Professor Dieuseul Predelus, President of CNHRR•©️UEH
Paris, December 17, 2025.- Professor Dieuseul Predelus, President of the Haitian National Committee for Restitution and Reparation (CNHRR), spoke at Pantheon-Sorbonne University, Tuesday, December 16.
The public conference focused on: « Haiti–France, 1825-2025: postcolonial allowances, balance sheet and prospects ». It was devoted to the debt imposed on Haiti by France in 1825. On that occasion, Professor Predelus called for restitution and reparation mechanisms. He stressed the need to base these approaches on historical justice and international law.
During his speech, Professor Dieuseul Predelus described the origins and lasting effects of the debt imposed on Haiti by France in 1825. He recalled that, under military and diplomatic compulsion, the country had been forced to pay compensation to former settlers, financed by high-rate bank loans. This burden has led to prolonged debt, limiting the construction of essential infrastructure and slowing down economic development. « A people who had conquered their freedom at the price of their blood had to pay for their independence. »he stressed, illustrating the concrete impact of this injustice on Haitian society.
This historical observation led the Rector Dieuseul Predelus to insist on the legitimacy of the Haitian claim and on the need to act today. According to him, restitution and reparation are neither a favour nor a settlement of accounts: « The restitution we demand is not a favor, it is an act of elementary justice. ». He also highlighted recent advances in France, such as the creation of joint commissions of Franco-Haitian historians and parliamentary resolutions that pave the way for concrete mechanisms of restitution, thus stressing the link between historical memory and contemporary action.
The conference recalled the urgency of redressing Haiti's historical injustice. For Godseul Predelus, restitution and reparation are essential to restore the dignity of the country and support its future development, while involving the diaspora in international mobilization for this legitimate cause.
R.J.
