Referencing a policy brief issued by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations (APPG-AR) in March, the statement said that “recent calls for changes to legislation and practice have raised important questions and concerns that we wish to address”.
While the policy brief focused specifically on African ancestral remains, it made a number of recommendations that would apply to all human remains.
The joint statement also called for greater clarity around the use of the term “ancestral remains” in any proposed legislative and policy changes.
“We recognise that the term ‘African ancestral remains’ holds specific meaning and especially within the context of the APPG-AR policy brief document, but the recommendations that are made within it do not use that terminology consistently or exclusively throughout,” said the statement.
“References to ‘ancestral remains’ without qualification leads to ambiguity and is open to a wide variety of interpretations particularly by those who seek to use the term ancestor in support of ideological or political beliefs. This ambiguity needs to be addressed to avoid confusion and unintended consequences.”
The group of organisations added they also supported the move in government to consider a ban on the sale of human remains, a practice they described as “unethical”.
