The Haiti Advocacy Working Group extends a message of condolence to the people of Nepal as they observe the first year commemoration of the April 25, 2015 earthquake. One year ago today, 8,700 lives were lost, more than 800,000 homes destroyed and countless livelihoods destroyed after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck central Nepal. Read More
Background and Context
1. Thousands of Haitians today are at risk of violence and discrimination as a result of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, their gender identity, or nonconformist social behavior. The mere perception that individual may be LGBT can place their life directly at risk because extreme hostility and discriminatory attitudes toward LGBT members are so pervasive. Read More
Last month, Jasmine Huggins of Church World Service interviewed Marie Frantz Joachim of Haitian Women’s Solidarity (SOFA) and Pierre Esperance of National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) to discuss the challenges facing women in Haiti and the elections. Below you will find the complete interview conducted in Haitian Creole but with a brief summary of the issues discussed. Read More
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. The food crisis in Haiti, socio economic in origin and exacerbated by climate change, constitutes a violation of the right to food. In early 2016, it was estimated by the World Food Programme and the Government of Haiti that 3.6 million were food insecure and 1.5 million severely so. Read More
The Global Justice Clinic has submitted a report to the UN’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) concerning the environmental and human rights risks that metal mining poses in Haiti. The submission is the first report submitted to the UPR concerning mining in Haiti. Due to serious human rights and environmental concerns, the submission calls for a moratorium on metal mining. Read More
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. The housing crisis and related displacement are two of the most pervasive human rights violations in Haiti. A majority of Haitians live in overpopulated urban centers, shanty towns or under-developed villages that fail to meet minimum standards of habitability and lack access to basic necessities such as clean water, sanitation, electricity, and physical security. Read More
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. This report, submitted on behalf of the Institute for the Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), AIDS-Free World, the Environmental Justice Initiative for Haiti (EJIH), the Haitian-American Leadership Council (HALEC) and the Haitian Diaspora for Democracy and Development (HD3), discusses violations of human rights in Haiti related to the ongoing cholera epidemic. Read More
INTRODUCTION
1. Under Article 2 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Haitian Constitution (Constitution), Haitian citizens have the right to effective judicial remedies, including competent legal systems that address rights violations. Widespread poverty, corrupt elites, and lack of political will for government accountability perpetuate a broken system in Haiti, despite repeated attempts to reform the country’s judicial system. Read More