TURIN, Italy | 23 January 20254 (IDN) — The international movement Colonialism Reparation has welcomed Haiti’s decision to once again start to ask the restitution of the “independence indemnity” and reparations for the colonial period. It is also calling France to agree to apologize and compensate for the entire colonial period, bearing in mind its lasting impact in the present, before being forced to do so.
On 1 January 2025, the President of the Transitional Presidential Council of Haiti Leslie Voltaire, on the occasion of the 221st anniversary of independence, once again requested France the restitution of the “independence indemnity” with related interests and damages stating that “we must send a clear message to the various peoples of the planet.
Haiti demands the restitution of this ransom and the reparation of the wrongs caused by slavery, recognized for years as a crime against humanity. In other words, it is not a simple claim, but a necessity so that our nation can find its way back to prosperity and respect”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worships of Haiti Dominique Dupuy announced beginning of the year that Haiti was officially joining the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Reparations Commission, with the creation of the National Commission on Reparations chaired by the Rector of the State University of Haiti, Fritz Deshommes.
From 24 to 30 September 2024 the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly was held in New York, during which delegates from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and for the first time Haiti have demanded reparations for the genocide of the native people and slavery, a demand also supported by the delegate of Cuba.
On 23 October 2024 the Transitional Presidential Council of Haiti met with the Haitian National Committee on Restitution and Reparations, committing to follow its recommendations outlined in the roadmap for the year 2025. [IDN-InDepthNews]
Image source: ‘Colonialism Reparation’.
