BIG launches global petition for recognition, reparations of colonial injustices

A statement by Abbas Abbasov, Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group (BIG), has been published on the official website of the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, underscoring the group’s stance on historical colonial injustices.

Speaking at the Fourth Session of the Forum, Abbasov highlighted the enduring consequences of colonialism and slavery, saying, “The damage caused by colonialism and slavery lives on today in the forms of deep cultural, social, and psychological wounds, racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance, economic inequality, and social injustice."

The website also features statements from representatives of French overseas territories, including members of the International Decolonization Front — an organisation supported by BIG, Caliber.Az reports.

In connection with the Forum, BIG has launched a global petition titled “Recognize historical colonial oppression and provide adequate reparations.” The petition follows the international conference “Decolonization: The Silent Revolution,” organised by BIG at the UN Headquarters on April 15.

The petition calls on the international community to formally recognise the historical injustices of colonialism — including exploitation, slavery, ethnic discrimination, and socio-economic disruption — and to provide adequate reparations. It emphasises the need for official apologies, financial compensation, debt cancellation, cultural restoration, and legal reforms.

Citing continued inequality in former colonies, the document references territories such as Kanaky (New Caledonia), Maohi Nui (French Polynesia), Guadeloupe, Wallis and Futuna, Martinique, French Guiana, Saint-Martin, Bonaire, Reunion, and Mayotte as regions still grappling with the legacy of imperial rule.

Quoting Frantz Fanon, the petition states, “Colonialism and imperialism have not settled their debt to us once they have withdrawn from our territories.”

The petition also points to legal grounds for reparations, referencing instruments such as UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV), the Rome Statute (Article 75), and European Court of Human Rights precedents. Advocates argue that the demand for reparations is not only moral but a legal obligation under international law.

“These demands go beyond compensation—they are about dismantling the enduring structures of oppression and creating a fairer international system,” the petition reads.

By Sabina Mammadli