July 18 (Reuters) - The European Union (EU) said on Tuesday that Europe's slave-trading past inflicted "untold suffering" on millions of people and hinted at the need for reparations for what it described as a "crime against humanity".
The idea of paying reparations or making other amends for slavery has a long history but the movement is gaining momentum worldwide.
EU and CELAC agreed on one paragraph that acknowledged and "profoundly" regretted the "untold suffering inflicted on millions of men, women and children as a result of the transatlantic slave trade".
It said slavery and the transatlantic slave trade were "appalling tragedies ... not only because of their abhorrent barbarism but also in terms of their magnitude".
The CARICOM reparations commission "sees the persistent racial victimisation of the descendants of slavery and genocide as the root cause of their suffering today", the plan said.
Persons:
Ralph Gonsalves, Saint Vincent, CELAC's, CELAC, Dutch King Willem, Alexander, King Charles, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Catarina Demony, Belen Carreno, Andrew Gray, Grant McCool
Organizations:
European Union, EU, of, Caribbean, Caribbean Community, Thomson
Locations:
Portugal, Brazil, Caribbean States, Brussels, Grenadines, Dutch, Netherlands