EU nations left in the spotlight over slavery apologies

American walk-out order disguises deep tensions between former slave-trade countries over campaign for compensation

Internal links

Anger as US and Israel quit 'farcical' racism conference

Tearful memories of girl sold as fifth wife

Israel agonises over 'racism' as police chief explains Arab killings

The departure of the United States and Israel from the United Nations conference against racism last night will shift the spotlight on to Britain and three other European Union countries which are resisting calls to apologise for the transatlantic slave trade.

Britain, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands are prepared to condemn present-day slavery as a crime against humanity. But they refuse to apologise for the trade which saw up to 20 million Africans cross the Atlantic in chains between the 17th and 19th centuries, because that could leave them facing lawsuits for compensation.

Potential recipients of compensation at the conference in Durban, South Africa, have remained divided. Leading African governments, such as Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa, would like an apology for slavery and the ills of colonialism and say they would be content with compensation in the form of debt relief and increased aid.

But some African non-governmental organisations have lined up behind the governments of Namibia, Zimbabwe, Brazil and several Caribbean countries and the powerful African-American lobby to demand nothing short of an apology and an admission that the trans-Atlantic slave trade was a crime against humanity. Such a statement in the final declaration of the conference would, the US and the four EU countries believe, open up the floodgates for massive class actions against leading corporations.

Given that none of the lobbies trying to open the door to lawsuits has produced a plan of action or calculated how much the EU and US owes the descendants of slavery in back-pay, non-governmental organisations have suggested that a UN tribunal be created to consider the issue. This suggestion, contained in the NGO draft plan of action for the conference, may yet provide a way out of the present stalement.

In the run-up to Friday, when the conference is due to end, Britain and the three other former colonial maritime powers face hours of negotiations. Unlike the US, they cannot use the pretext of Zionism to pull out if the pressure to apologise for the past gets too intense.

One European diplomat said: "The EU delegation is now terrified of the conference failing. If it falls apart over the slavery issue, all the poor countries of the world will be able to claim that Europe could not face up to its historical responsibilities." Sources close to the EU discussions said the 15 countries had agreed on a "range of vocabulary" and on its "range of manoeuvre" for discussions in the run up to the conference's final declaration and action plan, due after the conference ends on Friday.

In the next few days Britain can expect a chorus of pressure from home-grown activists who will now take centre stage. The low-level nature of the Foreign Office delegation – Baroness Valerie Amos and Angela Eagle – will become more glaring.

Doreen Lawrence, who came to Durban to share her son's story at the NGO comference, said: "Baroness Amos talked of being here as part of the EU. That's a shame. Britain's delegation should have been stronger.

"As for reparations, they can take many forms but they are necessary. The slave trade was wrong. Britain was wrong. What they did was a crime against humanity. The Europeans did it for the benefit of their own countries. Now they are wanting to keep what they gained on the back of colonialism," she said.

Asad Rehman, of the Black Racial Attacks Independent Network, said he was very disappointed that Britain had sent only junior officials, in contrast with Germany, for example, which sent Foreign Minister Joshka Fischer. "This has sent out a very negative signal about how seriously the Government takes issues of race."

But he added that even if the conference proved a political disappointment, it has been a useful tool for militants from all over the world. A range of groups, mainstream and obscure, have met – such as the Aged Society of Malawi, victims of police brutality, campaigners for Falun Gong, Chechens denouncing Russian attrocities, religious groups and indigenous peoples.

Mr Rehman said: "We have met and networked. It is our voices that count. Black British NGOs are on the side of reparations and there is a growing lobby for them in the UK."