The 15-nation body hopes to negotiate with the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Denmark as it seeks a formal apology for the trans-Atlantic slave trade and $33 billion, according to BVI News, a British Virgin Islands website.

Verene Shepherd, a Jamaican history professor and vice-president of the Commission, stated on the subject that it is impossible to determine what is owed by the European metropolises, but added that the figure so far established constitutes a starting point for negotiations.

A recent study on the quantification of reparations for transatlantic slavery in the Americas and the Caribbean established that the total estimated damage from that trade is between 100 and 131 billion dollars.

The analysis published last June found, for example, that the United Kingdom owes $24 billion to 14 countries, while Spain owes approximately $17 billion.

The report was calculated by a group of U.S. economists from The Brattle Group, guided by a team of lawyers, historians and history students.

Many scholars conclude that Caribbean nations are permanently damaged by the impact of slavery, which left a lasting economic legacy. The Caribbean countries, for their part, argue that the requested money will be used to fund health and education, and to help with the huge debts they currently carry.

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