THE U.S. EMBASSY AND MARIANO FERNANDEZ CONGRATULATE THE MEMBERS OF THE CSPJ
(Haiti Libre) -
Following the installation of the Supreme Council of Judicial Power, the U.S. Embassy and Mariano Fernández Amunátegui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Haiti, presented their congratulations to the 9 members of the CSPJ.
Message from U.S. Embassy:
"The Embassy of the United States of America congratulates the nine men and women who were sworn in today as members of the Superior Judicial Council (CSPJ), and we extend our best wishes for their success.
Today is a historic day for Haitian democracy and a victory for the Haitian people. The investiture of the CSPJ establishes the judicial power as an equal branch of government. The United States looks forward to working in partnership with the Haitian government in building the rule of law [...]"
Message from Mariano Fernández Amunátegui:
Mr. Mariano Fernández Amunátegui, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Haiti, presents his congratulations to the Haitian authorities, the Haitian people and to the 9 members of the Council, newly installed in this vital function for the independence of the judicial power, and the strengthening of the rule of law.
"This event represents a step towards the consolidation of Haitian institutions, and the anchoring of Haiti in a sustainable political stability," said Mr. Fernández, for which the constructive climate that prevails between the three public authorities should now pave the way for the holding of the next elections.
Showing posts with label Article - Crime - Justice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Article - Crime - Justice. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
ARTICLE - A HISTORICAL SWEARING
A HISTORIC SWEARING
(Haiti Libre) -
President Michel Martelly, proceeded on Tuesday, July 3, 2012, to the inauguration of members of the Supreme Council of Judicial Power (CSPJ), the first since the elaboration of the Constitution of 1987. The historic swearing in ceremony took place at the School of Magistrates in the presence of the Presidents of the Senate and House of Deputies, MM. Simon Dieuseul Desras and Levaillant Louis-Jeune, of Judges of the Court of Cassation, Prime Minister, Laurent Lamothe, members of the Cabinet of Ministers, Magistrates, and representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, Consuls, and Civil Society.
"I swear to respect the Constitution, laws and regulations of the Republic, to ensure the regular functioning of the judiciary, and the protection of rights of the litigants," proclaimed the 9 members of the CSPJ presided by Arnel Alexis Joseph, President of the court of Cassation, who stated that the CSPJ is "the administrative body, for the control, monitoring, discipline and deliberation of the judicial power", "from now on nothing will be like before," he added.
"The pride I feel in this special moment, is commensurate with the redoubtable honor which is your responsibility now, Ladies and Gentlemen honorable members of the CSPJ, to find yourself at the controls of that entity as the primary guardians of the independence of the judiciary. You enter into history as the first personalities entrusted with the task of organizing the judicial institution, to ensure regular and effective functioning of Courts and Tribunals, and to approve their internal regulations [...]," declared the Head of State, who is convinced that the judicial power acquires thus its rightful place in the building of the democratic regime; that this regime works to establish, irreversibly, for the welfare of the nation.
"[...] the magistrates have long suffered from a weakened judicial authority. They will begin truly to fully exercise their functions today, with the creation of the first Superior Council of the Magistracy. The new order is on, it will not stop or back up, it is irreversible. [...] The Executive will refrain from interference in the certification procedure of judges [...] it will remain attentive to the conduct of the certification process and will follow, in a spirit of cooperation, the certification work made by the Council. The hope of the Presidency is that the temple of Themis [Greek Goddess of Justice, Law and Equity] remains the sanctuary, where the word of law, is expressed in total freedom. Ladies and gentlemen, honorable judges [...]the minutes of swearing that have been made this morning serves as an act of independence of the judicial power; thus you enter into a new social, political and institutional dynamic.
Between your powerful hands is played now the fate of the national judiciary. Be constantly vigilant in the fights that you are called to lead in the defense of that independence, without which the moral authority that is the prerogative of your duties may be only an illusion. The executive branch is under no illusions; without the informed action of the judiciary involved in the independence and dignity of the the best laws, the most beautiful restored code will remain dead letters. That is to say that the entire nation will remain attentive to your work, and to your success. As we enter this new era, I renew my patriotic greetings to all Magistrates who are dedicated to this delicate and often difficult work to do justice to whom justice is due, regardless of the degree of wealth and rank, without discrimination of any kind. It finally addresses to the distinguished members of the Supreme Council of Judicial Power its desire for continued success in the fulfilling of its noble mission..."
In addition to the establishment of the CSPJ, President Martelly had appointed last year a President, a Vice-President and five Judges to the Court of Cassation, to complete entirely this judicial institution; which had never been the case since 2004.
(Haiti Libre) -
President Michel Martelly, proceeded on Tuesday, July 3, 2012, to the inauguration of members of the Supreme Council of Judicial Power (CSPJ), the first since the elaboration of the Constitution of 1987. The historic swearing in ceremony took place at the School of Magistrates in the presence of the Presidents of the Senate and House of Deputies, MM. Simon Dieuseul Desras and Levaillant Louis-Jeune, of Judges of the Court of Cassation, Prime Minister, Laurent Lamothe, members of the Cabinet of Ministers, Magistrates, and representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, Consuls, and Civil Society.
"I swear to respect the Constitution, laws and regulations of the Republic, to ensure the regular functioning of the judiciary, and the protection of rights of the litigants," proclaimed the 9 members of the CSPJ presided by Arnel Alexis Joseph, President of the court of Cassation, who stated that the CSPJ is "the administrative body, for the control, monitoring, discipline and deliberation of the judicial power", "from now on nothing will be like before," he added.
"The pride I feel in this special moment, is commensurate with the redoubtable honor which is your responsibility now, Ladies and Gentlemen honorable members of the CSPJ, to find yourself at the controls of that entity as the primary guardians of the independence of the judiciary. You enter into history as the first personalities entrusted with the task of organizing the judicial institution, to ensure regular and effective functioning of Courts and Tribunals, and to approve their internal regulations [...]," declared the Head of State, who is convinced that the judicial power acquires thus its rightful place in the building of the democratic regime; that this regime works to establish, irreversibly, for the welfare of the nation.
"[...] the magistrates have long suffered from a weakened judicial authority. They will begin truly to fully exercise their functions today, with the creation of the first Superior Council of the Magistracy. The new order is on, it will not stop or back up, it is irreversible. [...] The Executive will refrain from interference in the certification procedure of judges [...] it will remain attentive to the conduct of the certification process and will follow, in a spirit of cooperation, the certification work made by the Council. The hope of the Presidency is that the temple of Themis [Greek Goddess of Justice, Law and Equity] remains the sanctuary, where the word of law, is expressed in total freedom. Ladies and gentlemen, honorable judges [...]the minutes of swearing that have been made this morning serves as an act of independence of the judicial power; thus you enter into a new social, political and institutional dynamic.
Between your powerful hands is played now the fate of the national judiciary. Be constantly vigilant in the fights that you are called to lead in the defense of that independence, without which the moral authority that is the prerogative of your duties may be only an illusion. The executive branch is under no illusions; without the informed action of the judiciary involved in the independence and dignity of the the best laws, the most beautiful restored code will remain dead letters. That is to say that the entire nation will remain attentive to your work, and to your success. As we enter this new era, I renew my patriotic greetings to all Magistrates who are dedicated to this delicate and often difficult work to do justice to whom justice is due, regardless of the degree of wealth and rank, without discrimination of any kind. It finally addresses to the distinguished members of the Supreme Council of Judicial Power its desire for continued success in the fulfilling of its noble mission..."
In addition to the establishment of the CSPJ, President Martelly had appointed last year a President, a Vice-President and five Judges to the Court of Cassation, to complete entirely this judicial institution; which had never been the case since 2004.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
ARTICLE - RESCUE TEAM TURNED BACK
RESCUE TEAM VETERANS FROM HAITI AND SEPTEMBER 11 TURNED BACK FROM HELPING IN ELLIOT LAKE MALL DISASTER
(National Post) - By Tristin Hopper
As police and firefighters from across Ontario streamed into the site of the Elliot Lake mall collapse this week, arguably one of the most hardened rescue groups on the scene — veterans of 9/11, the Haiti Earthquake and the Costa Concordia sinking — were never even allowed past the police tape.
“We’ve been on standby since arriving, and if you’re a results-oriented person, the worst thing in the world is to be on standby,” John Green, chief of Special Operations for Ottawa-based International Rescue, told the Post Wednesday.
The group, an Ottawa-based rescue non-profit, was summoned to Elliot Lake by a call from a private citizen. The roof on the Algo Centre Mall caved in at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday; by 2:55 p.m., an Elliot Lake resident (“He’d heard about what we’d done in Haiti,” Mr. Green said) got the organization on the phone.
About 40 hours later, Mr. Green — along with six team members — pulled into the small Northern Ontario town in a specially outfitted fire truck, hauling a trailer packed with lifts, supports, concrete-cutting chainsaws, liquid nitrogen, concrete-cracking explosives and thermite charges.
Of course, by then, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour had barred access to the unstable structure, and the Toronto-based Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team had just informed a crowd of locals that it had called off rescue efforts.
“At 11 p.m. [Monday], they just came out and said, ‘go home, we don’t want you on scene,’ which was a little bit of a kick,” Mr. Green said. “We’ve been to over 30 of these and we’ve never been told to go home.
“They’d have to sedate us and drag us out of there to stop rescue efforts, and I think that’s what they were worried would happen,” he said.
During the long lulls in rescue attempts, as provincial officials waited for heavy lifting equipment from Toronto, the International Rescue team members — clad in blue coveralls — could do nothing but roam among the crowds lining the mall’s perimeter.
The group’s disaster resumé, emblazoned on the back of their shirts, includes the 2003 forest fires in B.C., Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. Gulf, the Indian Ocean Tsunami and its inaugural mission, the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal, India.
Mr. Green was among the first volunteers to search for survivors in the rubble of the World Trade Center in September 2001, and only six months ago, he was in Western Italy to advise Italian search crews in recovery efforts for the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship that crashed into a reef off the Italian coast.
“I spend about 150 days a year in hotel rooms,” he said.
International Rescue, which also counts branches in New York and Indonesia, is funded almost entirely by its private, sister company, P.R.E.P. Services International, a hazardous materials consulting business. “P.R.E.P. makes money and International Rescue costs money,” Mr. Green told a reporter last year.
Most employees of P.R.E.P. services serve roles in both organizations and are hired with expectations they will participate in rescue operations.
The team’s small size and experience of many decades helps keep the group flexible to act as rapid, early responders, Mr. Green said.
“The Red Cross machine is [a] monolith. They have difficulty specifically identifying and reacting, and we do not have those limitations and that’s why we’re a usable asset rather than a thorn in their side,” he told Postmedia in 2005 just before departing for Indonesia to assist in rescue efforts for the Indian Ocean tsunami.
In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, International Rescue was part of a team that uncovered the body of former Liberal MP Serge Marcil, who died in the collapse of the Hotel Montana.
When asked about the group at a Wednesday press conference, Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team leader Bill Neadles said it was “the first time” he had heard of them.
“They have to be brought in on behalf of the province of Ontario … the province would have to grant them status in order to be sanctioned to come assist us,” he said.
International Rescue did contact the Ontario Provincial Police Command Centre before setting out, but were told simply to travel to Elliot Lake and stand by in case they were needed.
The group takes its name from the secretive rescue squad featured in the 1960s TV series Thunderbirds.
The show — featuring marionettes instead of live actors — portrayed an elite squad routinely called in to
co-ordinate complex rescues using a high-tech fleet of rockets, aircraft and space stations.
The real-life International Rescue bases its operations out of a converted fire truck equipped with tires designed for high speed, a full complement of emergency lights, and an onboard command centre. An accompanying trailer carries bomb defusing suits, scuba gear, firefighting equipment and a wide variety of rubble-busting explosives and chemicals.
The group pulled out of Elliot Lake Wednesday night, a few hours after two bodies were recovered from the mall’s wreckage.
Officials left the International Rescue team unable to offer anything more than peripheral support during its stay.
“There should be more oversight than one team performing one function,” Mr. Green said. “It’s like holding a dinner party where one of the guests is a sous-chef, and you don’t let him help out in the kitchen.”
(National Post) - By Tristin Hopper
As police and firefighters from across Ontario streamed into the site of the Elliot Lake mall collapse this week, arguably one of the most hardened rescue groups on the scene — veterans of 9/11, the Haiti Earthquake and the Costa Concordia sinking — were never even allowed past the police tape.
“We’ve been on standby since arriving, and if you’re a results-oriented person, the worst thing in the world is to be on standby,” John Green, chief of Special Operations for Ottawa-based International Rescue, told the Post Wednesday.
The group, an Ottawa-based rescue non-profit, was summoned to Elliot Lake by a call from a private citizen. The roof on the Algo Centre Mall caved in at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday; by 2:55 p.m., an Elliot Lake resident (“He’d heard about what we’d done in Haiti,” Mr. Green said) got the organization on the phone.
About 40 hours later, Mr. Green — along with six team members — pulled into the small Northern Ontario town in a specially outfitted fire truck, hauling a trailer packed with lifts, supports, concrete-cutting chainsaws, liquid nitrogen, concrete-cracking explosives and thermite charges.
Of course, by then, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour had barred access to the unstable structure, and the Toronto-based Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team had just informed a crowd of locals that it had called off rescue efforts.
“At 11 p.m. [Monday], they just came out and said, ‘go home, we don’t want you on scene,’ which was a little bit of a kick,” Mr. Green said. “We’ve been to over 30 of these and we’ve never been told to go home.
“They’d have to sedate us and drag us out of there to stop rescue efforts, and I think that’s what they were worried would happen,” he said.
During the long lulls in rescue attempts, as provincial officials waited for heavy lifting equipment from Toronto, the International Rescue team members — clad in blue coveralls — could do nothing but roam among the crowds lining the mall’s perimeter.
The group’s disaster resumé, emblazoned on the back of their shirts, includes the 2003 forest fires in B.C., Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. Gulf, the Indian Ocean Tsunami and its inaugural mission, the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal, India.
Mr. Green was among the first volunteers to search for survivors in the rubble of the World Trade Center in September 2001, and only six months ago, he was in Western Italy to advise Italian search crews in recovery efforts for the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship that crashed into a reef off the Italian coast.
“I spend about 150 days a year in hotel rooms,” he said.
International Rescue, which also counts branches in New York and Indonesia, is funded almost entirely by its private, sister company, P.R.E.P. Services International, a hazardous materials consulting business. “P.R.E.P. makes money and International Rescue costs money,” Mr. Green told a reporter last year.
Most employees of P.R.E.P. services serve roles in both organizations and are hired with expectations they will participate in rescue operations.
The team’s small size and experience of many decades helps keep the group flexible to act as rapid, early responders, Mr. Green said.
“The Red Cross machine is [a] monolith. They have difficulty specifically identifying and reacting, and we do not have those limitations and that’s why we’re a usable asset rather than a thorn in their side,” he told Postmedia in 2005 just before departing for Indonesia to assist in rescue efforts for the Indian Ocean tsunami.
In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, International Rescue was part of a team that uncovered the body of former Liberal MP Serge Marcil, who died in the collapse of the Hotel Montana.
When asked about the group at a Wednesday press conference, Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team leader Bill Neadles said it was “the first time” he had heard of them.
“They have to be brought in on behalf of the province of Ontario … the province would have to grant them status in order to be sanctioned to come assist us,” he said.
International Rescue did contact the Ontario Provincial Police Command Centre before setting out, but were told simply to travel to Elliot Lake and stand by in case they were needed.
The group takes its name from the secretive rescue squad featured in the 1960s TV series Thunderbirds.
The show — featuring marionettes instead of live actors — portrayed an elite squad routinely called in to
co-ordinate complex rescues using a high-tech fleet of rockets, aircraft and space stations.
The real-life International Rescue bases its operations out of a converted fire truck equipped with tires designed for high speed, a full complement of emergency lights, and an onboard command centre. An accompanying trailer carries bomb defusing suits, scuba gear, firefighting equipment and a wide variety of rubble-busting explosives and chemicals.
The group pulled out of Elliot Lake Wednesday night, a few hours after two bodies were recovered from the mall’s wreckage.
Officials left the International Rescue team unable to offer anything more than peripheral support during its stay.
“There should be more oversight than one team performing one function,” Mr. Green said. “It’s like holding a dinner party where one of the guests is a sous-chef, and you don’t let him help out in the kitchen.”
ARTICLE - MONTREAL RADIO STATION FIRE
POLICE INVESTIGATE SUSPICIOUS FIRE AT MONTREAL RADIO STATION CPAM 1610
(Montreal Gazette) - By Sue Montgomery
Nobody injured in blaze at station popular with city's Haitian community
MONTREAL - A Montreal radio station that pulls no punches when criticizing the Haitian government was back in business Monday, hours after being damaged by what Montreal police are treating as a suspicious fire.
CPAM 1610 – a hugely popular radio station with Montreal’s 115,000-strong Haitian population – set up a temporary studio and was back on the air by 2 p.m., director and owner Jean-Ernest Pierre said.
Pierre, who is also a lawyer, was unfazed when reached by telephone after severe water and fire damage rendered the station in St. Michel unusable.
“For you this is news, but we are threatened all the time,” he said, adding this is the first time in the station’s 10-year history that a threat has actually been carried out. “In Haiti, they kill journalists.”
Pierre said the station has been very critical of Haiti’s most recent president, Michel Martelly, saying he wasn’t experienced enough to lead a country still struggling with the devastation of the January, 2010 earthquake.
CPAM also said the regime wasn’t being tough enough on former dictator Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier, who returned to the country last year after years in exile in France.
Many Haitians and human rights groups are outraged that Duvalier, who ruled the country with an iron fist from 1971 to 1986, wouldn’t be tried for grave human-rights abuses he and his brutal Tonton Macoutes are alleged to have committed. A judge ruled he would be tried for the lesser charge of corruption, although Duvalier’s lawyer is appealing the ruling.
Duvalier, who is alleged to have embezzled between $300 million and $800 million during his rule, is supposed to be under house arrest, but moves freely around the country.
A spokesperson for the Montreal fire department, Claude Deschuymer, said the front window of CPAM 1610’s studio was smashed and a fire lit near the broken glass at about 4 a.m. Monday. Another fire was started at the back of the second floor where the station’s office is located, he said.
No one was in the building, located at the corner of Crémazie Blvd. and Musset Ave., at the time of the fire, he said.
Molotov cocktails could have been the cause of the fire since broken glass was found in both spots where the blaze began, he added.
“So we’re not taking any chances and turned the investigation over to the Montreal police,” he said.
Pierre said the station should be back to normal by Thursday, but wouldn’t be adding any extra security.
“We have surveillance cameras and will look at the footage,” he said.
The station’s analysis of the government – both positive and critical – will continue, he said.
“We never miss a chance to criticize it,” he said. “We need to educate people.”
(Montreal Gazette) - By Sue Montgomery
Nobody injured in blaze at station popular with city's Haitian community
MONTREAL - A Montreal radio station that pulls no punches when criticizing the Haitian government was back in business Monday, hours after being damaged by what Montreal police are treating as a suspicious fire.
CPAM 1610 – a hugely popular radio station with Montreal’s 115,000-strong Haitian population – set up a temporary studio and was back on the air by 2 p.m., director and owner Jean-Ernest Pierre said.
Pierre, who is also a lawyer, was unfazed when reached by telephone after severe water and fire damage rendered the station in St. Michel unusable.
“For you this is news, but we are threatened all the time,” he said, adding this is the first time in the station’s 10-year history that a threat has actually been carried out. “In Haiti, they kill journalists.”
Pierre said the station has been very critical of Haiti’s most recent president, Michel Martelly, saying he wasn’t experienced enough to lead a country still struggling with the devastation of the January, 2010 earthquake.
CPAM also said the regime wasn’t being tough enough on former dictator Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier, who returned to the country last year after years in exile in France.
Many Haitians and human rights groups are outraged that Duvalier, who ruled the country with an iron fist from 1971 to 1986, wouldn’t be tried for grave human-rights abuses he and his brutal Tonton Macoutes are alleged to have committed. A judge ruled he would be tried for the lesser charge of corruption, although Duvalier’s lawyer is appealing the ruling.
Duvalier, who is alleged to have embezzled between $300 million and $800 million during his rule, is supposed to be under house arrest, but moves freely around the country.
A spokesperson for the Montreal fire department, Claude Deschuymer, said the front window of CPAM 1610’s studio was smashed and a fire lit near the broken glass at about 4 a.m. Monday. Another fire was started at the back of the second floor where the station’s office is located, he said.
No one was in the building, located at the corner of Crémazie Blvd. and Musset Ave., at the time of the fire, he said.
Molotov cocktails could have been the cause of the fire since broken glass was found in both spots where the blaze began, he added.
“So we’re not taking any chances and turned the investigation over to the Montreal police,” he said.
Pierre said the station should be back to normal by Thursday, but wouldn’t be adding any extra security.
“We have surveillance cameras and will look at the footage,” he said.
The station’s analysis of the government – both positive and critical – will continue, he said.
“We never miss a chance to criticize it,” he said. “We need to educate people.”
Monday, July 2, 2012
ARTICLE - UPDATED TRAVEL WARNING - USA
TRAVEL WARNING
(Embassy of the United States, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
June 18, 2012
The Department of State has issued this Travel Warning to inform U.S.
citizens traveling to or living in Haiti about the security situation in
Haiti. This replaces the Travel Warning dated August 8, 2011, to update
information regarding the crime level, the prevalence of cholera, lack
of adequate infrastructure - particularly in medical facilities -
seasonal severe inclement weather, and limited police protection. The
United Nations' Stabilization Force for Haiti (MINUSTAH) remains in
Haiti.
The Department of State urges U.S. citizens to exercise caution when
visiting Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of Americans safely visit Haiti
each year, but the poor state of Haiti's emergency response network
should be carefully considered when planning travel. Travelers to Haiti
are encouraged to use organizations that have solid infrastructure,
evacuation, and medical support options in place. (Please see the
Country Specific Information page for Haiti.)
U.S. citizens have been victims of violent crime, including murder and
kidnapping, predominately in the Port-au-Prince area. No one is safe
from kidnapping, regardless of occupation, nationality, race, gender, or
age. In recent months, travelers arriving in Port-au-Prince on flights
from the United States were attacked and robbed shortly after departing
the airport. At least two U.S. citizens were shot and killed in such
incidents. Haitian authorities have limited capacity to deter or
investigate such violent acts, or prosecute perpetrators.
The authorities' ability to respond to emergencies is limited and in
some areas nonexistent. Should a traveler find him or herself in an
emergency, local health, police, judicial and physical infrastructure
limitations mean that travelers find themselves with few local resources
available to help them to resolve their problem. For this reason, the
Embassy limits travel by its staff to areas outside of Port-au-Prince,
which constrains our ability to provide emergency services to U.S.
Citizens outside of Port-au-Prince.
U.S. Embassy personnel are under an Embassy-imposed curfew of midnight to 5:00 a.m. and must remain at home or other safe facility during curfew hours. Additionally, there are restrictions on travel by Embassy staff in certain areas or times. This may constrain the Embassy's ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens outside Port-au-Prince. For additional details on restrictions on staff travel
within Haiti, please see our Country Specific Information for Haiti.
The Haitian National Police (HNP), with assistance from MINUSTAH, is
responsible for keeping peace and rendering assistance. However, given
the possibility and unpredictability of violent protests, its ability to
assist U.S. citizens during disturbances is very limited. U.S.
government-facilitated evacuations, such as the evacuation that took
place from Haiti in 2010, occur only when no safe commercial
alternatives exist. Please see our website for additional information on
how the Department of State assists U.S. citizens during a crisis.
Haiti's infrastructure remains in poor condition and unable to support
normal activity, much less crisis situations. Medical facilities,
including ambulance services, are particularly weak. Some U.S. citizens
injured in accidents and others with serious health concerns have been
unable to find necessary medical care in Haiti and have had to arrange
and pay for medical evacuation to the United States. Given these
conditions and the cost of private evacuations, we strongly encourage
visitors to Haiti to obtain evacuation insurance, including for medical
issues that may arise.
While incidents of cholera have declined significantly, cholera persists
in many areas of Haiti. Prior to travel, U.S. citizens should also
obtain information about cholera and other health related issues by
visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
U.S. citizens who choose to travel to Haiti are urged to review our
Country Specific Information page. U.S. private sector organizations with operations in Haiti can obtain additional information on the security situation in the country through the U.S. Department of State's Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC). OSAC's mission is to promote security cooperation between U.S. private sector interests worldwide and the U.S. Department of State. OSAC also maintains an active Country Council in Haiti to promote the exchange of security-related information. The Council is comprised of security professionals and is co-chaired by the Regional Security Officer at the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince and a private sector representative. U.S. private sector entities can obtain additional information on OSAC by visiting the OSAC website.
U.S. citizens are also urged to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment
Program (STEP) in order to receive the most up-to-date security information. While the Embassy's ability to provide emergency consular services is extremely limited, travel enrollment will enable receipt of warden messages via email. Current information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States; callers outside the United States and Canada can receive the information by calling a regular toll-line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except U.S. federal holidays. The Embassy of the United States of America is located in Port-au-Prince at Boulevard du 15 Octobre, Tabarre 41, Tabarre, Haiti, telephone: (509) (2) 229-8000, facsimile: (509) (2) 229-8027, email: acspap@state.gov American Citizens Services (ACS) Unit office hours are 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Consular Section is closed on U.S. and local holidays. After hours, on weekends and on holidays, please call (509) (2) 229-8000. The Marine guard will connect you with the Embassy Duty Officer.
U.S. citizens can also stay informed about conditions in Haiti by
following the Embassy and ACS on Twitter and Facebook.
(Embassy of the United States, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
June 18, 2012
The Department of State has issued this Travel Warning to inform U.S.
citizens traveling to or living in Haiti about the security situation in
Haiti. This replaces the Travel Warning dated August 8, 2011, to update
information regarding the crime level, the prevalence of cholera, lack
of adequate infrastructure - particularly in medical facilities -
seasonal severe inclement weather, and limited police protection. The
United Nations' Stabilization Force for Haiti (MINUSTAH) remains in
Haiti.
The Department of State urges U.S. citizens to exercise caution when
visiting Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of Americans safely visit Haiti
each year, but the poor state of Haiti's emergency response network
should be carefully considered when planning travel. Travelers to Haiti
are encouraged to use organizations that have solid infrastructure,
evacuation, and medical support options in place. (Please see the
Country Specific Information page for Haiti.)
U.S. citizens have been victims of violent crime, including murder and
kidnapping, predominately in the Port-au-Prince area. No one is safe
from kidnapping, regardless of occupation, nationality, race, gender, or
age. In recent months, travelers arriving in Port-au-Prince on flights
from the United States were attacked and robbed shortly after departing
the airport. At least two U.S. citizens were shot and killed in such
incidents. Haitian authorities have limited capacity to deter or
investigate such violent acts, or prosecute perpetrators.
The authorities' ability to respond to emergencies is limited and in
some areas nonexistent. Should a traveler find him or herself in an
emergency, local health, police, judicial and physical infrastructure
limitations mean that travelers find themselves with few local resources
available to help them to resolve their problem. For this reason, the
Embassy limits travel by its staff to areas outside of Port-au-Prince,
which constrains our ability to provide emergency services to U.S.
Citizens outside of Port-au-Prince.
U.S. Embassy personnel are under an Embassy-imposed curfew of midnight to 5:00 a.m. and must remain at home or other safe facility during curfew hours. Additionally, there are restrictions on travel by Embassy staff in certain areas or times. This may constrain the Embassy's ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens outside Port-au-Prince. For additional details on restrictions on staff travel
within Haiti, please see our Country Specific Information for Haiti.
The Haitian National Police (HNP), with assistance from MINUSTAH, is
responsible for keeping peace and rendering assistance. However, given
the possibility and unpredictability of violent protests, its ability to
assist U.S. citizens during disturbances is very limited. U.S.
government-facilitated evacuations, such as the evacuation that took
place from Haiti in 2010, occur only when no safe commercial
alternatives exist. Please see our website for additional information on
how the Department of State assists U.S. citizens during a crisis.
Haiti's infrastructure remains in poor condition and unable to support
normal activity, much less crisis situations. Medical facilities,
including ambulance services, are particularly weak. Some U.S. citizens
injured in accidents and others with serious health concerns have been
unable to find necessary medical care in Haiti and have had to arrange
and pay for medical evacuation to the United States. Given these
conditions and the cost of private evacuations, we strongly encourage
visitors to Haiti to obtain evacuation insurance, including for medical
issues that may arise.
While incidents of cholera have declined significantly, cholera persists
in many areas of Haiti. Prior to travel, U.S. citizens should also
obtain information about cholera and other health related issues by
visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
U.S. citizens who choose to travel to Haiti are urged to review our
Country Specific Information page. U.S. private sector organizations with operations in Haiti can obtain additional information on the security situation in the country through the U.S. Department of State's Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC). OSAC's mission is to promote security cooperation between U.S. private sector interests worldwide and the U.S. Department of State. OSAC also maintains an active Country Council in Haiti to promote the exchange of security-related information. The Council is comprised of security professionals and is co-chaired by the Regional Security Officer at the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince and a private sector representative. U.S. private sector entities can obtain additional information on OSAC by visiting the OSAC website.
U.S. citizens are also urged to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment
Program (STEP) in order to receive the most up-to-date security information. While the Embassy's ability to provide emergency consular services is extremely limited, travel enrollment will enable receipt of warden messages via email. Current information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States; callers outside the United States and Canada can receive the information by calling a regular toll-line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except U.S. federal holidays. The Embassy of the United States of America is located in Port-au-Prince at Boulevard du 15 Octobre, Tabarre 41, Tabarre, Haiti, telephone: (509) (2) 229-8000, facsimile: (509) (2) 229-8027, email: acspap@state.gov American Citizens Services (ACS) Unit office hours are 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Consular Section is closed on U.S. and local holidays. After hours, on weekends and on holidays, please call (509) (2) 229-8000. The Marine guard will connect you with the Embassy Duty Officer.
U.S. citizens can also stay informed about conditions in Haiti by
following the Embassy and ACS on Twitter and Facebook.
Friday, June 29, 2012
ARTICLE - INSTALLATION OF CSPJ - JULY 3RD
INSTALLATION OF CSPJ, THIS TUESDAY, JULY 3
(Haiti Libre) -
The 9 members of the Supreme Council of Judicial Power (CSPJ) will be installed Tuesday, July 3, informed President Michel Martelly, who stated that the invitations will be sent to members this weekend at the latest.
Me Carlos Hercules, barrister of the Bar Association welcomes this news. "This is great news that the Presidency has indicated that next week the CSPJ will take office. We say bravo, and we say 'hats off' to the presidency even if we do not agree on how this announcement was made [...] This is the first time that the Judiciary will be independent, and we hope that its 9 members, will have enough leadership to conduct themselves as a real power, which will not dependent of the legislative or executive power [...] to make the administration of justice, the way it should be done." The barrister does not hide a certain frustration, because of the fact that the Head of State does not respect the procedure by inviting only 5 of the 9 members to this announcement. Without being able to explain this behavior of the President of the Republic, he believes that it would have been more correct for the Head of State, to invite the 9 members to make this announcement, or just the President of the CSPJ.
For his part, President Martelly said he was proud "to be the first Haitian President that will establish the CSPJ, the Permanent Electoral Council (CEP) and the Constitutional Council, institutions that should allow the institutionalization of democracy in Haiti."
Concerning the formation of the new CEP, the Head of State indicated: "At the executive level, we are already discussing the choice of our 3 representatives. Once the CSPJ is installed, we will ask it to appoint its' representatives." About the potential difficulties, that could meet the parliamentarians in the appointment of 3 representatives [2 in the Lower House and one in the Senate], he invited the parliamentarians to have an awareness of the reality, and to appoint their representatives to the CEP, to promote the organization of elections. Insisting, that the 9 new members of the CEP, are credible personalities, free of any suspicion, who "will stand out from their personal interests, and will understand the necessity of working today for the country's future, and allow the Haitian people to have a better tomorrow."
The President took the opportunity to confirm that the executive will have candidates in the upcoming senatorial elections in order to achieve a majority in Parliament. "We will identify the candidates; those we will support are those who are able to win the election, and who will not let us down along the way after their election."
(Haiti Libre) -
The 9 members of the Supreme Council of Judicial Power (CSPJ) will be installed Tuesday, July 3, informed President Michel Martelly, who stated that the invitations will be sent to members this weekend at the latest.
Me Carlos Hercules, barrister of the Bar Association welcomes this news. "This is great news that the Presidency has indicated that next week the CSPJ will take office. We say bravo, and we say 'hats off' to the presidency even if we do not agree on how this announcement was made [...] This is the first time that the Judiciary will be independent, and we hope that its 9 members, will have enough leadership to conduct themselves as a real power, which will not dependent of the legislative or executive power [...] to make the administration of justice, the way it should be done." The barrister does not hide a certain frustration, because of the fact that the Head of State does not respect the procedure by inviting only 5 of the 9 members to this announcement. Without being able to explain this behavior of the President of the Republic, he believes that it would have been more correct for the Head of State, to invite the 9 members to make this announcement, or just the President of the CSPJ.
For his part, President Martelly said he was proud "to be the first Haitian President that will establish the CSPJ, the Permanent Electoral Council (CEP) and the Constitutional Council, institutions that should allow the institutionalization of democracy in Haiti."
Concerning the formation of the new CEP, the Head of State indicated: "At the executive level, we are already discussing the choice of our 3 representatives. Once the CSPJ is installed, we will ask it to appoint its' representatives." About the potential difficulties, that could meet the parliamentarians in the appointment of 3 representatives [2 in the Lower House and one in the Senate], he invited the parliamentarians to have an awareness of the reality, and to appoint their representatives to the CEP, to promote the organization of elections. Insisting, that the 9 new members of the CEP, are credible personalities, free of any suspicion, who "will stand out from their personal interests, and will understand the necessity of working today for the country's future, and allow the Haitian people to have a better tomorrow."
The President took the opportunity to confirm that the executive will have candidates in the upcoming senatorial elections in order to achieve a majority in Parliament. "We will identify the candidates; those we will support are those who are able to win the election, and who will not let us down along the way after their election."
Thursday, June 28, 2012
ARTICLE - NEW CHILD SUPPORT LAW
FORMER MINISTER URGES FREE DNA TESTING WITH NEW CHILD SUPPORT LAW
(Haiti Libre) -
PORT-AU-PRINCE - Former Minister for Women, Marie Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue awaits President Martelly to enact the law on paternity, that was passed by the Haitian parliament giving the state the authority to seize property and income from persons who do not provide financial support to their children.
Former Minister Lassegue who has worked to see the legislation passed is now working with organizations in Haiti to offer to women and men free DNA testing to determine a parent when needed.
The vote bringing forth the law on paternity passed in the upper house, the Senate, on April 12, 2012 and had already passed in the Chamber of Deputies back in 2009.
The law on paternity states that if a father denies his biological relationship to a child and refuses to recognize it, he will be presumed to be the father if it is established that during the period of conception of the child, the mother maintained intimate relations with him...
According to procedures established by this Act, the application of paternity may be brought by the mother before the courts. In this case, the woman or her child will be allowed to produce all types of evidence including DNA testing.
The law on responsible paternity and filiation proposed and seconded by Lassegue while she was Minister for Women and Women's Rights obtained, has received a favorable welcome from several women's organizations, such as the organization fanm Kay (Women's House), Solidarity of Haitian Women (Sofa), Fanm Deside-Jacmel (Southeast) who had applauded the final vote on this legislation and continue to wait for its enactment.
Following the prescription of the Haitian Constitution, a law only applies after being published in Le Moniteur, the official newspaper, of the Presidency of the Republic.
Marie Laurence Jocelyn Lassègue believes the law on responsible paternity and filiation contributes to the fight against the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and children.
(Haiti Libre) -
PORT-AU-PRINCE - Former Minister for Women, Marie Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue awaits President Martelly to enact the law on paternity, that was passed by the Haitian parliament giving the state the authority to seize property and income from persons who do not provide financial support to their children.
Former Minister Lassegue who has worked to see the legislation passed is now working with organizations in Haiti to offer to women and men free DNA testing to determine a parent when needed.
The vote bringing forth the law on paternity passed in the upper house, the Senate, on April 12, 2012 and had already passed in the Chamber of Deputies back in 2009.
The law on paternity states that if a father denies his biological relationship to a child and refuses to recognize it, he will be presumed to be the father if it is established that during the period of conception of the child, the mother maintained intimate relations with him...
According to procedures established by this Act, the application of paternity may be brought by the mother before the courts. In this case, the woman or her child will be allowed to produce all types of evidence including DNA testing.
The law on responsible paternity and filiation proposed and seconded by Lassegue while she was Minister for Women and Women's Rights obtained, has received a favorable welcome from several women's organizations, such as the organization fanm Kay (Women's House), Solidarity of Haitian Women (Sofa), Fanm Deside-Jacmel (Southeast) who had applauded the final vote on this legislation and continue to wait for its enactment.
Following the prescription of the Haitian Constitution, a law only applies after being published in Le Moniteur, the official newspaper, of the Presidency of the Republic.
Marie Laurence Jocelyn Lassègue believes the law on responsible paternity and filiation contributes to the fight against the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and children.
ARTICLE - RAPE - FEW PROSECUTIONS
UN REPORT ON HAITI RAPE SHOWS FEW PROSECUTIONS
(ABC) - By Trenton Daniel, AP
The prosecution of rape cases in Haiti remains bogged down, and justice is rarely served, the United Nations mission in the impoverished country said in a report released Tuesday.
The study by the U.N.'s human rights section in Haiti, carried out with the cooperation of police and judicial officials, examined a sample of 62 rape complaints filed over a three-month period in 2010 at five of the busiest police stations in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince. The U.N. report noted the sample was small compared with about 500 rapes recorded in the capital for all of 2010 by local women's organizations.
None of the 62 rape complaints went to trial more than a year after they were filed with police, the U.N. report said.
The government prosecutor's office in Port-au-Prince reviewed only 25 of the 62 cases, and ordered the judicial authorities to investigate 11 of them.
Four of the 11 cases were dismissed, while the rest remain under investigation. As of December 2011, only one the 62 cases in the sample period had been referred for trial, but the trial had not begun.
The U.N. report found other concerns.
Prosecution proved difficult in part because there was no accurate information on rape cases in Port-au-Prince. There is no national database that documents cases of sexual violence, which means that data from the government, aid groups and U.N. sources are not comprehensive.
The report's authors said many records were destroyed in a devastating 2010 earthquake, which toppled thousands of buildings, including government offices and police stations. Advocacy groups have expressed alarm over what they say has been an unusually high number of rapes in the spontaneous settlements that sprang up in the capital and other cities in the quake's aftermath.
The U.N. report's authors said police and judicial authorities lack even the most basic resources to do their jobs, such as computers, vehicles and furniture.
They also noted that police officers don't always tell rape victims that they should try to obtain a medical examination within 72 hours after an attack.
But the U.N. report recommends that government officials ensure that police and judicial authorities understand that a medical certificate is not required to file a rape case. In Haiti, it is often difficult for rape victims to obtain medical records because they cannot pay for transportation or may fear retaliation.
The report also recommends that the government set aside more money to agencies helping women such as the Ministry of Women's Rights. Only 1.4 percent of the national budget was allocated to the ministry in the proposed budget for 2011-2012.
A spokesman for the Haitian National Police couldn't be immediately reached, and the government's press office didn't immediately response to a request for comment.
(ABC) - By Trenton Daniel, AP
The prosecution of rape cases in Haiti remains bogged down, and justice is rarely served, the United Nations mission in the impoverished country said in a report released Tuesday.
The study by the U.N.'s human rights section in Haiti, carried out with the cooperation of police and judicial officials, examined a sample of 62 rape complaints filed over a three-month period in 2010 at five of the busiest police stations in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince. The U.N. report noted the sample was small compared with about 500 rapes recorded in the capital for all of 2010 by local women's organizations.
None of the 62 rape complaints went to trial more than a year after they were filed with police, the U.N. report said.
The government prosecutor's office in Port-au-Prince reviewed only 25 of the 62 cases, and ordered the judicial authorities to investigate 11 of them.
Four of the 11 cases were dismissed, while the rest remain under investigation. As of December 2011, only one the 62 cases in the sample period had been referred for trial, but the trial had not begun.
The U.N. report found other concerns.
Prosecution proved difficult in part because there was no accurate information on rape cases in Port-au-Prince. There is no national database that documents cases of sexual violence, which means that data from the government, aid groups and U.N. sources are not comprehensive.
The report's authors said many records were destroyed in a devastating 2010 earthquake, which toppled thousands of buildings, including government offices and police stations. Advocacy groups have expressed alarm over what they say has been an unusually high number of rapes in the spontaneous settlements that sprang up in the capital and other cities in the quake's aftermath.
The U.N. report's authors said police and judicial authorities lack even the most basic resources to do their jobs, such as computers, vehicles and furniture.
They also noted that police officers don't always tell rape victims that they should try to obtain a medical examination within 72 hours after an attack.
But the U.N. report recommends that government officials ensure that police and judicial authorities understand that a medical certificate is not required to file a rape case. In Haiti, it is often difficult for rape victims to obtain medical records because they cannot pay for transportation or may fear retaliation.
The report also recommends that the government set aside more money to agencies helping women such as the Ministry of Women's Rights. Only 1.4 percent of the national budget was allocated to the ministry in the proposed budget for 2011-2012.
A spokesman for the Haitian National Police couldn't be immediately reached, and the government's press office didn't immediately response to a request for comment.
ARTICLE - SEIZURE OF A BOAT IN GONAIVES
SEIZURE OF A BOAT IN GONAIVES
(Haiti Libre) -
On order of the Magistrate Denis Cyprien, the prosecutor of Port-au-Prince proceeded Monday to the seizure in the Port of Gonaives, of the commercial vessel "La Flecha", owned by businessman Mouni Mourra...
Me Jean Renel Sénatus, the Government Commissioner, who welcomed this seizure, confirmed Wednesday, the confiscation of the boat, which would be involved in the transport of smuggled goods, including cosmetics. He stated that this action follows the recent seizure of goods, made on Delmas 31, which would have led the judicial authorities to this boat. Nearly $300,000 of goods were confiscated in the operation; goods that were found both in the market of Port-au-Prince, and in Gonaïves.
Me Jean Renel Sénatus said he wanted to find and arrest all those involved in this case to bring them to justice. According to the information of the Government Commissioner, Cynthia Cassis Mourra and a person responding to the name of Sherley, two suspects arrested during the operation conducted in Delmas, were released against payment of a deposit of USD $547,000.
The "La Flecha" will soon be transferred to Port-au-Prince as evidence in the investigation.
(Haiti Libre) -
On order of the Magistrate Denis Cyprien, the prosecutor of Port-au-Prince proceeded Monday to the seizure in the Port of Gonaives, of the commercial vessel "La Flecha", owned by businessman Mouni Mourra...
Me Jean Renel Sénatus, the Government Commissioner, who welcomed this seizure, confirmed Wednesday, the confiscation of the boat, which would be involved in the transport of smuggled goods, including cosmetics. He stated that this action follows the recent seizure of goods, made on Delmas 31, which would have led the judicial authorities to this boat. Nearly $300,000 of goods were confiscated in the operation; goods that were found both in the market of Port-au-Prince, and in Gonaïves.
Me Jean Renel Sénatus said he wanted to find and arrest all those involved in this case to bring them to justice. According to the information of the Government Commissioner, Cynthia Cassis Mourra and a person responding to the name of Sherley, two suspects arrested during the operation conducted in Delmas, were released against payment of a deposit of USD $547,000.
The "La Flecha" will soon be transferred to Port-au-Prince as evidence in the investigation.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
ARTICLE - D.R. - ONE TONNE OF COCAINE SEIZED
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SEIZES ONE TONNE OF COCAINE
(Bernama) - By Xinhua
Santo Domingo - Security agents of the Dominican Republic seized one tonne of cocaine in the Caribbean country's southern seas and arrested three drug traffickers over the weekend, the national drug control bureau said on Sunday.
The Bureau said in a statement that the 1,000 packets of drug were found Friday night in a yacht, which was captured in waters off the province of Peravia
The authorities have arrested three Venezuelans and launched an investigation to identify the source of the cocaine, said the statement.
It is the second largest cocaine seizure this year in the country, following a March operation which intercepted 1.5 tons of cocaine in the south.
The Dominican Republic and Haiti share the Hispaniola Island, which is seen as the main passage for cocaine smuggling from South American countries such as Colombia to the United States and Europe.
(Bernama) - By Xinhua
Santo Domingo - Security agents of the Dominican Republic seized one tonne of cocaine in the Caribbean country's southern seas and arrested three drug traffickers over the weekend, the national drug control bureau said on Sunday.
The Bureau said in a statement that the 1,000 packets of drug were found Friday night in a yacht, which was captured in waters off the province of Peravia
The authorities have arrested three Venezuelans and launched an investigation to identify the source of the cocaine, said the statement.
It is the second largest cocaine seizure this year in the country, following a March operation which intercepted 1.5 tons of cocaine in the south.
The Dominican Republic and Haiti share the Hispaniola Island, which is seen as the main passage for cocaine smuggling from South American countries such as Colombia to the United States and Europe.
ARTICLE - FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION BEGINS
THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION BEGINS
(Haiti Libre) -
Corruption, tax evasion, and smuggling are scourges in Haiti. To provide an update on the issue, Atouriste, Director of the Unit for Combating Corruption (ULCC), the 18 government commissioners, Mario Andrésol, the Director General of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), and the Directors of the Central Financial Intelligence Unit (UCREF), the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) and of Customs gathered Monday at the premises of the DGI, as part of the Inter Institutional Committee formed in early June by Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe to support his policy of zero tolerance.
Following this meeting, during a press conference, Ronald December, the Secretary of State for Tax Reform explained "[...] We met this morning to follow up on the creation of the Inter-Institutional Committee of planning and coordination of the fight against tax fraud, against money laundering, corruption, and against smuggling [...] Today we met to establish the action plan that we will establish soon...
We know that tax fraud is a scourge for the state revenue and for the country's image [...] If some pay their taxes and others do not, the state authority can not be restored. If there are traders who pay customs duties and others not, the state authority can not be restored....
We decided to get together this morning to coordinate our actions. The DGI, and customs must provide material to the ULCC, the UCREF, and the public prosecutor. There are many decisions that were taken this morning, to establish an action plan. This will include fixed and mobile brigades that will be deployed throughout the country. We will not go into details to tell you how the plan will be executed, but I can announce that there are brigades that are established with the police, customs, DGI and even in some cases with justices of the peace, so that we arrive to effectively give an answer to all these problems that plague the society and that make it often that we depend on foreign aid; while in principle, we could ensure a set aspect of development by ourselves."
Fresnel Jean-Baptiste, the Director General of Customs has indicated that several operations have been organized in recent days, that alleged fraudsters have begun to be identified, and that more than a dozen trucks, and a large quantity of goods have been confiscated. He stressed that drivers were arrested, but also exporters and customs officials who are under investigation, and that the owners of goods, will also be brought to justice.
Mario Andrésol, for his part, has confirmed that the National Police will play its role in the fight against corruption requiring the cooperation of all citizens.
(Haiti Libre) -
Corruption, tax evasion, and smuggling are scourges in Haiti. To provide an update on the issue, Atouriste, Director of the Unit for Combating Corruption (ULCC), the 18 government commissioners, Mario Andrésol, the Director General of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), and the Directors of the Central Financial Intelligence Unit (UCREF), the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) and of Customs gathered Monday at the premises of the DGI, as part of the Inter Institutional Committee formed in early June by Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe to support his policy of zero tolerance.
Following this meeting, during a press conference, Ronald December, the Secretary of State for Tax Reform explained "[...] We met this morning to follow up on the creation of the Inter-Institutional Committee of planning and coordination of the fight against tax fraud, against money laundering, corruption, and against smuggling [...] Today we met to establish the action plan that we will establish soon...
We know that tax fraud is a scourge for the state revenue and for the country's image [...] If some pay their taxes and others do not, the state authority can not be restored. If there are traders who pay customs duties and others not, the state authority can not be restored....
We decided to get together this morning to coordinate our actions. The DGI, and customs must provide material to the ULCC, the UCREF, and the public prosecutor. There are many decisions that were taken this morning, to establish an action plan. This will include fixed and mobile brigades that will be deployed throughout the country. We will not go into details to tell you how the plan will be executed, but I can announce that there are brigades that are established with the police, customs, DGI and even in some cases with justices of the peace, so that we arrive to effectively give an answer to all these problems that plague the society and that make it often that we depend on foreign aid; while in principle, we could ensure a set aspect of development by ourselves."
Fresnel Jean-Baptiste, the Director General of Customs has indicated that several operations have been organized in recent days, that alleged fraudsters have begun to be identified, and that more than a dozen trucks, and a large quantity of goods have been confiscated. He stressed that drivers were arrested, but also exporters and customs officials who are under investigation, and that the owners of goods, will also be brought to justice.
Mario Andrésol, for his part, has confirmed that the National Police will play its role in the fight against corruption requiring the cooperation of all citizens.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
ARTICLE - HAITIAN PASTOR, FAMILY ATTACKED
HAITIAN PASTOR, FAMILY ATTACKED
(Mennonite Weely Review) - By Sheldon C. Good
A group of robbers attacked an orphanage in Haiti early on March 19, killing one person and raping another. They injured at least three others, including Mennonite Pastor Lesly Bertrand.
At about 1 a.m., the robbers jumped over the wall surrounding Grace Childrens Home located in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, eight miles northeast of Port-au-Prince. They shot and killed the security guard and took his keys.
They then tied up three people — Pastor Bertrand; his wife, Bernadette; and the yardboy — and beat them. The robbers raped the Bertrands’ 14-year-old daughter. They took a cellphone, a laptop and some money.
Bernadette Bertrand and the girl were both hospitalized overnight. They are now receiving medical attention at home.
Esaie Bertrand, a son of the family, said in an email March 20 that the orphan children “are doing well.”
In addition to the orphanage, Assemblée de la Grâce (Grace Assembly Network) consists of 25 congregations with about 2,387 members, and seven schools. There are more than 30 pastors.
Pastor Bertrand is bishop of Assemblée de la Grâce, which is a partner in mission of Franconia Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA. He has invited prayers for the situation.
Walter Sawatzky of Hatfield, Pa., a consultant with Wozo, an organization that runs a trauma-healing program in Haiti, said that Garly Michel, executive director of Wozo, planned to meet with Pastor Bertrand.
Wozo is an adaptation of Eastern Mennonite University’s Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience program. The Haitian program began in October 2010 with funds from six denominations and organizations, including Mennonite Central Committee and the Church of the Brethren.
Sawatzky said the Bertrands and the orphanage are victims of a broader trend of violence and insecurity in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.
“The pattern I’ve seen is that the robbers will observe when there’s been contact with international people,” he said. “After the visit is done, they assume [the foreigners] left some money or that the Haitians have access to money, so they kidnap people or try to rob them.”
Targeted previously
This is not the first time Grace Assembly Network has been targeted. In 2006 several gunmen came into the “mother church” of Grace Assembly Network and shot and killed a church deacon, severely wounded the worship leader and injured several others.
The intruders “promised to come back and kill Pastor Lesly,” Sawatzky said.
At the time, Bertrand and his family lived near the church. They later moved across town.
“Foreigners are given a wide berth when it comes to street violence or even home invasions,” he said. “The sad thing is that the average Haitian is far more vulnerable to this kind of violence, because they lack the foreigners’ greater visibility, and therefore, protection by the global community represented through occupying U.N. security forces deployed in Haiti since 1994.”
Gay Brunt Miller, who relates to Assemblée de la Grâce for Franconia Conference, said at least three conference congregations are taking special offerings for costs associated with the situation, including for the security guard’s funeral. An offering was taken at a Sister Care seminar of Mennonite Women USA held March 23-24 in Souderton, Pa.
“This incident makes me heartsick,” she said. “Please pray for Pastor Lesly and all those impacted by this brutal violation. Pray that God will heal their minds, bodies and souls, and give them courage so that they may continue to shine God’s light in Haiti.”
(Mennonite Weely Review) - By Sheldon C. Good
A group of robbers attacked an orphanage in Haiti early on March 19, killing one person and raping another. They injured at least three others, including Mennonite Pastor Lesly Bertrand.
At about 1 a.m., the robbers jumped over the wall surrounding Grace Childrens Home located in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, eight miles northeast of Port-au-Prince. They shot and killed the security guard and took his keys.
They then tied up three people — Pastor Bertrand; his wife, Bernadette; and the yardboy — and beat them. The robbers raped the Bertrands’ 14-year-old daughter. They took a cellphone, a laptop and some money.
Bernadette Bertrand and the girl were both hospitalized overnight. They are now receiving medical attention at home.
Esaie Bertrand, a son of the family, said in an email March 20 that the orphan children “are doing well.”
In addition to the orphanage, Assemblée de la Grâce (Grace Assembly Network) consists of 25 congregations with about 2,387 members, and seven schools. There are more than 30 pastors.
Pastor Bertrand is bishop of Assemblée de la Grâce, which is a partner in mission of Franconia Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA. He has invited prayers for the situation.
Walter Sawatzky of Hatfield, Pa., a consultant with Wozo, an organization that runs a trauma-healing program in Haiti, said that Garly Michel, executive director of Wozo, planned to meet with Pastor Bertrand.
Wozo is an adaptation of Eastern Mennonite University’s Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience program. The Haitian program began in October 2010 with funds from six denominations and organizations, including Mennonite Central Committee and the Church of the Brethren.
Sawatzky said the Bertrands and the orphanage are victims of a broader trend of violence and insecurity in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.
“The pattern I’ve seen is that the robbers will observe when there’s been contact with international people,” he said. “After the visit is done, they assume [the foreigners] left some money or that the Haitians have access to money, so they kidnap people or try to rob them.”
Targeted previously
This is not the first time Grace Assembly Network has been targeted. In 2006 several gunmen came into the “mother church” of Grace Assembly Network and shot and killed a church deacon, severely wounded the worship leader and injured several others.
The intruders “promised to come back and kill Pastor Lesly,” Sawatzky said.
At the time, Bertrand and his family lived near the church. They later moved across town.
“Foreigners are given a wide berth when it comes to street violence or even home invasions,” he said. “The sad thing is that the average Haitian is far more vulnerable to this kind of violence, because they lack the foreigners’ greater visibility, and therefore, protection by the global community represented through occupying U.N. security forces deployed in Haiti since 1994.”
Gay Brunt Miller, who relates to Assemblée de la Grâce for Franconia Conference, said at least three conference congregations are taking special offerings for costs associated with the situation, including for the security guard’s funeral. An offering was taken at a Sister Care seminar of Mennonite Women USA held March 23-24 in Souderton, Pa.
“This incident makes me heartsick,” she said. “Please pray for Pastor Lesly and all those impacted by this brutal violation. Pray that God will heal their minds, bodies and souls, and give them courage so that they may continue to shine God’s light in Haiti.”
Thursday, December 15, 2011
ARTICLE - 4 DEAD, 3 INJURED AT BORDER
4 DEAD, 3 INJURED IN WAVE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST HAITIANS IN D.R
(Defend Haiti) -
DESCUBIERTA, Dominican Republic - Haitians are being targeted by violent attacks in the town of La Descubierta, following the death of a young Dominican in the town of Cornillon. The vengeful attitude has killed at least four Haitians.
According to the Support Group for Returnees and Refugees (GARR), as well as the four Haitian deaths, three others have been seriously injured and were hospitalized.
"Haitians who are forced to live in Descubierta must adapt to evade being targets of Dominicans," said Collette Lespinasse, the head of GARR.
The head of the GARR explained the origin of the mishap: "As usual, after the Cornillon market, every Wednesday, people are partying. During the course of this partying, a fight broke out between two Haitians. The situation quickly escalated and a Dominican died after being hit by a stray bullet. The latter came from the town of Descubierta where other Dominicans had resolved to avenge him..."
Mrs. Lespinasse said that every day since the incident has brought a new report of a death of another Haitian. There is even talk, she said, that an ultimatum was passed prohibiting Haitians to enter the town of Descubierta.
Mrs. Lespinasse put to rest the rumors suggesting that the Dominican military has entered into the Haitian territory to avenge their compatriot.
"Haitians who died were all killed in the Dominican Republic," she said.
The situation developing at the Haitian-Dominican border did not end in indifference by the Haitian government. The government team was forced to end its retreat to address this problem.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister, formal instructions were passed to the Haitian National Police to ensure the security of lives and property of Haitians at the border.
The Chancellor of Haiti, Laurent Lamothe, asked the Haitian ambassador in the Dominican Republic to prepare a report on the circumstances surrounding these events.
(Defend Haiti) -
DESCUBIERTA, Dominican Republic - Haitians are being targeted by violent attacks in the town of La Descubierta, following the death of a young Dominican in the town of Cornillon. The vengeful attitude has killed at least four Haitians.
According to the Support Group for Returnees and Refugees (GARR), as well as the four Haitian deaths, three others have been seriously injured and were hospitalized.
"Haitians who are forced to live in Descubierta must adapt to evade being targets of Dominicans," said Collette Lespinasse, the head of GARR.
The head of the GARR explained the origin of the mishap: "As usual, after the Cornillon market, every Wednesday, people are partying. During the course of this partying, a fight broke out between two Haitians. The situation quickly escalated and a Dominican died after being hit by a stray bullet. The latter came from the town of Descubierta where other Dominicans had resolved to avenge him..."
Mrs. Lespinasse said that every day since the incident has brought a new report of a death of another Haitian. There is even talk, she said, that an ultimatum was passed prohibiting Haitians to enter the town of Descubierta.
Mrs. Lespinasse put to rest the rumors suggesting that the Dominican military has entered into the Haitian territory to avenge their compatriot.
"Haitians who died were all killed in the Dominican Republic," she said.
The situation developing at the Haitian-Dominican border did not end in indifference by the Haitian government. The government team was forced to end its retreat to address this problem.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister, formal instructions were passed to the Haitian National Police to ensure the security of lives and property of Haitians at the border.
The Chancellor of Haiti, Laurent Lamothe, asked the Haitian ambassador in the Dominican Republic to prepare a report on the circumstances surrounding these events.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
2010 U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
2010 U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ON HAITI
Haiti is a constitutional republic with a population of approximately 9.9 million.
On January 12, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country, killing an estimated
230,000 persons and directly affecting approximately three million others. The country has a multiparty political system. Presidential and legislative elections
occurred on November 28. Allegations of fraud and irregularities raised questions
regarding the preliminary tally and prompted the president and the Provisional
Electoral Council (CEP) to request a review by the Organization of American States. The CEP subsequently announced the final first round results; since none of the candidates received a majority of the vote, a runoff election between the two leading candidates was scheduled for March 2011. Elements of the security forces
occasionally acted independently of civilian control.
Human rights problems included allegations of extrajudicial killings by Haitian
National Police (HNP) officers, findings of excessive use of force against prisoners, overcrowding and poor sanitation in prisons, prolonged pretrial
detention, an inefficient judiciary subject to significant influence by the executive
and legislative branches, severe corruption in all branches of government, violence
and societal discrimination against women, child abuse, human trafficking, and
ineffective enforcement of worker rights.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
The government or its agents did not commit any known politically motivated
killings; however, there were allegations of HSP involvement in extrajudicial
killings. HNP officers killed several persons who were armed and resisting arrest.
Some cases of arbitrary killings were referred to the Office of the Inspector
General for investigation.
On January 19, in the aftermath of the earthquake, inmates in Les Cayes prison
rioted. Officers from the departmental riot control police (UDMO) intervened,
killing 12 inmates, while 22 others escaped and scores of others were injured.
Three investigations were launched: one by the chief inspector general of the HNP,
a second by the government with the UN, and a third by the investigating judge in
Les Cayes, in cooperation with the government's Office of Citizen Protection
(OPC). The chief inspector general concluded that the action of the joint
departmental SWAT team and corrections officers caused the deaths of 10 of the
12 inmates. Two other prisoners died of unrelated causes. The report noted that "if
the intervention was legitimate, the force used was excessive and disproportionate," and that "a measured use of force was possible under the circumstances." The inspector general issued six recommendations, including the dismissal of prison warden Sylvestre Larack and the suspension of Les Cayes Police Chief Olrich Beaubrun. A joint HNP-UN report called the killings a grave violation of human rights and urged the justice system to prosecute those responsible. On May 27, the HNP placed Larack in preventive detention, as it reopened the chief inspector general's investigation and recommended that Frantz Dehonnet, the deputy administrator of prisons, resign. Authorities charged Beaubrun and ten other officers with homicide. At year's end their cases had yet to be tried, Beaubrun had not yet been arrested, and Dehonnet still held his post as deputy administrator of prisons.
On January 21, police shot and killed Gentile Cherie for stealing rice. Foreign
journalists saw police stop two men who had taken a bag of rice that had fallen
from a truck; witnesses claimed that the officers shot the men in the back and left
them on the sidewalk. The Office of the Inspector General had not received an
official complaint nor opened an investigation into the matter.
On December 6, unknown assailants shot and killed former inspector general of the
HNP Etienne Saint Gourdin. Officials opened an investigation into his death.
There were no further developments in the 2009 case concerning seven individuals, including two active police officers and one former police officer, who were arrested for killing the manager of a money-exchange outlet during an armed robbery in Port-au-Prince. The case was under investigation by the court at year's end.
The HNP Internal Investigations Unit completed its investigation of the 2008 death
of Renece Charon while in police custody and sent the case to the criminal court,
which found that other prisoners beat Charon to death.
Residents in some areas resorted to vigilante justice. In November and December mobs attacked and killed Vodou (voodoo) practitioners accused of spreading cholera by placing contaminated powder into rivers and waterways. According to the HNP, 31 people were confirmed killed by the end of the year. Credible sources reported an additional 22 possible killings. Two ministerial-level officials publicly denounced the killings, and local police confiscated 16 firearms, but made no arrests.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) also reported vigilante incidents including
shootings, beatings, and lynchings in rural areas, where effective judicial and law
enforcement institutions largely were absent. Police statistics documented 83
vigilante incidents through the end of the year, but police made no arrests.
Observers attributed the majority of vigilante justice incidents to accusations of
theft, witchcraft, or kidnapping.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances by government
agents.
Current and former HNP officers were accused of participation in kidnappings.
The number of reported kidnappings nearly doubled from the previous year. There
were 121 reported kidnapping victims during the year, compared with 66 through
October 2009.
Gonaives Police Commissioner Ernst Dorfeuille Bouquet, who was arrested and charged for the 2008 kidnapping and killing of Monica Pierre, escaped from the National Penitentiary on January 12, but later turned himself in to police in Petionville. At year's end he was awaiting trial after being returned to prison.
There were no known developments in the following cases:
The January 2009 abduction of Joseph Francois Robert Martello, the director
of the National Commission of Public Markets (CNMP).
The 2008 arrests of three Cap-Haitien police officers for allegedly heading a
gang responsible for multiple kidnappings.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
The law prohibits such practices, but there were some reports of degrading treatment, most notably in prisons, during the year.
The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense provided an update in 2009 on the status of 23
Sri Lankan UN peacekeepers who were convicted in late 2008 of sexually exploiting and abusing children while they were stationed in Haiti under UN auspices in 2007: 20of them were discharged, demoted, formally reprimanded, or otherwise punished; and the other three were killed in military action.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Prisoners reported physical abuse by correctional officers; prisons also suffered
from corruption and neglect. Due to insufficient staffing, equipment, and security
officers avoided some cellblocks. At times officials used lethal force against
prisoners to quell inmate uprisings (see section 1.a.).
Prisons and detention centers throughout the country remained overcrowded, poorly maintained, and unsanitary. Overcrowding was severe; in some prisons detainees slept in shifts due to lack of space. The earthquake, which damaged several prisons, intensified the existing problems. The earthquake damage compromised the holding capacity at facilities in Carrefour, Delmas, Jacmel, and the National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince. Over 5,000 detainees escaped in the wake of the earthquake, including all 4,215 persons held at the National Penitentiary. Some prisons had no beds for detainees; some cells had no access to sunlight. Many prison facilities lacked basic services such as medical services, water, electricity, and medical isolation units for contagious patients. Many prisoners and detainees suffered from a lack of basic hygiene, malnutrition, poor quality health care, and illness caused by the presence of rodents. Some prisons did not allow prisoners out of their cells for exercise.
On October 17, prisoners at the National Penitentiary overpowered guards in an
attempted prison break, taking seven persons, including UN Police (UNPOL) officers and visiting Swedish police officers, hostage for several hours. The authorities regained control of the penitentiary, but three prisoners were killed in the process; two were shot, and one was reportedly trampled by other prisoners.
In some prisons the incidence of preventable diseases such as AIDS, malaria, and
drug-resistant tuberculosis remained a serious problem. The cholera outbreak also
affected the prisons. Within the first week of the outbreak, five detainees in the
Mirebalais Prison died. The Bureau of Prisons responded by limiting outside
contact.
At year's end the total prison population, including both pretrial detainees and
sentenced prisoners in the country's 17 prisons, was more than three times the
planned capacity of the country's prisons. Pretrial detention and its effect on
overcrowding remained a serious problem during the year (see section 1.d.).
The overburdened prison system had insufficient holding facilities. The Civil Prison of Port-au-Prince (CPPP) contained approximately half of the country's prisoners and pretrial detainees in its intake room. Provincial authorities, in particular, incarcerated many convicted prisoners for terms of months or even years in temporary holding cells. Severely overcrowded police stations served as prisons in the cities of Gonaives and Petit Goave, whose prisons were destroyed in 2004. Gonaives, for example, held 140 long-term prisoners in its local police station in October.
Port-au-Prince maintained separate penitentiaries for adult men and women, but in
other prisons, there were instances of male and female prisoners being held together due to space constraints. Children 16 and older were confined with adults. Minors and adults sometimes occupied the same cells due to lack of available space. Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted prisoners in the women's prison. When space was available, boys were held in a separate cell of a facility in Port-au-Prince. By law that facility may hold only boys ages 13 to 15, although a few child inmates claimed to be as young as age 10. Girls were not held separately from women at the Petionville Women's Penitentiary.
For most of the year, prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors, who were allowed to bring them food and clothing. Inmates also were permitted religious observance and could request to see a Protestant minister, a Catholic priest, or a Vodou (voodoo) leader. However, these policies were suspended at the end of October in response to the nationwide cholera outbreak. The Administration of Prisons barred any outsider from entering prisons, in an attempt to curb the spread of cholera. Prisoners and detainees were permitted to make a written or verbal complaint regarding their conditions to the facility supervisor. If their complaint was regarding the supervisor, they were given the option to refer it up the chain of command for investigation.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the local NGO National Human Rights Network for Haiti, and the OPC monitored prison conditions in cooperation with the Department of Prison Administration.
Authorities freely permitted the ICRC, the Haitian Red Cross, and human rights
groups to enter prisons and police stations, monitor conditions, and assist prisoners
and detainees with medical care, food, and legal aid. Primary concerns for most groups monitoring the conditions in the prisons related to adequate water, food,
and sanitation. Although some programs, such as efforts to improve sanitation and
health care delivery at the CPPP reported success, the government did not implement many changes recommended by NGOs and donor governments.
Authorities took some measures to improve prison conditions. In response to the
prison killings in Les Cayes, Minister of Justice Paul Denis began a series of
unannounced prison visits, beginning with the Women's prison in Petionville followed by the National Penitentiary. In addition, the government started releasing defendants who had been held in preventive detention for unacceptably long periods, pending formal charges and trial. Officials implemented a pilot project at the Petionville Women's Prison, establishing a special correctional tribunal to deal with the 257 detainees awaiting formal charges. Between June 8 and 14, the tribunal heard 15 cases, including three involving juveniles; 14 defendants were released, including an inmate who had served her sentence but remained incarcerated. The Ministry of Justice held hearings in August and September to reduce the pretrial detention backlog in the National Penitentiary, and the court committee released 30 inmates as a result. Still, since most of the 1,570 detainees awaiting trial in the Penitentiary were held for serious crimes that warranted a jury trial, they were effectively denied the right to a prompt trial. An estimated 15 percent of detainees in the National Penitentiary had been convicted by year's end.
The ICRC, in collaboration with the Prison Authority, renovated and refurbished
the earthquake-damaged civil prison in Jacmel.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, and the constitution stipulates that a person may be arrested only if apprehended during the commission of a crime or
on the basis of a warrant by a legally competent official such as a justice of the
peace or magistrate. The authorities must bring the detainee before a judge within
48 hours of arrest. Officials frequently did not comply with these provisions in
practice.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus
MINUSTAH, deploying 8,766 soldiers, 3,082 police officers, and 481 civilian UN
officials, trained and supported the national police force, provided disaster
recovery assistance, and assisted the government in suppressing gang-related violence.
The approximately 8,500-member HNP has sole responsibility for law enforcement and maintenance of order; there are no military forces. The UN has estimated that the country needs a force of at least 14,000 police officers, although it recommended 18,000 to 22,000. Women make up less than 10 percent of the total police force, however the HNP established a recruiting drive for female officers in 2008, and 350 of the 2,755 recruits hired in the past four years were women. The HNP is officially an autonomous civilian institution under the authority of a director general and includes police, corrections, and coast guard functions in separate units. The Ministry of Justice and Public Security, through its minister and the secretary of state for public security, provides oversight.
The HNP lost 142 officers in the January earthquake (72 confirmed deceased and
70 missing), and an additional 253 were injured. Approximately 40 police stations
and offices were damaged. The HNP worked with UNPOL and MINUSTAH to provide security for aid operations and to patrol internally displaced person (IDP)camps.
The Inspector General's (IG) Office of the HNP accepts and investigates allegations from any complainant of police wrongdoing, including human rights violations, complicity in criminal acts, and other violations. IG investigations revealing criminal activity were referred to the regional prosecutor. The IG also conducted vetting with MINUSTAH to certify that members of the HNP had no serious disciplinary violations or accusations of human rights abuses pending against them.
Reform and professionalization of the HNP continued as international programs and foreign governments provided human rights and other training and equipment for new recruits and for existing officers; police station upgrades; security and humanitarian improvements to prisons; vehicles, computers, communications equipment; and other technical assistance. Some units, notably the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, made significant improvements.
Although the HNP's efforts resulted in significantly increased levels of physical
security and policing effectiveness, the HNP often could not prevent or respond to
gang-related and other societal violence, such as vigilante justice, due to an
insufficient number of officers and inadequate equipment or training.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention
The law permits police officers to make arrests when a suspect is caught during the
commission of a crime, or later with a court-authorized warrant. Police sometimes
apprehended persons without warrants or with warrants not issued by a duly authorized official. The authorities occasionally detained individuals on unspecified charges or pending investigation.
The government frequently did not observe the legal requirement to present detainees before a judge within 48 hours, and prolonged pretrial detention remained a serious problem. Many detainees were held in pretrial detention for extended periods--in some cases up to five years--without being informed of charges against them.
Investigative judges granted bail at their discretion. Bail hearings were not routine, and judges usually granted bail only for minor cases and based on compelling
humanitarian grounds, such as a need for medical attention. Detainees generally
were allowed access to family members and a lawyer of their own choosing. Many
detainees could not afford the services of an attorney, and the government
routinely did not provide free counsel.
Some returnees, some of whom spent substantial portions or most of their lives
abroad, alleged corruption, widespread discrimination, and social abuse after
returning home. Reported discriminatory practices included arbitrary arrests, false
accusations about their activities to local police, and extortion attempts against
them and their families abroad during the initial detention phase, in exchange for
quicker release from administrative quarantine.
Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem during the year. By the end of the year,
of the 5,331 persons in custody, only 1,722 had been tried and sentenced, while
3,609 awaited trial. Approximately one third of those awaiting trial had been
incarcerated for a year or longer.
Prison population statistics did not include the large number of persons held in
police stations around the country in prolonged pretrial detention (without a
hearing or filed charges) for longer than the constitutionally mandated 48-hour
maximum detention period. Inadequate record keeping and data entry at the police
stations made it difficult to estimate the number of persons held in prolonged
detention.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The justice system sustained significant losses in the January earthquake. The
Ministry of Justice and the Palais de Justice (Supreme Court) were destroyed, and
27 court and tribunal buildings were damaged. A subsequent fire at the Palais de
Justice destroyed all the records, including records of cases pending trial. Although
the law provides for an independent judiciary, in practice the executive and
legislative branches exerted significant influence on the judicial branch. Judges
assigned to politically sensitive cases complained about interference from the
executive branch. Credible reports of judicial corruption were commonplace (see
section 4).
Pervasive and long-standing problems--including a shortage of funding and adequately trained and qualified justices of the peace, judges, and prosecutors as well as failure to convene court sessions on the schedule provided by law-- contributed to the large backlog of criminal cases, and many detainees waited years for a court date. The government took steps during the year to reduce the pretrial backlog (see section 1.c.).
The code of criminal procedure does not assign clear responsibility for criminal
investigations and divides authority among police, justices of the peace, prosecutors, and investigative magistrates. Authorities often failed to question
witnesses or complete investigations and rarely conducted autopsies, and examining magistrates often received incomplete files.
An outdated juridical fee scale created another barrier for crime victims requesting
investigation of their cases. After a citizen reported being the victim of a crime,
some justices of the peace charged varying "fees" to initiate criminal prosecutions
based on their perceptions of what a service should cost.
Long distances and limited transportation between citizens' residences and the
courts also limited access to the judicial system. In most regions judges lacked
basic resources and professional training.
The School for Magistrates was the temporary seat of the Supreme Court after the
January earthquake. The school continued in-service training for justices of the
peace, and the majority of justices from all 18 jurisdictions had completed the
intensive six-week training program. However, the school had not had a class of
magistrates in more than five years. An internationally funded program continued
to provide training for judges, prosecutors, and other court personnel; furnished
technical assistance in drafting rules and procedures; and assisted in curriculum
planning for the school. The Judicial Strengthening Program begun by the National
Center for State Courts provided assistance with training and curricula for judges
and court personnel.
Trial Procedures
The judicial apparatus follows a civil law system based on the Napoleonic Code,
largely unchanged since 1880. In practice authorities widely ignored the constitutionally provided right to a fair public trial. The constitution also expressly denies police and judicial authorities the right to interrogate suspects unless legal counsel or a representative of the suspect's choice is present or they waive this right. Most accused persons could not afford legal counsel for interrogation or trial, and the law does not require that the government provide legal representation.
Defendants who could not afford representation were more vulnerable to interrogation without counsel. However, some defendants had access to counsel during trials. With the support of the national government and the local legal community, international groups provided funds to indigent defendants for professional legal representation.
While the constitution provides defendants with a presumption of innocence, the right to be present at trial, the right to confront witnesses against them, and the
right to present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf, judges frequently denied defendants these rights. The lack of a witness protection program and widespread impunity discouraged some witnesses from testifying at trials.
Defendants and their attorneys had access to government-held evidence before trial.
Defendants had the right to appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees
There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies
Victims of alleged human rights abuses are able to bring their cases before a judge
for cessation of the violation. Damages can be awarded if the claim is brought as a
civil suit and the judge convicts the perpetrator. Seeking legal remedies for human
rights abuses is difficult, especially in the aftermath of the January earthquake,
since very few organizations had the resources to start and maintain a case through
its duration in the system.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The law prohibits such actions, and the government generally respected these
prohibitions in practice.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The law provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government and
elected officials generally respected these rights in practice. However, there were a
few incidents of local government officers and elected officials harassing or
threatening journalists.
On September 16, several agents in the Cite Soleil police station shoved and beat
female journalist, Orpha Dessources, from Radio Boukman. She was there to attend a press conference by Cite Soleil police on the arrest of a notorious gangster.
The journalist filed a complaint with the Office of the Inspector General of the
HNP. The motivation for the attack was unknown. The HNP spokesperson, Commissar Leurebours, said that the incident was being investigated and made recommendations to journalists about how to behave in police stations. However, the HNP Internal Investigations Unit (IG) stated at year's end that they had never received a complaint on the issue and never opened an investigation.
There were no further developments in the case of radio journalist Sainlus Augustin, who was publicly harassed, struck, and threatened by the brother and other supporters of senatorial candidate Wilot Joseph, allegedly because they objected to Augustin's attempt to interview supporters of the political opposition in 2009.
Repeated anonymous death threats forced Augustin into hiding.
In December 2009, HNP officers in Port-au-Prince beat journalist Edwige Joseph Watson and destroyed his equipment when he attempted to take photographs of a
peaceful student demonstration. Following an investigation by the Office of the
Inspector General, one police officer was given an administrative sanction of 40
days' suspension without pay. His case was then referred to the criminal court for
investigation.
There were no further developments in the 2008 attack on news correspondent Joachim Marcel by the deputy mayor of Cap-Haitien and his bodyguards, allegedly in retaliation for Marcel's investigation of voting corruption.
Internet Freedom
There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the
government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could
engage in the expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Approximately 30 percent of the population had routine access to the Internet
during the year, primarily via Internet cafes. Lack of infrastructure limited public
access to the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events
There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The law provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice. Citizens must apply for a permit to
hold legal demonstrations; the HNP regularly issued permits.
Demonstrations were infrequent during the first part of the year, but starting in
August, political parties, displaced persons, and students staged protests. An uptick
in protests and demonstrations occurred in the days preceding the November 28
election and continued into December. Demonstrators fired shots, threw rocks, and
blocked roadways.
On October 8, Jean Philbert Louis was injured during a demonstration for quality
education when a tear gas canister fired by a police officer hit him in the head. The
next day, Louis died in the hospital. Authorities arrested the officer who shot the
canister, and the case was investigated by the IG, who found wrongdoing and forwarded the case to the parquet (prosecutor's office). At year's end the incident
remained under investigation at the parquet.
On December 9, a group of four armed men began firing openly on supporters of
presidential candidate Michel Martelly in the Champ de Mars area. The Martelly
supporters were planning a demonstration as President Preval's motorcade passed
through the area. Authorities arrested the four men but then released them without
charge by order of the prosecutor's office.
In June 2009 bystander Kerel Pascal was killed during a public funeral, allegedly
by peacekeeping forces. Television cameras recorded a force member discharging
a weapon in the general direction of Pascal. MINUSTAH began an investigation and conducted an autopsy. At year's end MINUSTAH Human Rights section reported that the inquiry was inconclusive as to whether MINUSTAH forces fired the shot that killed Pascal.
c. Freedom of Religion
For a complete description of religious freedom, please see the 2010 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons,
Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons
The law provides for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel,
emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights
in practice. Persons deported from other countries were sometimes subjected to
amendments in their Haitian passports by the Immigration office, denoting the
infraction for which they were deported.
The government coordinated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees and other governments and humanitarian organizations in providing
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons.
The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports of its use. However,
according to anecdotal reports, former government officials sometimes abandoned
the country with their families for fear of retaliation or prosecution by political
enemies.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
More than a million people were displaced by the January 12 earthquake.
Approximately 500,000 IDPs left for other parts of the country to stay with family
or friends, and an estimated 20 percent of those who fled the city remained in the
provinces, severely straining provincial and other resources. By the end of
December, approximately one million earthquake-affected individuals remained
displaced in more than 1,150 spontaneous and planned settlement sites in and
around Port -au-Prince, with temporary housing and difficult living conditions. The
government worked with domestic and international humanitarian organizations,
through a combination of mechanisms, to coordinate the oversight of and the provision of assistance to IDPs. The government continued to work with foreign
government agencies, international organizations, the UN, and NGOs to coordinate
humanitarian efforts and to facilitate the transition from emergency relief activities to recovery and reconstruction.
To provide displaced persons with the opportunity to return to their former residences, the Ministry of Public Works assessed approximately 400,000 buildings for habitability and safety. The assessment found that 51 percent of houses were safe for habitation, with another 26 percent classified as dwellings that could be made safe with repairs, and the remaining 23 percent deemed unsafe for habitation and requiring major repairs or demolition. IDPs were encouraged to return to safe houses, and humanitarian groups completed repairs on some nearsafe houses.
Reconstruction focused on enabling earthquake-affected families to return to their neighborhoods of origin where they maintained family and social ties and employment possibilities. However, those whose homes were destroyed or uninhabitable remained in IDP camps. The problem of resettlement has been magnified by lack of land tenure and contradictory land registry records, as well as a slow government response.
MINUSTAH estimated that more than 8,000 displaced individuals have been subject to forced evictions (especially from land that was the location of ongoing concerns such as schools, places of worship, and businesses) by private property owners or gang members who seek to resume pre-earthquake operations. More than 11,000 others remained in situations that place them at risk of involuntary evictions and secondary displacement by private property owners.
Protection of Refugees
The law provides for the granting of refugee status or asylum, and the government
has established a system for providing protection to refugees. The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, usually through missions or consulates abroad, handled asylum
and refugee requests. In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to a country where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a
particular social group, or political opinion; however, the government did not
routinely grant refugee status or asylum.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their
Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government peacefully, however in practice citizens were not always able to exercise this right. The November elections were marred by fraud, flawed voter registration lists, ballot stuffing, intimidation, and some violence at the polls.
Elections and Political Participation
Multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections in November were marked by
irregularities and criticism from multiple sources. Several presidential candidates
denounced the elections as fraudulent before the voting concluded. Independent
election observers and NGOs noted irregularities at many polling stations. The
preliminary results released on December 7 called into question the legitimacy of
the electoral process, resulting in public protests and prompting the CEP to review
the vote tally. On December 29, as part of an agreement between the government
and the Organization of American States, electoral and legal experts began
reviewing the results of the first-round elections.
Some restrictions were placed on certain political parties. In November 2009 the
CEP considered 69 political parties for the 2010 parliamentary elections and
approved 53. The CEP rejected 16 parties, including, for the second time during
the year, former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's party, Fanmi Lavalas, for
documentation that was inconsistent, lacked notarization, and did not conform to
legal requirements. Other rejected major parties included Union, Popular Solidarity
Alliance, Struggling People's Organization, and Fusion. The latter two groups allied under a new party banner, Alternative, which officially boycotted the elections, although many of the party's legislative candidates participated in the elections.
The constitution requires that following local and municipal elections, local
officials must hold a series of indirect elections to staff departmental organs of
self-government and an interdepartmental council to advise the national government and nominate candidates for the CEP. The law requires that the three branches of the national government select from among these nominees the council's nine members.
Since these indirect elections have not taken place since the constitution was written, the country continued to operate with the presidentially appointed CEP.
The electoral legislation mandated that political parties nominating at least 30
percent female candidates and electing 20 percent of those nominated receive twice
as much public financing for those same positions in the next election. None of the
political parties met these criteria in the November election. On November 28, two
women ran as candidates for president, eight for the Senate, and 55 for deputy
seats. Of the deputy candidates, two won their seats outright in the first round, and
seven qualified to run in the second round. Mirlande Manigat, one of the female
presidential candidates, won approximately 30 percent of the vote, qualifying her
to run in the second round.
The monetary deposit required of female candidates for political office (if
sponsored by a recognized party) was one-half that required of male candidates.
Six women served in the outgoing Senate and Chamber of Deputies, which had a combined membership of 129 legislators; three women served in the 18-member
cabinet; and no women served on the Supreme Court.
Section 4 Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the
government did not implement the law effectively, and officials often engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity. According to the World Bank's worldwide governance indicators, government corruption was a severe problem. Corruption remained widespread in all branches and at all levels of government. The constitution mandates that high-level officials and parliament members accused of official corruption be prosecuted before the Senate, not within the judicial system.
However, the Senate brought no such prosecutions.
In July the government's Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC) investigated charges of
corruption against Jean Enel Desir, a member of the CEP who represented the Catholic Church. He resigned from his position, and the ULCC's investigation revealed evidence to support the charges. The prosecutor's office had the file but put the investigation on hold because Desir was deemed too ill to stand trial.
In October the Ministry of Justice replaced two judges in Les Cayes who were accused of corruption. There were no further developments in the case at year's end.
There were reports of corruption in the HNP. For instance, affluent prisoners at
times obtained favorable conditions of detention. The HNP investigated allegations
of police malfeasance, leading to the arrest or termination of employment of some
officers. For example in September, the HNP arrested seven officers for alleged
involvement in kidnapping and drug gangs. The HNP, with the assistance of UN
civilian police, continued efforts to eliminate corruption within its ranks, and the
government continued to investigate individuals in the business sector and in
government for corruption but brought no charges. The Center for Pleas and Legal
Assistance offered judicial assistance to victims and witnesses of government
corruption and widely disseminated telephone and e-mail contact information.
Authorities arrested or detained a few low-level public servants, mainly customs
officials, on corruption or corruption-related charges.
The director of the Social Security Agency, Sandro Joseph, who was arrested in
May 2009 on charges of misuse of funds within the social security system, escaped
from prison on January 12. His case had not yet gone to trial.
The ULCC investigation into the use of approximately HTG7.9 billion ($197
million) of humanitarian assistance provided to the country by Petrocaribe in the
aftermath of the 2008 storm season continued at year's end.
The Financial Control and Information Office has responsibility for combating
financial crimes. By law the president, the prime minister, cabinet ministers, other
high-level public officials, and members of the HNP must declare assets. The ULCC reported in December that 444 public officials had observed the law and filed disclosure statements by the August 30 deadline. This number includes only four senators and 27 deputies, and accounts for less than 10 percent of all public officials. Public officials who do not fulfill this obligation are subject first to a 50 percent reduction in salary, followed by suspension, until they file their statements.
However, by the end of the year the government sanctioned no officials for failure
to file the disclosures.
The National Commission for Public Markets is charged with certifying and adjudicating public procurement contracts. In September 2009 the law was amended by presidential decree to raise the threshold of contracts subject to oversight. The certification requirement applies for supplies contracts in excess of 300,000 Haitian gourdes (HTG, or approximately $7,440), public works contracts in excess of HTG800,000 (approximately $19,840), and services contracts in excess of HTG2,500,000 (approximately $62,000).
No law requires public access to government information, but there were no reports that the government prevented public access to government information.
Section 5 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental
Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on
human rights cases. The government cooperated with the various human rights observation missions and generally acknowledged their views but lacked the capacity to implement their recommendations. The government permitted special missions and the continued presence of UN bodies and other international organizations such as the ICRC.
The OPC is mandated to protect individuals against any form of abuse by the government. The OPC offered free legal assistance to any citizen who appeared
before a court regarding a filed complaint. The OPC took an active role in
investigating allegations of government abuse, and worked collaboratively with
international organizations.
The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate each had a human rights committee; however, neither committee published any reports or introduced any legislation during the year.
Section 6 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law does not specifically prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race,
gender, disability, language, or social status. It does provide for equal working
conditions regardless of gender, beliefs, or marital status. However, no effective
governmental mechanism administered or enforced these provisions.
Women
The law prohibits and provides penalties for rape but does not recognize spousal
rape as a crime. The penalty for rape is a minimum of 10 years of forced labor,
increasing to a mandatory 15 years if the victim was less than 16 years old. In the
case of gang rape, the maximum penalty is lifelong forced labor. Prosecution was
often not pursued due to lack of reporting and follow-up on victims' claims. Actual
sentences were often less rigorous, with sentences for convictions in the past year
averaging approximately three years. The criminal code excuses a husband who kills his wife or her partner found engaging in an act of adultery in his home, but a
wife who kills her husband under similar circumstances is subject to prosecution.
Anecdotal evidence suggested that some younger women were detained after violently resisting sexual attackers, who were sometimes family members.
Kidnappers often raped their female abductees.
Reported sexual assault cases increased significantly. HNP statistics showed that
974 rapes were reported by the end of the year, compared with 218 through October 2009. Of these, 84 victims were minors. NGOs noted alarming increases in sexual violence against women in IDP camps. In addition, the increase in the number of reported rapes may be in part a result of the referral and awareness campaign initiated by the UN, in partnership with the HNP and NGOs. On December 22, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommended that the government adopt "urgent measures" to prevent, report, and address violence against women and girls in the IDP camps of the Port-au-Prince area. By year's end, the government had not addressed the commission's recommendations.
In Saint-Marc the Federation for Women of the Lower Artibonite reported that it
provided shelter services for 516 women and girls and assisted 909 victims of
violence during the year.
Rape was especially common in areas with minimal police presence. Many credible NGOs and government sources believed that urban gangs used rape as a systematic instrument of intimidation. Women's shelters and organizations reported that armed gangs frequently raped and harassed girls and women.
Rape was often treated in society as a relatively minor infraction or a family or
community matter instead of a prosecutable offense. Substantial disincentives
discouraging victims from reporting rapes included: victims' desire to protect
themselves from the social or physical consequences of bringing accusations against the perpetrators, who often lived in the community; tacit cultural acceptance of sexual assault; the lack of sufficient facilities or services at police stations to aid rape victims; the long distances between homes and qualified tribunals; and finally, the slow-moving judicial system that fosters a perception of impunity.
However, cases that were heard in court, particularly in Port-au-Prince and Port-de-Paix, sometimes resulted in convictions and stiff penalties. In the 12-month period between October 2009 and October 2010, 48 individuals were convicted for rape. Their sentences ranged from a fine to a life sentence of forced labor. The average sentence was three to 10 years.
MINUSTAH's Gender-Based Violence (GBV) unit, in partnership with the HNP, mapped GBV referral services to identify organizations providing GBV services by type, assessed the quality of services, and provided more complete information for GBV referral cards. The unit distributed referral cards to community workers and local and international NGOs to facilitate survivor access to appropriate medical, psychosocial, and legal services. MINUSTAH also provided an 18-officer Gender Mobile Unit, staffed mostly with female UNPOL Officers. The two HNP referral centers for victims of sexual violence were damaged by the earthquake.
They remained operational, but worked out of limited space in a tent, which they
shared with a collocated police station. The HNP does not have a sexual assault or
domestic violence unit. The Criminal Unit investigates violence against adult
women and the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM) investigates assaults
on children. In Saint-Marc the local government commissioner worked closely with the only local NGO offering comprehensive services to sexual assault victims in the region to protect victims' safety and access to the justice system.
The law prohibits and provides penalties for domestic violence against minors, but
does not classify domestic violence against adults as a distinct crime. Instead, the
Criminal Unit processes crimes of domestic violence against adults (e.g. assault,
rape, harassment, etc.). Police figures reported 30 incidents of domestic violence
against minors during the year (compared with 38 incidents from January to October of 2009). Women's rights groups and human rights organizations reported that domestic violence against women remained commonplace and underreported.
Police rarely arrested the perpetrators or investigated the incidents, and the victims sometimes suffered further harassment and reprisals from perpetrators, sometimes prompting secondary displacement of victims within IDP camps. Corrupt judges often released suspects arrested for domestic violence and rape.
The government, with the support of international donors, sponsored a program for
victims of violence that provided medical and legal assistance for victims, as well
as a campaign denouncing violence against women.
The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment, although the labor code
states that men and women have the same rights and obligations. Data concerning
sexual harassment in the workplace were not available, although observers suggested that sexual harassment was common. Such incidents went unreported because of high unemployment and because citizens had little confidence in the ability of the judicial system to protect them.
Couples and individuals have the legal right to decide the number, spacing, and
timing of children. UNICEF data indicated that 32 percent of women ages 15-49 used modern contraceptive methods in 2008. Despite high levels of general knowledge of contraceptive methods, women had few opportunities to acquire additional information on family planning methods. The UN Population Fund estimated the maternal mortality ratio in 2008 at 300 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Although UNICEF reported that 85 percent of pregnant women received prenatal care at least once during their pregnancy, only 26 percent had a skilled attendant at delivery in 2008. The vast majority of women delivered their babies at home without the benefits of a skilled birth attendant or the ability to find adequate care in the event of complications. Women and men had equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Women did not enjoy the same social and economic status as men. In some social strata, tradition limited women's roles. The majority of women in rural areas remained in the traditional occupations of farming, marketing, and domestic labor.
Very poor female heads of household in urban areas also often faced limited employment opportunities, working in domestic labor and sales. Government and
private sectors seldom promoted women to supervisory positions.
Children
Citizenship is derived through an individual's parents; only one parent of either sex
is necessary to transmit citizenship. Citizenship can also be acquired through a
formal request to the Ministry of the Interior.
The government did not register all births immediately and did not keep statistics
concerning the number of births unregistered each year. One government report
estimated births of more than 10 percent of Haitians were not registered. Birth
documents are legally necessary to register for school, open a bank account, apply
for credit, gain admission to a hospital, and vote. Individuals without required birth documents were not denied emergency medical services or educational opportunities on that basis. Many official documents were destroyed in the earthquake. The National Archives saw its requests for certified copies of documents more than triple upon reopening after the earthquake, and the Office of National Identification faced long lines for months as people sought to replace lost or damaged identification cards. Both institutions were overwhelmed by the demand, but addressed the backlog incrementally.
Primary and secondary education was not compulsory, free, and universal. Before
January 12, only half of school-age children were enrolled in classes. Almost 5,000
school buildings in the earthquake zone were destroyed or damaged on January 12.
Hundreds of teachers and thousands of students were killed. After the earthquake,
most schools remained closed through the summer, and reopened in early October.
International donors and NGOs worked to build and repair schools. Many families
who were not able to get their children into a public school paid for their children
to attend private schools, which were generally unaccredited and unregulated.
Credible sources reported that over 200,000 domestically trafficked children
worked as indentured household servants, or "restaveks" (see section 7.c.).
Approximately 65 percent of these children are girls, and nearly three quarters of
them work as servants in the home of relatives. Governmental agencies and programs promoted children's rights and welfare, but the government lacked sufficient resources to support or enforce existing mechanisms adequately.
Children also reportedly worked on the street and in IDP camps in prostitution.
Recruitment of children for sexual exploitation, pornography, and illicit activities
is illegal. The law prohibits the corruption of youth under the age of 21 years,
including by prostitution, with penalties ranging from six months' to three years'
imprisonment.
The minimum age of consensual sex is 18. Inefficiencies in reporting and investigating allegations of rape contributed to uncertainties regarding penalties, if any, for statutory rape.
The January earthquake created a large number of displaced children and left many
as orphans. In cooperation with the government, NGOs and international donors
established health clinics and child-friendly spaces in many of the camps;
nevertheless, security issues posed a risk as many children were left on their own
during the day.
Port-au-Prince's population of several thousand street children included many who
were dismissed from or fled employers' homes or abusive families, but also some
children who lost parents or caretakers in the earthquake. Almost 75 percent of
street children were boys, according to estimates. NGOs reported that street children were likely to be sexually or otherwise abused, received little or no
education, and were easily exploited by trafficking recruiters. Criminal gangs also
reportedly enlisted minors to commit illegal acts.
The Ministry of Social Affairs provided some assistance, such as food and
temporary shelter, to street children.
In the aftermath of the January earthquake, many orphans were evacuated to other
countries for expedited adoption. The Institute of Social Welfare and Research
(IBERS), which oversaw adoptions and orphanages, resumed operations in March.
Because IBERS had limited resources, many orphanages remain unregistered and
unmonitored. Lack of sanitation, overcrowding, insufficient food, an absence of
education, and poor adult supervision characterized many facilities.
The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
Child Abduction. For information on international parental child abduction, please
see the Department of State's annual report on compliance at
http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport_4308.htm
l.
Anti-Semitism
The Jewish community was very small. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts
or other societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or
practice.
Trafficking in Persons
For information on trafficking in persons, please see the Department of State's
annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons with Disabilities
The constitution and laws do not explicitly prohibit discrimination against persons
with physical and mental disabilities, and there were no reports of discrimination
by the government against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of other state services. However, because of
widespread and chronic poverty, a shortage of public services, and limited educational opportunities, persons with disabilities were severely disadvantaged.
According to the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), approximately 805,000 persons lived with a physical disability during the year.
The earthquake exacerbated the difficulties faced by persons with disabilities, with
the RNDDH reporting that 6,000 persons were left with an amputated limb as a result of the earthquake. Only 3 percent of children with disabilities have access to schools.
The Secretariat of State for the Integration of Handicapped Persons (SEIPH) is the
lead government agency responsible for providing assistance to and ensuring that the concerns of the disabled are taken into account, especially during the reconstruction phase. SEIPH worked with the UN Health Cluster to coordinate the
Injury, Rehabilitation, and Disability working group, which coordinated all activity
concerning the rehabilitation of injured persons, the fitting of orthopedic devices,
and the provision of assistance to persons with disabilities. SEIPH also signed an
agreement with foreign donors to enable the construction in the coming year of a
rehabilitation center for persons with disabilities. The center will train teachers and technicians and will provide prostheses and hearing aids. SEIPH's broader mandate
is to improve the living conditions of persons with disabilities, raise public
awareness on national and international disability issues, strengthen the response
capacity of associations or institutions that work on disability issues, and to
establish a legal framework for persons with disabilities.
There were no reports of abuse in mental health facilities.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity
There was a minimal presence of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT)
advocacy NGOs operating within the country.
There were no officially confirmed reports of discrimination against the LGBT
community, but local NGOs reported that LGBT persons faced widespread societal
discrimination including social stigma, targeted physical violence, sexual assault,
and employment insecurity. NGOs also reported that such persons did not report
human rights violations due to fear of reprisal.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination
Societal discrimination occurred against persons with HIV/AIDS, particularly
women, but educational programs sponsored by foreign donors and efforts by
HIV/AIDS activists attempted to change that stigma.
Section 7 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The law allows some workers, excluding public-sector employees, to form and join
unions of their choice. The law also prohibits employers, management, and anyone
who represents the interests of employers from joining a union. Freelance workers
and workers in the informal economy are not covered under the Labor Code. The
law requires that a union must have a minimum of 10 members and register with
the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs within 60 days of its formation. Any
association with more than 20 members must obtain prior authorization from the
government in order to be recognized. In practice most unions were not independent organizations, but extensions of political parties. There were nine principal labor federations representing approximately 5 percent of the labor force.
The labor code provides for the right to strike, with restrictions, and workers
exercised this right in practice. The Haitian Labor Code considers four types of
strikes legal: workers striking while remaining at their posts; striking without
abandoning the institution; walking out and abandoning the institution; and striking
in solidarity with another strike. Managers, administrators, other heads of
establishments, public utility service workers, and public sector enterprise workers
may not strike. The labor code defines public utility service employees as essential
workers who "cannot suspend their activities without causing serious harm to public health and security." A 48-hour notice period is compulsory for all strikes, and strikes may not exceed one day.
Despite the prohibition there were a few public sector strikes, usually related to the government's failure to pay staff. On April 20, bailiffs and clerks went on strike to demand higher wages from the Ministry of Justice. On July 1, teachers from both public and private schools struck to oblige the Ministry of Education to maintain its commitment to subsidize schools damaged by the earthquake. On July 22,
transport workers called for a general strike and urged President Rene Preval to
replace the CEP and to satisfy key demands of Haitian drivers and workers. They also protested a "toll" imposed by Haitian authorities at the Malpasse/Jimani border with the Dominican Republic.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
While the law protects trade union organizing activities and stipulates fines for
those who interfere with this right, in practice the government made little effort to
enforce the law. High unemployment rates and antiunion sentiment among some factory workers and most employers limited the success of union organizing efforts.
Collective bargaining was nonexistent, and employers set wages unilaterally.
Although workers had access to labor courts established to resolve common labor/management disputes, the courts' judgments were not enforced, and as a result
labor courts were considered weak and ineffective. Under the supervision of the
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the courts are responsible for adjudicating
minor conflicts; however unions stated that the process was ineffective. Seven
labor courts operated in Port-au-Prince, and in the provinces, plaintiffs utilized
municipal courts.
The law prohibits anti-union discrimination by employers, who are liable to a
monetary fine for each individual violation. Although illegally fired workers have
the right to recoup any compensation to which they are entitled, the law does not
specify that employers must reinstate workers illegally fired for union activity.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in the export
processing zone in Ouanaminthe, a town on the Dominican border.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including of children; however,there were reports that such practices occurred, namely instances of forced labor among child domestics or restaveks. Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
The minimum employment age for employment in industrial, agricultural, or commercial companies is 15. The minimum age for apprenticeships is 14. There is no minimum age restriction for work in domestic service and there are no legal penalties for employing children in domestic labor unless the nature or condition of domestic service harms their health, safety, or morals. The law prohibits the exploitation of children, which includes servitude and forced or compulsory labor.
The law also prohibits minors from working under dangerous conditions and prohibits night work in industrial enterprises for minors under 18. Fierce adult competition for jobs ensured child labor was not a factor in the industrial sector.
However, children under the age of 15 commonly worked in the informal sector to
supplement family income. Activities and sectors in which children commonly work include domestic work, subsistence agriculture, and street trades, such as selling goods, washing cars, serving as porters in public markets and bus stations, and begging. Children also commonly worked with parents on small family farms, although the high unemployment rate among adults kept children from employment on commercial farms in significant numbers.
Parents unable to care for their children have traditionally sent them to relatives or strangers, who were expected to provide the children with food, shelter, and an
education in exchange for housework. Such children were known as restaveks. The
practice was so entrenched that even poor families routinely kept one or more
restaveks who came from even poorer families. Parents often offered their children
as restaveks when they were six years old or younger. Domestic work as a restavek
was the primary form of child employment, and there was no legal penalty for
families that employed restaveks. While some host families cared for restaveks and
sent them to school, most restaveks were subjected to abuse and involuntary domestic servitude. Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Government and NGO estimates of the number of restaveks ranged between 90,000 and 300,000. A 2009 survey estimated 225,000 children work as restaveks in urban areas of Haiti alone. The majority of restaveks were girls between the ages of six and 14. Host family exploitation of restaveks typically included forcing the children to work excessive hours on physically demanding tasks without pay or adequate food, not sending them to school, and subjecting them to physical and/or sexual abuse. Girls were generally placed in domestic servitude in private urban homes, while boys more frequently were exploited for labor on farms. Restaveks who did not run away usually remained with the host family until age 14. Labor laws require employers to pay domestic workers over 15 years old, so many host families forced restaveks from the household before that age. Others ignored the law, which was not well enforced.
Abandoned and runaway restaveks constituted a significant proportion of the large population of children living on the street, where many were forced into prostitution or street crime by criminal gangs, while others became street vendors or beggars. The thousands of individuals displaced and/or orphaned as a result of the January earthquake likely increased the number of both restaveks and street children.
Although the government charged it with implementation and enforcement of child
labor laws and regulations, the Institute of Social Well-Being and Research
(IBESR) lacked adequate funding to investigate exploitive child labor cases
effectively. Other factors contributing to ineffective investigation and lack of
judicial recourse were border permeability and lack of an adequately trained and
equipped police force. Since the January 12 earthquake, there has been improved
collaboration between IBESR and the BPM, the 35-person HNP unit responsible for child protection, to remove children from child labor and other dangerous and
violent situations. Prior to January 12, the Government of Haiti also established a
program in Carrefour to provide basic education, lodging, and food to street
children.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
On October 1, the daily minimum wage increased from HTG125 (approximately $3.00) to HTG150 (approximately $3.60) in the textile sector and remained at HTG200 (approximately $4.80) in the commercial and industrial sectors. Workers paid at a piecework rate received a minimum of HTG200 per day. For all other industrial and commercial establishments, the daily minimum wage was fixed at HTG200 for eight hours of work. The minimum wage would put a household's income at about twice the average in Haiti, but still provided for only a minimal standard of living. Minimum wage levels were often not effectively enforced.
Most citizens worked in the informal sector and subsistence agriculture, in which
minimum wage legislation does not apply, and daily wages of HTG15 ($0.37)were common. Many women worked as domestic employees, an area of work also exempted from minimum wage legislation.
The law sets the standard workday for industrial, commercial, and agricultural
establishments at eight hours and the workweek at 48 hours, with 24 hours of rest.
It also provides for the payment of overtime and prohibits excessive compulsory
overtime. However, the law grants exemptions to health care, lodging, food and
beverage, and entertainment establishments; managerial positions; and family
establishments that employ only family members. The Labor Directorate may grant
exemptions for other employers not specifically exempted by the law. These laws
were not effectively enforced. The law is also silent concerning public sector
employees. Due to staff shortages and special events, salaried HNP officers sometimes worked 12-hour shifts six days per week and received no overtime, although they received standardized bonuses at year's end. HNP officers had also not been incorporated into the standardized government schedule of benefits after their initial three-year probationary contracts. In severely understaffed regions, officers sometimes worked longer hours to serve the needs of their communities.
The law also establishes minimum health and safety regulations. The industrial and
assembly sectors largely observed these guidelines, but the Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs did not effectively enforce them. No group collected formal data,
but unions alleged job-related injuries occurred frequently in the construction and
public works sectors. Although they have the legal right to do so, in practice
workers could not exercise the right to remove themselves from dangerous work
situations without jeopardizing their continued employment.
Haiti is a constitutional republic with a population of approximately 9.9 million.
On January 12, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country, killing an estimated
230,000 persons and directly affecting approximately three million others. The country has a multiparty political system. Presidential and legislative elections
occurred on November 28. Allegations of fraud and irregularities raised questions
regarding the preliminary tally and prompted the president and the Provisional
Electoral Council (CEP) to request a review by the Organization of American States. The CEP subsequently announced the final first round results; since none of the candidates received a majority of the vote, a runoff election between the two leading candidates was scheduled for March 2011. Elements of the security forces
occasionally acted independently of civilian control.
Human rights problems included allegations of extrajudicial killings by Haitian
National Police (HNP) officers, findings of excessive use of force against prisoners, overcrowding and poor sanitation in prisons, prolonged pretrial
detention, an inefficient judiciary subject to significant influence by the executive
and legislative branches, severe corruption in all branches of government, violence
and societal discrimination against women, child abuse, human trafficking, and
ineffective enforcement of worker rights.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
The government or its agents did not commit any known politically motivated
killings; however, there were allegations of HSP involvement in extrajudicial
killings. HNP officers killed several persons who were armed and resisting arrest.
Some cases of arbitrary killings were referred to the Office of the Inspector
General for investigation.
On January 19, in the aftermath of the earthquake, inmates in Les Cayes prison
rioted. Officers from the departmental riot control police (UDMO) intervened,
killing 12 inmates, while 22 others escaped and scores of others were injured.
Three investigations were launched: one by the chief inspector general of the HNP,
a second by the government with the UN, and a third by the investigating judge in
Les Cayes, in cooperation with the government's Office of Citizen Protection
(OPC). The chief inspector general concluded that the action of the joint
departmental SWAT team and corrections officers caused the deaths of 10 of the
12 inmates. Two other prisoners died of unrelated causes. The report noted that "if
the intervention was legitimate, the force used was excessive and disproportionate," and that "a measured use of force was possible under the circumstances." The inspector general issued six recommendations, including the dismissal of prison warden Sylvestre Larack and the suspension of Les Cayes Police Chief Olrich Beaubrun. A joint HNP-UN report called the killings a grave violation of human rights and urged the justice system to prosecute those responsible. On May 27, the HNP placed Larack in preventive detention, as it reopened the chief inspector general's investigation and recommended that Frantz Dehonnet, the deputy administrator of prisons, resign. Authorities charged Beaubrun and ten other officers with homicide. At year's end their cases had yet to be tried, Beaubrun had not yet been arrested, and Dehonnet still held his post as deputy administrator of prisons.
On January 21, police shot and killed Gentile Cherie for stealing rice. Foreign
journalists saw police stop two men who had taken a bag of rice that had fallen
from a truck; witnesses claimed that the officers shot the men in the back and left
them on the sidewalk. The Office of the Inspector General had not received an
official complaint nor opened an investigation into the matter.
On December 6, unknown assailants shot and killed former inspector general of the
HNP Etienne Saint Gourdin. Officials opened an investigation into his death.
There were no further developments in the 2009 case concerning seven individuals, including two active police officers and one former police officer, who were arrested for killing the manager of a money-exchange outlet during an armed robbery in Port-au-Prince. The case was under investigation by the court at year's end.
The HNP Internal Investigations Unit completed its investigation of the 2008 death
of Renece Charon while in police custody and sent the case to the criminal court,
which found that other prisoners beat Charon to death.
Residents in some areas resorted to vigilante justice. In November and December mobs attacked and killed Vodou (voodoo) practitioners accused of spreading cholera by placing contaminated powder into rivers and waterways. According to the HNP, 31 people were confirmed killed by the end of the year. Credible sources reported an additional 22 possible killings. Two ministerial-level officials publicly denounced the killings, and local police confiscated 16 firearms, but made no arrests.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) also reported vigilante incidents including
shootings, beatings, and lynchings in rural areas, where effective judicial and law
enforcement institutions largely were absent. Police statistics documented 83
vigilante incidents through the end of the year, but police made no arrests.
Observers attributed the majority of vigilante justice incidents to accusations of
theft, witchcraft, or kidnapping.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances by government
agents.
Current and former HNP officers were accused of participation in kidnappings.
The number of reported kidnappings nearly doubled from the previous year. There
were 121 reported kidnapping victims during the year, compared with 66 through
October 2009.
Gonaives Police Commissioner Ernst Dorfeuille Bouquet, who was arrested and charged for the 2008 kidnapping and killing of Monica Pierre, escaped from the National Penitentiary on January 12, but later turned himself in to police in Petionville. At year's end he was awaiting trial after being returned to prison.
There were no known developments in the following cases:
The January 2009 abduction of Joseph Francois Robert Martello, the director
of the National Commission of Public Markets (CNMP).
The 2008 arrests of three Cap-Haitien police officers for allegedly heading a
gang responsible for multiple kidnappings.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
The law prohibits such practices, but there were some reports of degrading treatment, most notably in prisons, during the year.
The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense provided an update in 2009 on the status of 23
Sri Lankan UN peacekeepers who were convicted in late 2008 of sexually exploiting and abusing children while they were stationed in Haiti under UN auspices in 2007: 20of them were discharged, demoted, formally reprimanded, or otherwise punished; and the other three were killed in military action.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Prisoners reported physical abuse by correctional officers; prisons also suffered
from corruption and neglect. Due to insufficient staffing, equipment, and security
officers avoided some cellblocks. At times officials used lethal force against
prisoners to quell inmate uprisings (see section 1.a.).
Prisons and detention centers throughout the country remained overcrowded, poorly maintained, and unsanitary. Overcrowding was severe; in some prisons detainees slept in shifts due to lack of space. The earthquake, which damaged several prisons, intensified the existing problems. The earthquake damage compromised the holding capacity at facilities in Carrefour, Delmas, Jacmel, and the National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince. Over 5,000 detainees escaped in the wake of the earthquake, including all 4,215 persons held at the National Penitentiary. Some prisons had no beds for detainees; some cells had no access to sunlight. Many prison facilities lacked basic services such as medical services, water, electricity, and medical isolation units for contagious patients. Many prisoners and detainees suffered from a lack of basic hygiene, malnutrition, poor quality health care, and illness caused by the presence of rodents. Some prisons did not allow prisoners out of their cells for exercise.
On October 17, prisoners at the National Penitentiary overpowered guards in an
attempted prison break, taking seven persons, including UN Police (UNPOL) officers and visiting Swedish police officers, hostage for several hours. The authorities regained control of the penitentiary, but three prisoners were killed in the process; two were shot, and one was reportedly trampled by other prisoners.
In some prisons the incidence of preventable diseases such as AIDS, malaria, and
drug-resistant tuberculosis remained a serious problem. The cholera outbreak also
affected the prisons. Within the first week of the outbreak, five detainees in the
Mirebalais Prison died. The Bureau of Prisons responded by limiting outside
contact.
At year's end the total prison population, including both pretrial detainees and
sentenced prisoners in the country's 17 prisons, was more than three times the
planned capacity of the country's prisons. Pretrial detention and its effect on
overcrowding remained a serious problem during the year (see section 1.d.).
The overburdened prison system had insufficient holding facilities. The Civil Prison of Port-au-Prince (CPPP) contained approximately half of the country's prisoners and pretrial detainees in its intake room. Provincial authorities, in particular, incarcerated many convicted prisoners for terms of months or even years in temporary holding cells. Severely overcrowded police stations served as prisons in the cities of Gonaives and Petit Goave, whose prisons were destroyed in 2004. Gonaives, for example, held 140 long-term prisoners in its local police station in October.
Port-au-Prince maintained separate penitentiaries for adult men and women, but in
other prisons, there were instances of male and female prisoners being held together due to space constraints. Children 16 and older were confined with adults. Minors and adults sometimes occupied the same cells due to lack of available space. Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted prisoners in the women's prison. When space was available, boys were held in a separate cell of a facility in Port-au-Prince. By law that facility may hold only boys ages 13 to 15, although a few child inmates claimed to be as young as age 10. Girls were not held separately from women at the Petionville Women's Penitentiary.
For most of the year, prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors, who were allowed to bring them food and clothing. Inmates also were permitted religious observance and could request to see a Protestant minister, a Catholic priest, or a Vodou (voodoo) leader. However, these policies were suspended at the end of October in response to the nationwide cholera outbreak. The Administration of Prisons barred any outsider from entering prisons, in an attempt to curb the spread of cholera. Prisoners and detainees were permitted to make a written or verbal complaint regarding their conditions to the facility supervisor. If their complaint was regarding the supervisor, they were given the option to refer it up the chain of command for investigation.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the local NGO National Human Rights Network for Haiti, and the OPC monitored prison conditions in cooperation with the Department of Prison Administration.
Authorities freely permitted the ICRC, the Haitian Red Cross, and human rights
groups to enter prisons and police stations, monitor conditions, and assist prisoners
and detainees with medical care, food, and legal aid. Primary concerns for most groups monitoring the conditions in the prisons related to adequate water, food,
and sanitation. Although some programs, such as efforts to improve sanitation and
health care delivery at the CPPP reported success, the government did not implement many changes recommended by NGOs and donor governments.
Authorities took some measures to improve prison conditions. In response to the
prison killings in Les Cayes, Minister of Justice Paul Denis began a series of
unannounced prison visits, beginning with the Women's prison in Petionville followed by the National Penitentiary. In addition, the government started releasing defendants who had been held in preventive detention for unacceptably long periods, pending formal charges and trial. Officials implemented a pilot project at the Petionville Women's Prison, establishing a special correctional tribunal to deal with the 257 detainees awaiting formal charges. Between June 8 and 14, the tribunal heard 15 cases, including three involving juveniles; 14 defendants were released, including an inmate who had served her sentence but remained incarcerated. The Ministry of Justice held hearings in August and September to reduce the pretrial detention backlog in the National Penitentiary, and the court committee released 30 inmates as a result. Still, since most of the 1,570 detainees awaiting trial in the Penitentiary were held for serious crimes that warranted a jury trial, they were effectively denied the right to a prompt trial. An estimated 15 percent of detainees in the National Penitentiary had been convicted by year's end.
The ICRC, in collaboration with the Prison Authority, renovated and refurbished
the earthquake-damaged civil prison in Jacmel.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, and the constitution stipulates that a person may be arrested only if apprehended during the commission of a crime or
on the basis of a warrant by a legally competent official such as a justice of the
peace or magistrate. The authorities must bring the detainee before a judge within
48 hours of arrest. Officials frequently did not comply with these provisions in
practice.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus
MINUSTAH, deploying 8,766 soldiers, 3,082 police officers, and 481 civilian UN
officials, trained and supported the national police force, provided disaster
recovery assistance, and assisted the government in suppressing gang-related violence.
The approximately 8,500-member HNP has sole responsibility for law enforcement and maintenance of order; there are no military forces. The UN has estimated that the country needs a force of at least 14,000 police officers, although it recommended 18,000 to 22,000. Women make up less than 10 percent of the total police force, however the HNP established a recruiting drive for female officers in 2008, and 350 of the 2,755 recruits hired in the past four years were women. The HNP is officially an autonomous civilian institution under the authority of a director general and includes police, corrections, and coast guard functions in separate units. The Ministry of Justice and Public Security, through its minister and the secretary of state for public security, provides oversight.
The HNP lost 142 officers in the January earthquake (72 confirmed deceased and
70 missing), and an additional 253 were injured. Approximately 40 police stations
and offices were damaged. The HNP worked with UNPOL and MINUSTAH to provide security for aid operations and to patrol internally displaced person (IDP)camps.
The Inspector General's (IG) Office of the HNP accepts and investigates allegations from any complainant of police wrongdoing, including human rights violations, complicity in criminal acts, and other violations. IG investigations revealing criminal activity were referred to the regional prosecutor. The IG also conducted vetting with MINUSTAH to certify that members of the HNP had no serious disciplinary violations or accusations of human rights abuses pending against them.
Reform and professionalization of the HNP continued as international programs and foreign governments provided human rights and other training and equipment for new recruits and for existing officers; police station upgrades; security and humanitarian improvements to prisons; vehicles, computers, communications equipment; and other technical assistance. Some units, notably the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, made significant improvements.
Although the HNP's efforts resulted in significantly increased levels of physical
security and policing effectiveness, the HNP often could not prevent or respond to
gang-related and other societal violence, such as vigilante justice, due to an
insufficient number of officers and inadequate equipment or training.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention
The law permits police officers to make arrests when a suspect is caught during the
commission of a crime, or later with a court-authorized warrant. Police sometimes
apprehended persons without warrants or with warrants not issued by a duly authorized official. The authorities occasionally detained individuals on unspecified charges or pending investigation.
The government frequently did not observe the legal requirement to present detainees before a judge within 48 hours, and prolonged pretrial detention remained a serious problem. Many detainees were held in pretrial detention for extended periods--in some cases up to five years--without being informed of charges against them.
Investigative judges granted bail at their discretion. Bail hearings were not routine, and judges usually granted bail only for minor cases and based on compelling
humanitarian grounds, such as a need for medical attention. Detainees generally
were allowed access to family members and a lawyer of their own choosing. Many
detainees could not afford the services of an attorney, and the government
routinely did not provide free counsel.
Some returnees, some of whom spent substantial portions or most of their lives
abroad, alleged corruption, widespread discrimination, and social abuse after
returning home. Reported discriminatory practices included arbitrary arrests, false
accusations about their activities to local police, and extortion attempts against
them and their families abroad during the initial detention phase, in exchange for
quicker release from administrative quarantine.
Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem during the year. By the end of the year,
of the 5,331 persons in custody, only 1,722 had been tried and sentenced, while
3,609 awaited trial. Approximately one third of those awaiting trial had been
incarcerated for a year or longer.
Prison population statistics did not include the large number of persons held in
police stations around the country in prolonged pretrial detention (without a
hearing or filed charges) for longer than the constitutionally mandated 48-hour
maximum detention period. Inadequate record keeping and data entry at the police
stations made it difficult to estimate the number of persons held in prolonged
detention.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The justice system sustained significant losses in the January earthquake. The
Ministry of Justice and the Palais de Justice (Supreme Court) were destroyed, and
27 court and tribunal buildings were damaged. A subsequent fire at the Palais de
Justice destroyed all the records, including records of cases pending trial. Although
the law provides for an independent judiciary, in practice the executive and
legislative branches exerted significant influence on the judicial branch. Judges
assigned to politically sensitive cases complained about interference from the
executive branch. Credible reports of judicial corruption were commonplace (see
section 4).
Pervasive and long-standing problems--including a shortage of funding and adequately trained and qualified justices of the peace, judges, and prosecutors as well as failure to convene court sessions on the schedule provided by law-- contributed to the large backlog of criminal cases, and many detainees waited years for a court date. The government took steps during the year to reduce the pretrial backlog (see section 1.c.).
The code of criminal procedure does not assign clear responsibility for criminal
investigations and divides authority among police, justices of the peace, prosecutors, and investigative magistrates. Authorities often failed to question
witnesses or complete investigations and rarely conducted autopsies, and examining magistrates often received incomplete files.
An outdated juridical fee scale created another barrier for crime victims requesting
investigation of their cases. After a citizen reported being the victim of a crime,
some justices of the peace charged varying "fees" to initiate criminal prosecutions
based on their perceptions of what a service should cost.
Long distances and limited transportation between citizens' residences and the
courts also limited access to the judicial system. In most regions judges lacked
basic resources and professional training.
The School for Magistrates was the temporary seat of the Supreme Court after the
January earthquake. The school continued in-service training for justices of the
peace, and the majority of justices from all 18 jurisdictions had completed the
intensive six-week training program. However, the school had not had a class of
magistrates in more than five years. An internationally funded program continued
to provide training for judges, prosecutors, and other court personnel; furnished
technical assistance in drafting rules and procedures; and assisted in curriculum
planning for the school. The Judicial Strengthening Program begun by the National
Center for State Courts provided assistance with training and curricula for judges
and court personnel.
Trial Procedures
The judicial apparatus follows a civil law system based on the Napoleonic Code,
largely unchanged since 1880. In practice authorities widely ignored the constitutionally provided right to a fair public trial. The constitution also expressly denies police and judicial authorities the right to interrogate suspects unless legal counsel or a representative of the suspect's choice is present or they waive this right. Most accused persons could not afford legal counsel for interrogation or trial, and the law does not require that the government provide legal representation.
Defendants who could not afford representation were more vulnerable to interrogation without counsel. However, some defendants had access to counsel during trials. With the support of the national government and the local legal community, international groups provided funds to indigent defendants for professional legal representation.
While the constitution provides defendants with a presumption of innocence, the right to be present at trial, the right to confront witnesses against them, and the
right to present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf, judges frequently denied defendants these rights. The lack of a witness protection program and widespread impunity discouraged some witnesses from testifying at trials.
Defendants and their attorneys had access to government-held evidence before trial.
Defendants had the right to appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees
There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies
Victims of alleged human rights abuses are able to bring their cases before a judge
for cessation of the violation. Damages can be awarded if the claim is brought as a
civil suit and the judge convicts the perpetrator. Seeking legal remedies for human
rights abuses is difficult, especially in the aftermath of the January earthquake,
since very few organizations had the resources to start and maintain a case through
its duration in the system.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The law prohibits such actions, and the government generally respected these
prohibitions in practice.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The law provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government and
elected officials generally respected these rights in practice. However, there were a
few incidents of local government officers and elected officials harassing or
threatening journalists.
On September 16, several agents in the Cite Soleil police station shoved and beat
female journalist, Orpha Dessources, from Radio Boukman. She was there to attend a press conference by Cite Soleil police on the arrest of a notorious gangster.
The journalist filed a complaint with the Office of the Inspector General of the
HNP. The motivation for the attack was unknown. The HNP spokesperson, Commissar Leurebours, said that the incident was being investigated and made recommendations to journalists about how to behave in police stations. However, the HNP Internal Investigations Unit (IG) stated at year's end that they had never received a complaint on the issue and never opened an investigation.
There were no further developments in the case of radio journalist Sainlus Augustin, who was publicly harassed, struck, and threatened by the brother and other supporters of senatorial candidate Wilot Joseph, allegedly because they objected to Augustin's attempt to interview supporters of the political opposition in 2009.
Repeated anonymous death threats forced Augustin into hiding.
In December 2009, HNP officers in Port-au-Prince beat journalist Edwige Joseph Watson and destroyed his equipment when he attempted to take photographs of a
peaceful student demonstration. Following an investigation by the Office of the
Inspector General, one police officer was given an administrative sanction of 40
days' suspension without pay. His case was then referred to the criminal court for
investigation.
There were no further developments in the 2008 attack on news correspondent Joachim Marcel by the deputy mayor of Cap-Haitien and his bodyguards, allegedly in retaliation for Marcel's investigation of voting corruption.
Internet Freedom
There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the
government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could
engage in the expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Approximately 30 percent of the population had routine access to the Internet
during the year, primarily via Internet cafes. Lack of infrastructure limited public
access to the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events
There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The law provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice. Citizens must apply for a permit to
hold legal demonstrations; the HNP regularly issued permits.
Demonstrations were infrequent during the first part of the year, but starting in
August, political parties, displaced persons, and students staged protests. An uptick
in protests and demonstrations occurred in the days preceding the November 28
election and continued into December. Demonstrators fired shots, threw rocks, and
blocked roadways.
On October 8, Jean Philbert Louis was injured during a demonstration for quality
education when a tear gas canister fired by a police officer hit him in the head. The
next day, Louis died in the hospital. Authorities arrested the officer who shot the
canister, and the case was investigated by the IG, who found wrongdoing and forwarded the case to the parquet (prosecutor's office). At year's end the incident
remained under investigation at the parquet.
On December 9, a group of four armed men began firing openly on supporters of
presidential candidate Michel Martelly in the Champ de Mars area. The Martelly
supporters were planning a demonstration as President Preval's motorcade passed
through the area. Authorities arrested the four men but then released them without
charge by order of the prosecutor's office.
In June 2009 bystander Kerel Pascal was killed during a public funeral, allegedly
by peacekeeping forces. Television cameras recorded a force member discharging
a weapon in the general direction of Pascal. MINUSTAH began an investigation and conducted an autopsy. At year's end MINUSTAH Human Rights section reported that the inquiry was inconclusive as to whether MINUSTAH forces fired the shot that killed Pascal.
c. Freedom of Religion
For a complete description of religious freedom, please see the 2010 International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons,
Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons
The law provides for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel,
emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights
in practice. Persons deported from other countries were sometimes subjected to
amendments in their Haitian passports by the Immigration office, denoting the
infraction for which they were deported.
The government coordinated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees and other governments and humanitarian organizations in providing
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons.
The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports of its use. However,
according to anecdotal reports, former government officials sometimes abandoned
the country with their families for fear of retaliation or prosecution by political
enemies.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
More than a million people were displaced by the January 12 earthquake.
Approximately 500,000 IDPs left for other parts of the country to stay with family
or friends, and an estimated 20 percent of those who fled the city remained in the
provinces, severely straining provincial and other resources. By the end of
December, approximately one million earthquake-affected individuals remained
displaced in more than 1,150 spontaneous and planned settlement sites in and
around Port -au-Prince, with temporary housing and difficult living conditions. The
government worked with domestic and international humanitarian organizations,
through a combination of mechanisms, to coordinate the oversight of and the provision of assistance to IDPs. The government continued to work with foreign
government agencies, international organizations, the UN, and NGOs to coordinate
humanitarian efforts and to facilitate the transition from emergency relief activities to recovery and reconstruction.
To provide displaced persons with the opportunity to return to their former residences, the Ministry of Public Works assessed approximately 400,000 buildings for habitability and safety. The assessment found that 51 percent of houses were safe for habitation, with another 26 percent classified as dwellings that could be made safe with repairs, and the remaining 23 percent deemed unsafe for habitation and requiring major repairs or demolition. IDPs were encouraged to return to safe houses, and humanitarian groups completed repairs on some nearsafe houses.
Reconstruction focused on enabling earthquake-affected families to return to their neighborhoods of origin where they maintained family and social ties and employment possibilities. However, those whose homes were destroyed or uninhabitable remained in IDP camps. The problem of resettlement has been magnified by lack of land tenure and contradictory land registry records, as well as a slow government response.
MINUSTAH estimated that more than 8,000 displaced individuals have been subject to forced evictions (especially from land that was the location of ongoing concerns such as schools, places of worship, and businesses) by private property owners or gang members who seek to resume pre-earthquake operations. More than 11,000 others remained in situations that place them at risk of involuntary evictions and secondary displacement by private property owners.
Protection of Refugees
The law provides for the granting of refugee status or asylum, and the government
has established a system for providing protection to refugees. The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, usually through missions or consulates abroad, handled asylum
and refugee requests. In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to a country where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a
particular social group, or political opinion; however, the government did not
routinely grant refugee status or asylum.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their
Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government peacefully, however in practice citizens were not always able to exercise this right. The November elections were marred by fraud, flawed voter registration lists, ballot stuffing, intimidation, and some violence at the polls.
Elections and Political Participation
Multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections in November were marked by
irregularities and criticism from multiple sources. Several presidential candidates
denounced the elections as fraudulent before the voting concluded. Independent
election observers and NGOs noted irregularities at many polling stations. The
preliminary results released on December 7 called into question the legitimacy of
the electoral process, resulting in public protests and prompting the CEP to review
the vote tally. On December 29, as part of an agreement between the government
and the Organization of American States, electoral and legal experts began
reviewing the results of the first-round elections.
Some restrictions were placed on certain political parties. In November 2009 the
CEP considered 69 political parties for the 2010 parliamentary elections and
approved 53. The CEP rejected 16 parties, including, for the second time during
the year, former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's party, Fanmi Lavalas, for
documentation that was inconsistent, lacked notarization, and did not conform to
legal requirements. Other rejected major parties included Union, Popular Solidarity
Alliance, Struggling People's Organization, and Fusion. The latter two groups allied under a new party banner, Alternative, which officially boycotted the elections, although many of the party's legislative candidates participated in the elections.
The constitution requires that following local and municipal elections, local
officials must hold a series of indirect elections to staff departmental organs of
self-government and an interdepartmental council to advise the national government and nominate candidates for the CEP. The law requires that the three branches of the national government select from among these nominees the council's nine members.
Since these indirect elections have not taken place since the constitution was written, the country continued to operate with the presidentially appointed CEP.
The electoral legislation mandated that political parties nominating at least 30
percent female candidates and electing 20 percent of those nominated receive twice
as much public financing for those same positions in the next election. None of the
political parties met these criteria in the November election. On November 28, two
women ran as candidates for president, eight for the Senate, and 55 for deputy
seats. Of the deputy candidates, two won their seats outright in the first round, and
seven qualified to run in the second round. Mirlande Manigat, one of the female
presidential candidates, won approximately 30 percent of the vote, qualifying her
to run in the second round.
The monetary deposit required of female candidates for political office (if
sponsored by a recognized party) was one-half that required of male candidates.
Six women served in the outgoing Senate and Chamber of Deputies, which had a combined membership of 129 legislators; three women served in the 18-member
cabinet; and no women served on the Supreme Court.
Section 4 Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the
government did not implement the law effectively, and officials often engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity. According to the World Bank's worldwide governance indicators, government corruption was a severe problem. Corruption remained widespread in all branches and at all levels of government. The constitution mandates that high-level officials and parliament members accused of official corruption be prosecuted before the Senate, not within the judicial system.
However, the Senate brought no such prosecutions.
In July the government's Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC) investigated charges of
corruption against Jean Enel Desir, a member of the CEP who represented the Catholic Church. He resigned from his position, and the ULCC's investigation revealed evidence to support the charges. The prosecutor's office had the file but put the investigation on hold because Desir was deemed too ill to stand trial.
In October the Ministry of Justice replaced two judges in Les Cayes who were accused of corruption. There were no further developments in the case at year's end.
There were reports of corruption in the HNP. For instance, affluent prisoners at
times obtained favorable conditions of detention. The HNP investigated allegations
of police malfeasance, leading to the arrest or termination of employment of some
officers. For example in September, the HNP arrested seven officers for alleged
involvement in kidnapping and drug gangs. The HNP, with the assistance of UN
civilian police, continued efforts to eliminate corruption within its ranks, and the
government continued to investigate individuals in the business sector and in
government for corruption but brought no charges. The Center for Pleas and Legal
Assistance offered judicial assistance to victims and witnesses of government
corruption and widely disseminated telephone and e-mail contact information.
Authorities arrested or detained a few low-level public servants, mainly customs
officials, on corruption or corruption-related charges.
The director of the Social Security Agency, Sandro Joseph, who was arrested in
May 2009 on charges of misuse of funds within the social security system, escaped
from prison on January 12. His case had not yet gone to trial.
The ULCC investigation into the use of approximately HTG7.9 billion ($197
million) of humanitarian assistance provided to the country by Petrocaribe in the
aftermath of the 2008 storm season continued at year's end.
The Financial Control and Information Office has responsibility for combating
financial crimes. By law the president, the prime minister, cabinet ministers, other
high-level public officials, and members of the HNP must declare assets. The ULCC reported in December that 444 public officials had observed the law and filed disclosure statements by the August 30 deadline. This number includes only four senators and 27 deputies, and accounts for less than 10 percent of all public officials. Public officials who do not fulfill this obligation are subject first to a 50 percent reduction in salary, followed by suspension, until they file their statements.
However, by the end of the year the government sanctioned no officials for failure
to file the disclosures.
The National Commission for Public Markets is charged with certifying and adjudicating public procurement contracts. In September 2009 the law was amended by presidential decree to raise the threshold of contracts subject to oversight. The certification requirement applies for supplies contracts in excess of 300,000 Haitian gourdes (HTG, or approximately $7,440), public works contracts in excess of HTG800,000 (approximately $19,840), and services contracts in excess of HTG2,500,000 (approximately $62,000).
No law requires public access to government information, but there were no reports that the government prevented public access to government information.
Section 5 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental
Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on
human rights cases. The government cooperated with the various human rights observation missions and generally acknowledged their views but lacked the capacity to implement their recommendations. The government permitted special missions and the continued presence of UN bodies and other international organizations such as the ICRC.
The OPC is mandated to protect individuals against any form of abuse by the government. The OPC offered free legal assistance to any citizen who appeared
before a court regarding a filed complaint. The OPC took an active role in
investigating allegations of government abuse, and worked collaboratively with
international organizations.
The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate each had a human rights committee; however, neither committee published any reports or introduced any legislation during the year.
Section 6 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law does not specifically prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race,
gender, disability, language, or social status. It does provide for equal working
conditions regardless of gender, beliefs, or marital status. However, no effective
governmental mechanism administered or enforced these provisions.
Women
The law prohibits and provides penalties for rape but does not recognize spousal
rape as a crime. The penalty for rape is a minimum of 10 years of forced labor,
increasing to a mandatory 15 years if the victim was less than 16 years old. In the
case of gang rape, the maximum penalty is lifelong forced labor. Prosecution was
often not pursued due to lack of reporting and follow-up on victims' claims. Actual
sentences were often less rigorous, with sentences for convictions in the past year
averaging approximately three years. The criminal code excuses a husband who kills his wife or her partner found engaging in an act of adultery in his home, but a
wife who kills her husband under similar circumstances is subject to prosecution.
Anecdotal evidence suggested that some younger women were detained after violently resisting sexual attackers, who were sometimes family members.
Kidnappers often raped their female abductees.
Reported sexual assault cases increased significantly. HNP statistics showed that
974 rapes were reported by the end of the year, compared with 218 through October 2009. Of these, 84 victims were minors. NGOs noted alarming increases in sexual violence against women in IDP camps. In addition, the increase in the number of reported rapes may be in part a result of the referral and awareness campaign initiated by the UN, in partnership with the HNP and NGOs. On December 22, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommended that the government adopt "urgent measures" to prevent, report, and address violence against women and girls in the IDP camps of the Port-au-Prince area. By year's end, the government had not addressed the commission's recommendations.
In Saint-Marc the Federation for Women of the Lower Artibonite reported that it
provided shelter services for 516 women and girls and assisted 909 victims of
violence during the year.
Rape was especially common in areas with minimal police presence. Many credible NGOs and government sources believed that urban gangs used rape as a systematic instrument of intimidation. Women's shelters and organizations reported that armed gangs frequently raped and harassed girls and women.
Rape was often treated in society as a relatively minor infraction or a family or
community matter instead of a prosecutable offense. Substantial disincentives
discouraging victims from reporting rapes included: victims' desire to protect
themselves from the social or physical consequences of bringing accusations against the perpetrators, who often lived in the community; tacit cultural acceptance of sexual assault; the lack of sufficient facilities or services at police stations to aid rape victims; the long distances between homes and qualified tribunals; and finally, the slow-moving judicial system that fosters a perception of impunity.
However, cases that were heard in court, particularly in Port-au-Prince and Port-de-Paix, sometimes resulted in convictions and stiff penalties. In the 12-month period between October 2009 and October 2010, 48 individuals were convicted for rape. Their sentences ranged from a fine to a life sentence of forced labor. The average sentence was three to 10 years.
MINUSTAH's Gender-Based Violence (GBV) unit, in partnership with the HNP, mapped GBV referral services to identify organizations providing GBV services by type, assessed the quality of services, and provided more complete information for GBV referral cards. The unit distributed referral cards to community workers and local and international NGOs to facilitate survivor access to appropriate medical, psychosocial, and legal services. MINUSTAH also provided an 18-officer Gender Mobile Unit, staffed mostly with female UNPOL Officers. The two HNP referral centers for victims of sexual violence were damaged by the earthquake.
They remained operational, but worked out of limited space in a tent, which they
shared with a collocated police station. The HNP does not have a sexual assault or
domestic violence unit. The Criminal Unit investigates violence against adult
women and the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM) investigates assaults
on children. In Saint-Marc the local government commissioner worked closely with the only local NGO offering comprehensive services to sexual assault victims in the region to protect victims' safety and access to the justice system.
The law prohibits and provides penalties for domestic violence against minors, but
does not classify domestic violence against adults as a distinct crime. Instead, the
Criminal Unit processes crimes of domestic violence against adults (e.g. assault,
rape, harassment, etc.). Police figures reported 30 incidents of domestic violence
against minors during the year (compared with 38 incidents from January to October of 2009). Women's rights groups and human rights organizations reported that domestic violence against women remained commonplace and underreported.
Police rarely arrested the perpetrators or investigated the incidents, and the victims sometimes suffered further harassment and reprisals from perpetrators, sometimes prompting secondary displacement of victims within IDP camps. Corrupt judges often released suspects arrested for domestic violence and rape.
The government, with the support of international donors, sponsored a program for
victims of violence that provided medical and legal assistance for victims, as well
as a campaign denouncing violence against women.
The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment, although the labor code
states that men and women have the same rights and obligations. Data concerning
sexual harassment in the workplace were not available, although observers suggested that sexual harassment was common. Such incidents went unreported because of high unemployment and because citizens had little confidence in the ability of the judicial system to protect them.
Couples and individuals have the legal right to decide the number, spacing, and
timing of children. UNICEF data indicated that 32 percent of women ages 15-49 used modern contraceptive methods in 2008. Despite high levels of general knowledge of contraceptive methods, women had few opportunities to acquire additional information on family planning methods. The UN Population Fund estimated the maternal mortality ratio in 2008 at 300 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Although UNICEF reported that 85 percent of pregnant women received prenatal care at least once during their pregnancy, only 26 percent had a skilled attendant at delivery in 2008. The vast majority of women delivered their babies at home without the benefits of a skilled birth attendant or the ability to find adequate care in the event of complications. Women and men had equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Women did not enjoy the same social and economic status as men. In some social strata, tradition limited women's roles. The majority of women in rural areas remained in the traditional occupations of farming, marketing, and domestic labor.
Very poor female heads of household in urban areas also often faced limited employment opportunities, working in domestic labor and sales. Government and
private sectors seldom promoted women to supervisory positions.
Children
Citizenship is derived through an individual's parents; only one parent of either sex
is necessary to transmit citizenship. Citizenship can also be acquired through a
formal request to the Ministry of the Interior.
The government did not register all births immediately and did not keep statistics
concerning the number of births unregistered each year. One government report
estimated births of more than 10 percent of Haitians were not registered. Birth
documents are legally necessary to register for school, open a bank account, apply
for credit, gain admission to a hospital, and vote. Individuals without required birth documents were not denied emergency medical services or educational opportunities on that basis. Many official documents were destroyed in the earthquake. The National Archives saw its requests for certified copies of documents more than triple upon reopening after the earthquake, and the Office of National Identification faced long lines for months as people sought to replace lost or damaged identification cards. Both institutions were overwhelmed by the demand, but addressed the backlog incrementally.
Primary and secondary education was not compulsory, free, and universal. Before
January 12, only half of school-age children were enrolled in classes. Almost 5,000
school buildings in the earthquake zone were destroyed or damaged on January 12.
Hundreds of teachers and thousands of students were killed. After the earthquake,
most schools remained closed through the summer, and reopened in early October.
International donors and NGOs worked to build and repair schools. Many families
who were not able to get their children into a public school paid for their children
to attend private schools, which were generally unaccredited and unregulated.
Credible sources reported that over 200,000 domestically trafficked children
worked as indentured household servants, or "restaveks" (see section 7.c.).
Approximately 65 percent of these children are girls, and nearly three quarters of
them work as servants in the home of relatives. Governmental agencies and programs promoted children's rights and welfare, but the government lacked sufficient resources to support or enforce existing mechanisms adequately.
Children also reportedly worked on the street and in IDP camps in prostitution.
Recruitment of children for sexual exploitation, pornography, and illicit activities
is illegal. The law prohibits the corruption of youth under the age of 21 years,
including by prostitution, with penalties ranging from six months' to three years'
imprisonment.
The minimum age of consensual sex is 18. Inefficiencies in reporting and investigating allegations of rape contributed to uncertainties regarding penalties, if any, for statutory rape.
The January earthquake created a large number of displaced children and left many
as orphans. In cooperation with the government, NGOs and international donors
established health clinics and child-friendly spaces in many of the camps;
nevertheless, security issues posed a risk as many children were left on their own
during the day.
Port-au-Prince's population of several thousand street children included many who
were dismissed from or fled employers' homes or abusive families, but also some
children who lost parents or caretakers in the earthquake. Almost 75 percent of
street children were boys, according to estimates. NGOs reported that street children were likely to be sexually or otherwise abused, received little or no
education, and were easily exploited by trafficking recruiters. Criminal gangs also
reportedly enlisted minors to commit illegal acts.
The Ministry of Social Affairs provided some assistance, such as food and
temporary shelter, to street children.
In the aftermath of the January earthquake, many orphans were evacuated to other
countries for expedited adoption. The Institute of Social Welfare and Research
(IBERS), which oversaw adoptions and orphanages, resumed operations in March.
Because IBERS had limited resources, many orphanages remain unregistered and
unmonitored. Lack of sanitation, overcrowding, insufficient food, an absence of
education, and poor adult supervision characterized many facilities.
The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
Child Abduction. For information on international parental child abduction, please
see the Department of State's annual report on compliance at
http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport_4308.htm
l.
Anti-Semitism
The Jewish community was very small. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts
or other societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or
practice.
Trafficking in Persons
For information on trafficking in persons, please see the Department of State's
annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons with Disabilities
The constitution and laws do not explicitly prohibit discrimination against persons
with physical and mental disabilities, and there were no reports of discrimination
by the government against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of other state services. However, because of
widespread and chronic poverty, a shortage of public services, and limited educational opportunities, persons with disabilities were severely disadvantaged.
According to the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), approximately 805,000 persons lived with a physical disability during the year.
The earthquake exacerbated the difficulties faced by persons with disabilities, with
the RNDDH reporting that 6,000 persons were left with an amputated limb as a result of the earthquake. Only 3 percent of children with disabilities have access to schools.
The Secretariat of State for the Integration of Handicapped Persons (SEIPH) is the
lead government agency responsible for providing assistance to and ensuring that the concerns of the disabled are taken into account, especially during the reconstruction phase. SEIPH worked with the UN Health Cluster to coordinate the
Injury, Rehabilitation, and Disability working group, which coordinated all activity
concerning the rehabilitation of injured persons, the fitting of orthopedic devices,
and the provision of assistance to persons with disabilities. SEIPH also signed an
agreement with foreign donors to enable the construction in the coming year of a
rehabilitation center for persons with disabilities. The center will train teachers and technicians and will provide prostheses and hearing aids. SEIPH's broader mandate
is to improve the living conditions of persons with disabilities, raise public
awareness on national and international disability issues, strengthen the response
capacity of associations or institutions that work on disability issues, and to
establish a legal framework for persons with disabilities.
There were no reports of abuse in mental health facilities.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity
There was a minimal presence of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT)
advocacy NGOs operating within the country.
There were no officially confirmed reports of discrimination against the LGBT
community, but local NGOs reported that LGBT persons faced widespread societal
discrimination including social stigma, targeted physical violence, sexual assault,
and employment insecurity. NGOs also reported that such persons did not report
human rights violations due to fear of reprisal.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination
Societal discrimination occurred against persons with HIV/AIDS, particularly
women, but educational programs sponsored by foreign donors and efforts by
HIV/AIDS activists attempted to change that stigma.
Section 7 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The law allows some workers, excluding public-sector employees, to form and join
unions of their choice. The law also prohibits employers, management, and anyone
who represents the interests of employers from joining a union. Freelance workers
and workers in the informal economy are not covered under the Labor Code. The
law requires that a union must have a minimum of 10 members and register with
the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs within 60 days of its formation. Any
association with more than 20 members must obtain prior authorization from the
government in order to be recognized. In practice most unions were not independent organizations, but extensions of political parties. There were nine principal labor federations representing approximately 5 percent of the labor force.
The labor code provides for the right to strike, with restrictions, and workers
exercised this right in practice. The Haitian Labor Code considers four types of
strikes legal: workers striking while remaining at their posts; striking without
abandoning the institution; walking out and abandoning the institution; and striking
in solidarity with another strike. Managers, administrators, other heads of
establishments, public utility service workers, and public sector enterprise workers
may not strike. The labor code defines public utility service employees as essential
workers who "cannot suspend their activities without causing serious harm to public health and security." A 48-hour notice period is compulsory for all strikes, and strikes may not exceed one day.
Despite the prohibition there were a few public sector strikes, usually related to the government's failure to pay staff. On April 20, bailiffs and clerks went on strike to demand higher wages from the Ministry of Justice. On July 1, teachers from both public and private schools struck to oblige the Ministry of Education to maintain its commitment to subsidize schools damaged by the earthquake. On July 22,
transport workers called for a general strike and urged President Rene Preval to
replace the CEP and to satisfy key demands of Haitian drivers and workers. They also protested a "toll" imposed by Haitian authorities at the Malpasse/Jimani border with the Dominican Republic.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
While the law protects trade union organizing activities and stipulates fines for
those who interfere with this right, in practice the government made little effort to
enforce the law. High unemployment rates and antiunion sentiment among some factory workers and most employers limited the success of union organizing efforts.
Collective bargaining was nonexistent, and employers set wages unilaterally.
Although workers had access to labor courts established to resolve common labor/management disputes, the courts' judgments were not enforced, and as a result
labor courts were considered weak and ineffective. Under the supervision of the
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the courts are responsible for adjudicating
minor conflicts; however unions stated that the process was ineffective. Seven
labor courts operated in Port-au-Prince, and in the provinces, plaintiffs utilized
municipal courts.
The law prohibits anti-union discrimination by employers, who are liable to a
monetary fine for each individual violation. Although illegally fired workers have
the right to recoup any compensation to which they are entitled, the law does not
specify that employers must reinstate workers illegally fired for union activity.
There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in the export
processing zone in Ouanaminthe, a town on the Dominican border.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including of children; however,there were reports that such practices occurred, namely instances of forced labor among child domestics or restaveks. Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
The minimum employment age for employment in industrial, agricultural, or commercial companies is 15. The minimum age for apprenticeships is 14. There is no minimum age restriction for work in domestic service and there are no legal penalties for employing children in domestic labor unless the nature or condition of domestic service harms their health, safety, or morals. The law prohibits the exploitation of children, which includes servitude and forced or compulsory labor.
The law also prohibits minors from working under dangerous conditions and prohibits night work in industrial enterprises for minors under 18. Fierce adult competition for jobs ensured child labor was not a factor in the industrial sector.
However, children under the age of 15 commonly worked in the informal sector to
supplement family income. Activities and sectors in which children commonly work include domestic work, subsistence agriculture, and street trades, such as selling goods, washing cars, serving as porters in public markets and bus stations, and begging. Children also commonly worked with parents on small family farms, although the high unemployment rate among adults kept children from employment on commercial farms in significant numbers.
Parents unable to care for their children have traditionally sent them to relatives or strangers, who were expected to provide the children with food, shelter, and an
education in exchange for housework. Such children were known as restaveks. The
practice was so entrenched that even poor families routinely kept one or more
restaveks who came from even poorer families. Parents often offered their children
as restaveks when they were six years old or younger. Domestic work as a restavek
was the primary form of child employment, and there was no legal penalty for
families that employed restaveks. While some host families cared for restaveks and
sent them to school, most restaveks were subjected to abuse and involuntary domestic servitude. Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Government and NGO estimates of the number of restaveks ranged between 90,000 and 300,000. A 2009 survey estimated 225,000 children work as restaveks in urban areas of Haiti alone. The majority of restaveks were girls between the ages of six and 14. Host family exploitation of restaveks typically included forcing the children to work excessive hours on physically demanding tasks without pay or adequate food, not sending them to school, and subjecting them to physical and/or sexual abuse. Girls were generally placed in domestic servitude in private urban homes, while boys more frequently were exploited for labor on farms. Restaveks who did not run away usually remained with the host family until age 14. Labor laws require employers to pay domestic workers over 15 years old, so many host families forced restaveks from the household before that age. Others ignored the law, which was not well enforced.
Abandoned and runaway restaveks constituted a significant proportion of the large population of children living on the street, where many were forced into prostitution or street crime by criminal gangs, while others became street vendors or beggars. The thousands of individuals displaced and/or orphaned as a result of the January earthquake likely increased the number of both restaveks and street children.
Although the government charged it with implementation and enforcement of child
labor laws and regulations, the Institute of Social Well-Being and Research
(IBESR) lacked adequate funding to investigate exploitive child labor cases
effectively. Other factors contributing to ineffective investigation and lack of
judicial recourse were border permeability and lack of an adequately trained and
equipped police force. Since the January 12 earthquake, there has been improved
collaboration between IBESR and the BPM, the 35-person HNP unit responsible for child protection, to remove children from child labor and other dangerous and
violent situations. Prior to January 12, the Government of Haiti also established a
program in Carrefour to provide basic education, lodging, and food to street
children.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
On October 1, the daily minimum wage increased from HTG125 (approximately $3.00) to HTG150 (approximately $3.60) in the textile sector and remained at HTG200 (approximately $4.80) in the commercial and industrial sectors. Workers paid at a piecework rate received a minimum of HTG200 per day. For all other industrial and commercial establishments, the daily minimum wage was fixed at HTG200 for eight hours of work. The minimum wage would put a household's income at about twice the average in Haiti, but still provided for only a minimal standard of living. Minimum wage levels were often not effectively enforced.
Most citizens worked in the informal sector and subsistence agriculture, in which
minimum wage legislation does not apply, and daily wages of HTG15 ($0.37)were common. Many women worked as domestic employees, an area of work also exempted from minimum wage legislation.
The law sets the standard workday for industrial, commercial, and agricultural
establishments at eight hours and the workweek at 48 hours, with 24 hours of rest.
It also provides for the payment of overtime and prohibits excessive compulsory
overtime. However, the law grants exemptions to health care, lodging, food and
beverage, and entertainment establishments; managerial positions; and family
establishments that employ only family members. The Labor Directorate may grant
exemptions for other employers not specifically exempted by the law. These laws
were not effectively enforced. The law is also silent concerning public sector
employees. Due to staff shortages and special events, salaried HNP officers sometimes worked 12-hour shifts six days per week and received no overtime, although they received standardized bonuses at year's end. HNP officers had also not been incorporated into the standardized government schedule of benefits after their initial three-year probationary contracts. In severely understaffed regions, officers sometimes worked longer hours to serve the needs of their communities.
The law also establishes minimum health and safety regulations. The industrial and
assembly sectors largely observed these guidelines, but the Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs did not effectively enforce them. No group collected formal data,
but unions alleged job-related injuries occurred frequently in the construction and
public works sectors. Although they have the legal right to do so, in practice
workers could not exercise the right to remove themselves from dangerous work
situations without jeopardizing their continued employment.
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