CEPR’s Jake Johnston was a panelist in Haiti’s ‘Independence Debt’ and the Legacy of Oppression. Click here for more details on the conference agenda.

Since 2006, the Human Rights Institute at Georgetown University Law Center has hosted the annual Samuel Dash Conference on Human Rights. This conference brings together subject-matter experts, scholars, advocates, and leaders to discuss pressing human rights issues in the United States and around the world. It also aims to educate law students and the public on a human rights topic and to inspire and empower them to contribute to the protection and promotion of human rights in the world around them.

The 2025 Dash Conference centered around themes of truth, solidarity, and repair for Haiti and the global movement for reparations. The events included panel discussions and conversations on the history and enduring impacts of the “Independence Debt” imposed on Haiti at the nation’s founding; Haiti’s legal claim for restitution and its galvanizing power for the broader global reparations movement; and plans of action to mobilize for restitution for Haiti from legal, business, development, and civil society perspectives. The opening keynote address was given by Madame Mildred Trouillot-Aristide, former First Lady of Haiti and American lawyer.

This conference was held in-person, with a translated livestream for those who wished to listen in Haitian Creole. Participants attending via livestream were able to pose questions to the speakers.