HRI joins Haitian and other civil society activists to demand restitution for Haiti from France
July 29, 2025
HRI joins Haitian and other civil society activists to demand restitution for Haiti from France.
In July 2025, approximately 200 years after the imposition of the so-called “Independence Debt,” the Human Rights Institute joined over sixty human rights organizations, including the Kolectif Ayisyen Afwodesandan (KAAD), and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), in sending an open letter to French officials demanding urgent repayment of the “debt.”
This “debt” was unlawfully extorted from the Haitian people, and its dire economic impacts have caused many of the crises that Haiti faces today. The bicentennial anniversary of the “debt” is a stark reminder of how long Haitians have awaited justice for this extortion. In seeking that justice, KAAD and its partners sent the letter to President Emmanuel Macron, members of French Parliament, and the leaders of the newly-formed joint French-Haitian commission established to study the “debt,” advocating for repayment.
After working in partnership with IJDH for the 2024-2025 Human Rights Advocacy in Action Practicum and supporting its efforts for restitution for Haiti, HRI is honored to join this latest effort pursuing justice and accountability from the French State.
Read the letter to President Macron here.