Burnham to Launch Commonwealth Slavery Talks and Debt Drive as 40% Spend More on Interest Than Health
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Oct 31
Burnham to Launch Commonwealth Slavery Talks and Debt Drive as 40% Spend More on Interest Than Health
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Oct 31
Summary
At next week’s CHOGM, Andy Burnham will propose a structured Commonwealth dialogue on the transatlantic slave trade, saying Britain must confront slavery’s legacy to strengthen the bloc’s future.
Burnham expressed sorrow and regret for the suffering of millions, said he is open to calls for a formal state apology, but rejected financial reparations as the wrong response to historical crimes.
More than 40% of the poorest and most vulnerable countries now spend more on interest payments than on health, with debt-servicing costs at their highest in over 25 years.
Gordon Brown will join Burnham, the chancellor and foreign secretary in a new debt initiative aimed at longer repayment periods and better rates, alongside broader Commonwealth work on climate, girls’ education and poverty.