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Haiti

2010 Human Rights Report

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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.