Attachments
Executive Summary
Since IJDH’s last Update on Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Haiti in June, Haiti’s already catastrophic insecurity and humanitarian crises have deepened further. The Transitional Presidential Council (TPC) – charged with implementing a political accord designed to advance Haiti toward fair elections and a rights-based government, addressing insecurity in a way that centers Haitian sovereignty, and ensuring justice and accountability – has struggled to fulfil its obligations. Instead, there is evidence that the TPC is repeating the patterns of corruption and state capture that defined the previous 14 years of regimes affiliated with the U.S.-backed Pati Ayisyen Tèt Kale.
This reporting period saw a further increase in violations of the right to life and security of the person that the government has been unable or unwilling to control, even with the partial deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS). Most notable were a massacre in Pont-Sondé that killed at least 50, which received no police or MSS response despite advance warning; several large-scale, coordinated attacks by the Viv Ansanm coalition of armed groups, which displaced over 40,000 in the span of a week; and the forced shutdown of international air traffic. Armed groups continue expanding to areas previously considered safe and using brutal tactics to control the population. Over 5,000 people have been killed since January; over 700,000 are internally displaced; kidnappings remain rampant; and journalists and human rights defenders are facing increased threats without government protection. Haiti’s police remain weak and largely ineffective. The unaddressed acute insecurity exacerbates the other challenges described in this Update.
Pervasive government corruption, chronic impunity, and a history of using armed groups as tools for political violence directly precipitated Haiti’s crisis and the proliferation of armed groups. Members of the TPC – four of whom are embroiled in corruption scandals – and other government officials are perpetuating these patterns. In the absence of the state, violence by non-state actors, as well as by police and other government actors using illegal and indiscriminate force, has multiplied. Systemic impunity for these and other harms – including as a result of entrenched corruption and politicization of the judiciary – fuels the cycle of violence and is further delegitimizing the already struggling transitional government. Haiti’s justice sector remains virtually non-functional due to systematic dismantling by corrupt governments, chronic neglect, and acute insecurity impacting court operations. High rates of pretrial detention and inhumane prison conditions amount to distinct grave human rights violations.
The insecurity and interrelated humanitarian crisis continue to disproportionately impact individuals already at the margins. This reporting period saw a material increase in gender-based violence against women and girls, especially in displacement sites. Children are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the crisis, which armed groups are exploiting to dramatically increase child recruitment. Women, children, and other vulnerable individuals lack adequate access to resources and protections, reflecting long-standing structural discrimination. Persistent marginalization of women in the transition process – which violates Haitian women’s right to equality and full participation in their government – risks perpetuating inequality and gendered harms, as well as weakening the transition.
Haiti’s already catastrophic social and economic landscape has deteriorated further. Approximately 40% of Haitians live in extreme poverty and over 5.4 million are acutely food insecure, with Haiti designated a famine hotspot “of highest concern.” Widespread school and hospital closures continue to impact hundreds of thousands.
These combined challenges continue to drive Haitians to flee. Yet even as foreign states evacuate their own citizens, they continue to implement racist, inhumane, and in many cases illegal measures to restrict asylum and force Haitians back to horrific conditions. The Dominican Republic, already responsible for 95% of removals to Haiti, instituted a new program to remove 10,000 Haitians per week, resulting in additional abuses.
The above-described harms have created a desperate need for outside aid, but foreign engagement too often continues patterns that are disruptive to Haiti's long-term stability and are at the root of the present crisis in the first place. The United States and its international partners are still supporting repressive Haitian actors, enabling corruption and government dysfunction; and pushed through the MSS despite deep concerns about its capacity to deliver meaningful improvement. As predicted by Haitian civil society, the MSS has failed to meaningfully improve security and still lacks fundamentals for ensuring protections for civilians and corresponding accountability. Meanwhile, the United States’ failure to stop the illicit flow of weapons to Haiti continues to fuel the horrific violence.