HAWG is a coalition of international development, human rights, and faith-based organizations advocating for aid accountability, democracy, and social justice in U.S.-Haiti policy.
The HAWG believes that consultation and coordination with domestic Haitian organizations and the Government of Haiti is critical to successful development, and advocates for systematic documentation of aid disbursement to ensure aid accountability and efficacy.
Haiti is particularly vulnerable to the devastating impacts of climate change — including destructive hurricanes, droughts, coastal erosion, and rising sea levels– which jeopardize Haitians’ food security, infrastructure, and physical safety.
The HAWG works to protect and defend the social and economic rights of the most vulnerable in Haiti.
Who We Are
The Haiti Advocacy Working Group (HAWG) is a coalition of international development, human rights, and faith-based organizations that aims to positively influence U.S. foreign policy towards Haiti. The HAWG aims to amplify Haitian voices, pursue and promote Haitian-led solutions with an emphasis on the most marginalized, and hold the U.S. government accountable while also identifying ways to work together in constructive ways. Some HAWG members also engage the United Nations, other multilateral organizations, and international financial institutions. Learn More
What We Do
The HAWG is a collection of expert organizations including faith groups who, in part, serve as reliable sources of analysis, information, and insight on key issues within Haiti and between Haiti and the rest of the world. Participating groups meet regularly to share timely information from Haiti and to coordinate advocacy efforts. We organize sign-on letters, briefings on Capitol Hill, and private meetings with policymakers that are often the only gatherings to include Haitian civil society leaders. By building and maintaining relationships with Congress and government agencies, we seek to inform them on the intricacies of the Haitian reality and help break down silos between issues that prevent holistic problem-solving and genuine consideration of Haiti as a regional player. HAWG members dig deep into issues that relate to unmet and emerging needs on a variety of issues including food sovereignty, women’s empowerment, justice issues, climate change, aid accountability, democracy and elections, healthcare, labor issues, land rights, and immigration/migration.
What You Can Do
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Check out this amazing new update from Accountability Counsel!
“In 2018, we shared groundbreaking news that communities we support in Haiti had reached an historic agreement to remedy harm. We are in year five of implementing that agreement, and while significant progress has been made, critical gaps require more time and a concerted push to see this agreement over the finish line. Read More
Initiated in March 2023, this is a live document Lead researcher, Christina Prinvil, HAWG and Haitian Women’s Collective Policy Fellow
Compilation Framing
Given the chaotic nature of voices from outside of Haiti, the Haiti Advocacy Working Group has initiated this curated list of proposals from various authors primarily from outside of Haiti on what the international community should be doing.Read More
Los Angeles, CA – On Wednesday, International Women’s Day, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will hear testimony from Haitian advocates regarding alarming accounts of sexual violence perpetrated against women and girls in Haiti. Following the formal hearing, advocates will host an interactive side event for the public to learn more about the intersecting challenges facing the country and, importantly, Haitian-led solutions that advance the rights of women and girls. Read More
As the discussion around armed intervention in Haiti continues to grow, Vélina Élysée Charlier, Alexandra Filippova, and Tom Ricker just published a piece on the Six Ways the US and the International Community Can Help Haiti Without Armed Intervention, which covers practical recommendations that Haitian civil society and U.S. based advocates have discussed and proposed multiple times over the past year or more. Read More