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The UK has signed up to “structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith” talks that address the “historical harms” of the transatlantic slave trade, Commonwealth leaders in Antigua have said.<\/b><\/p>\n
The formal conclusions marking the end of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, known as the communique, is the joint text setting out what has been agreed.<\/p>\n
The 18 page document includes a paragraph in which the leaders “welcome the agreement of the Government of the United Kingdom to engage in a structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith dialogue with affected parties addressing the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and its historical harms”.<\/p>\n
It comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham opened the door to a formal apology on behalf of the UK for its role in the slave trade, while ruling out the prospect of reparations.<\/p>\n
Officials said the timeframe for the talks would be agreed at a later date, though the Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has suggested they are likely to conclude in around a year.<\/p>\n
Asked whether the government might reach the point of a formal apology by the time it hosts the G20 leaders’ summit in Manchester next November, Miliband told BBC Newscast: “Broadly speaking, yes.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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