The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) just published its latest update on the human rights and rule of law situation in Haiti, which covers key recent developments relevant to human rights in Haiti from November 2020 through May 2021. This follows their previous updates from November 2020 and February 2020, as well as their longer analytical assessment from May 2019.
From the report:
“The seven month period following IJDH’s October 2020 Human Rights and Rule of Law in Haiti update has been marked by increasing authoritarian actions by the government that have furthered concerns for the rule of law, including an unconstitutional exercise to change the constitution through referendum. A remarkable number of people in Haiti, including civil society groups, have courageously demonstrated against the continuation of the democratic crisis and have demanded respect for the rule of law. Many of these widespread demonstrations have been suppressed by the police through violent means while catastrophic insecurity, primarily comprised of attacks against civilians by armed actors and kidnappings, continues. Threats to judicial independence and impunity for these and other human rights violations additionally contribute to a deteriorating economic situation that frustrates the enjoyment of peoples’ economic, social, and cultural rights.
“Human rights lawyers and advocates in Haiti from the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), the Réseau National de Défense des Droits Humains (RNDDH), the Fondasyon Je Klere (FJKL), the Fédération des Barreaux d’Haïti (FBH), the Centre d’analyse et de recherche en droits de l’homme (CARDH), and others from Haiti’s civil society, have respectively raised concerns over the past year that the socio-political situation constitutes a grave threat to human rights and the rule of law—with a significantly weakened judiciary and legislative branch, decrees that have reconfigured the country’s legal code and institutions, a promulgation of unconstitutional exercises that undermine the foundation of the country’s democratic order, and repeated failures of accountability that embolden impunity and corruption.”
Read the full report here.