced labour and systemic abuse.
Source: Getty Images
Personal background shapes perspective
Born in Wimbledon, South West London, in 1980, Badenoch lived in Lagos, Nigeria, and later in the US, where her mother worked as a physiology professor. She returned to the UK at 16 to complete her A-levels.
Ms Badenoch has previously made controversial comments about Nigeria, including rejecting her Nigerian identity and describing her experiences there as marked by corruption. She has referred to herself as “Yoruba, not Nigerian” and claimed she had “nothing in common with the people from the north of the country.”
Kemi Badenoch dissociates self from Nigeria
Previously, Legit.ng reported that Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, has said she no longer identifies as a Nigerian.
The Tory leader, who grew up in Lagos state, southwest Nigeria, said that she had not had a Nigerian passport for two decades.
Mrs Badenoch said that while she knew the country “very well” and had an interest in what happens there, she felt that her “home is where my now family is”.
Source: Legit.ng
