WASHINGTON, The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) calls on all stakeholders in Haiti to pursue and deepen efforts to restore the constitutional framework to ensure the viability of democratic institutions, citizen security, peaceful conflict resolution, and social dialogue.
The IACHR has released a report titled “Situation of Human Rights in Haiti,” the first such document the Commission has released since 2008 and the first to be published in Haiti’s Kreyòl language.
The report seeks to assess the factors that weaken human rights in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, especially given growing citizen insecurity and democratic instability. The IACHR said it hopes the report will support the complex stabilization of democratic and human rights institutions in the country and citizen security within its borders, all of which are essential for the whole exercise of human rights.
The IACHR said the new report is based on data collected and processed through the Commission’s various monitoring mechanisms and also takes into consideration information received before, during, and after the IACHR visits Haiti over the period December 17–20, 2019, and in public hearings held between 2019 and 2022.
In its report, the IACHR articulates its diagnosis of events between 2018 and June 2022. It addresses structural issues and notes the most significant hurdles for the effective enjoyment of human rights, as well as rights violations and emerging risks evident in the context of dire socioeconomic conditions that make Haiti the poorest country in the Americas.
The report describes and analyzes several issues, including the historical context of the situation of human rights in Haiti, the gradual weakening of Haiti’s democratic institutions between 2018 and 2022, and the main challenges for democratic governance in the country, from deepening political tensions and an institutional vacuum to the severe impact of extreme political violence as evidenced by the murder of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.
The report also analyses the main drivers and effects of citizen insecurity, including growing numbers of homicides and kidnappings and the severe impact on human rights by violent armed groups with significant territorial control in Haiti.
Concerning democratic institutions, the report warns that challenges for institutional governance are a consequence of structural factors, including political instability and hurdles for institutional consolidation in recent decades.
Since 2018, the IACHR has identified two interconnected cycles apparent in Haiti’s current institutional and political dynamics.
The first cycle, from 2018 to mid-2021, was marked by increasing social protests caused by economic, social, and political discontent and by efforts to consolidate electoral institutions amid opposition.
“The expiration of the mandates of 119 members of the lower house of Congress and two-thirds of the country’s senators left the legislature without the quorum it needed. The second cycle followed the murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021, which led to an escalation of the country’s political, institutional, and economic crisis,” the report added.
The IACHR notes that citizen security poses a historical and complex challenge. It said factors, including persisting social, economic, and political problems, weakening state institutions, and growing institutional challenges to contain crime adequately, all lead to high levels of violence in the country.
The main challenges observed include problems in strengthening and consolidating law enforcement institutions; lack of systematic data collection processes; the existence of organized armed groups and disputes among them; indiscriminate access to firearms; and impunity for crime perpetrators, especially in cases in which members of the Haitian law enforcement forces are allegedly involved.
Concerning human mobility, the report notes the growing need for the protection of mobile Haitians due to the severe and widespread human rights violations in their country of origin.
The report stresses that, based on the principles of international solidarity and cooperation, Haiti and other states in the region must take measures to adopt a comprehensive, immediate, effective, and lasting response that protects the rights of mobile individuals.
Concerning internal displacement, the IACHR notes that the specific vulnerability of people internally displaced in Haiti is complex and has multiple causes. These include the effects of natural disasters and extreme violence perpetrated by armed groups, often in severe, recurring bouts that prompt successive waves of displacement.
The report also notes the main challenges to the enjoyment and protection of economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights in Haiti and the challenges to protecting freedom of expression, specifically regarding the security of journalists and other communications professionals in the country.
To support the State in restoring conditions essential for the full enforcement of human rights and based on the results and the application of inter-American standards, the IACHR makes several recommendations.
It calls on the State and on all social and political stakeholders to pursue and deepen efforts to restore the constitutional framework in a way that ensures the viability of democratic institutions, citizen security, peaceful conflict resolution, and social dialogue, as well as to take the measures that are required to provide economic and human development.
This report also extends a broader call to the international community to take measures that enforce the principles of solidarity, cooperation, and action to enable development in Haiti and to provide assistance to it.
“This seeks to develop, support, and strengthen the institutional capacity, civil society networks, and public policies necessary to improve the Haitian State’s protection standards. The Commission stresses its willingness to provide technical assistance and to engage in further talks based on its role and mandate,” the report added.
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