Belgian parliamentary commission ends without agreed colonial reckoning

Finland appointed a five-member commission in cooperation with the Sámi Parliament and Skolt Sámi Siida Council. Its task was to collect Sámi experiences of state actions and their effects,...

Sweden tasked a commission with examining historical state policy toward Sámi people and its consequences, spreading knowledge and proposing measures for redress and reconciliation. The commission was...

The National Assembly adopted a law recognizing the French state’s abandonment of Harkis after Algerian independence and creating compensation measures. This addresses a specific colonial-war harm; it...

The Consultation Act required the government and public authorities to consult the Sámi Parliament on matters of particular importance to the Sámi people. It created a procedural safeguard, while...

In Kinshasa, King Philippe reiterated his deepest regrets for exploitation, racism and violence under Belgian colonial rule. He still stopped short of a formal apology, a distinction that shaped...

New confidentiality provisions took effect for sensitive personal and financial information handled by the Sámi and Tornedalian truth commissions. Protecting testimony was part of the infrastructure...

During his Algeria visit, Macron said the two countries should face their shared past with humility, truth and historical memory. The visit produced cooperation and memory initiatives, but no formal...

Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized at the National Archives for the Dutch state’s role in slavery and addressed enslaved people and descendants worldwide. The announcement also committed €200...

Dutch officials echoed Rutte’s apology in Suriname on the same day, recognizing that a speech in The Hague alone could not represent the multiple histories and communities shaped by Dutch slavery....

A member of the Dutch cabinet delivered the government’s apology locally and opened discussion about what acknowledgment and redress should mean in Curaçao. The locally delivered statement is recorded...