CHOGM 2025: A Reckoning in the Caribbean

 


Antigua and Barbuda hosts a summit of contradictions, courage, and calls for change

Republicanism: The Quiet Exodus

The Commonwealth realms — 15 nations where King Charles III remains Head of State — are shrinking. Since Barbados became a republic in 2021, momentum has grown:

  • Jamaica: Referendum expected in 2025–26

  • Belize, Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis: Constitutional reviews underway

  • Solomon Islands: Debates reignited post-election

“We are moving on,” said Jamaica’s PM Andrew Holness in 2022. The monarchy’s symbolic role is increasingly seen as anachronistic, especially in nations grappling with colonial legacies.

Slavery Reparations: From Rhetoric to Legal Action

The Caricom Reparations Commission and civil society groups are intensifying pressure:

  • Jamaica submitted a petition to King Charles III asking the Privy Council to rule on Britain’s legal obligations for slavery-era harms

  • CHOGM 2024 in Samoa acknowledged calls for reparatory justice; CHOGM 2025 may go further

  • UK institutions like the Church of England and University of Glasgow have pledged funds, but critics call them insufficient

A UN judge estimated the UK may owe £18 trillion in reparations to Caribbean nations: 5x UK 21C annual GDP - yet no Treasury forecasts?

Hurricanes & Climate Resilience

The Caribbean faces existential threats from climate change:

  • Haiti: Over 1.3 million displaced by violence and climate shocks

  • Samoa’s CHOGM 2024 adopted the Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration

  • Antigua’s CHOGM 2025 is expected to push for:

    • Loss and damage finance

    • Debt relief for climate-vulnerable states

    • Green investment frameworks

 “A single storm could push millions into catastrophe,” warns the World Food Programme: Commw navies/military reform and readiness?

Haiti & Cuba: Embargoes and Collapse

Haiti

  • Gangs control 90% of Port-au-Prince; state collapse is imminent

  • UN-backed MSS mission is underfunded and understaffed

  • Drone warfare and private contractors raise legal and ethical concerns

  • CHOGM 2025 may debate:

    • Expanding UN support - Commw/Gurkha Brigade?

    • Arms embargo enforcement

    • Humanitarian corridors

Cuba

  • The US embargo continues to isolate Cuba, with spill-over effects on:

    • Haiti’s fuel and food supply chains

    • Regional trade and disaster coordination

  • Commonwealth members may call for reassessment of USA's unilateral sanctions that hinder development

Puerto Rico: The Forgotten Commonwealth

  • July 25, 2025 marks Constitution Day, commemorating its 1952 status as a US Commonwealth

  • Yet Puerto Rico remains:

    • Excluded from CHOGM

    • Denied voting rights in US federal elections

    • Burdened by debt and hurricane recovery

Puerto Rico’s ambiguous status raises questions about Commonwealth inclusion criteria and post-colonial equity. And wider colonial debate with USA Virgin islands/Greenland and Denmark plus last few Dutch/French/UK colonies.

Tax Havens: The Commonwealth’s Dirty Secret

  • British Overseas Territories like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and BVI remain major tax havens

  • UK Labour government (2025) pledged to end secrecy and enforce transparency deadlines - yet several territories eg BVI missing their transparency deadlines. Fines/sanctions due?

  • CHOGM 2025 may see calls to:

    • Blacklist non-compliant jurisdictions

    • Support UN-led tax reform

    • Redirect illicit flows toward development finance

An estimated $11 trillion is held offshore globally — much of it in Commonwealth-linked havens: an offset of slavery reparations?

Final Thought

CHOGM 2025 is not just a summit — it’s a mirror. It reflects the Commonwealth’s unresolved tensions: monarchy vs republic, past vs future, secrecy vs justice. If Antigua’s hosting is to be more than ceremonial, it must catalyse real reform.

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