The Rise of Gang Violence in Haiti

The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office and the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), calls for the urgent deployment of the Multinational Security Support mission authorized by the UN Security Council in October, in accordance with international human rights norms and standards

GENEVA/PORT-AU-PRINCE (28 November 2023) - A new UN report out today details a further, shocking rise in gang violence in Haiti as criminal gangs forge alliances and expand to rural areas previously considered safe – killing, raping, kidnapping, and destroying property, among other abuses.

The report, released by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), calls for the urgent deployment of the Multinational Security Support mission authorized by the UN Security Council in October, in accordance with international human rights norms and standards.  Increased efforts will need to be deployed to strengthen Haiti’s rule of law institutions, in particular the police, the judiciary, and the prison system, the report notes.

The report focuses on the Bas-Artibonite district, located in Central Haiti, about 100 kilometres from the capital Port-au-Prince, which has seen a significant rise in gang violence in the last two years.  Between January 2022 and October 2023, at least 1,694 people were killed, injured, or kidnapped in Bas-Artibonite.

Kidnapping for ransom by criminal groups has become a constant fear for users of public transport across Bas-Artibonite, the report states.  The story of Darleine, a 22-year-old woman is one of many: she was dragged off a bus in March this year by gang members, who held her captive for over two weeks and repeatedly beat and raped her.  A few weeks after she was released, she committed suicide.

The report documents criminal groups rampaging through “rival” villages, executing local people and using sexual violence against women and even very young children.  The groups also loot farmers’ properties, crops and livestock and destroy irrigation canals, contributing to the displacement of more than 22,000 people from their villages and significantly reducing the amount of cultivated land, heightening food insecurity.  In September 2023, more than 45 per cent of the population of Bas-Artibonite was in a situation of acute food insecurity.  Gang violence has also left many farming families unable to repay their debts or to access basic services.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned that across Haiti, at least 3,960 people have been killed, 1,432 injured and 2,951 kidnapped in gang-related violence this year alone.

“The situation in Haiti is cataclysmic.  We are continuing to receive reports of killings, sexual violence, displacement and other violence – including in hospitals,” Türk said.

“With terrible violence against the population expanding – within and outside Port-au-Prince – and the inability of the police to stop them, the much-needed Multinational Security Support mission needs to be deployed to Haiti as soon as possible,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.

The High Commissioner stressed that the support mission must include internal oversight mechanisms and other safeguards to ensure its compliance with international human rights norms and standards.

Given the worsening violence and further to the October 2023 report of the UN Panel of Experts on Haiti, the report also calls on the Security Council to update the list of individuals and entities subject to UN sanctions for supporting, preparing, ordering, or committing acts contrary to international human rights law.

“There needs to be continued emphasis on the implementation of the arms embargo and sanctions targeting those behind this untenable situation,” the High Commissioner said.

“I also call on the Haitian authorities to fulfil their international human rights obligations and to put in place robust measures to strengthen the country’s institutions and improve governance, including by tackling corruption and addressing impunity.”

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The Bahamas Prime Minister, Philip Davis addresses The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States - CELAC on the growing challenges which threaten the safety, security and undermine the pursuit for economic dignity in the region

The economic and security challenges we face are great, and we welcome CELAC’s initiatives to strengthen cooperation in facing them.  Collaboration makes us stronger, and leads to faster and more durable solutions

Buenos Aires, Argentina - January 24, 2023 - Colleagues: Over the past several years, the Covid-19 pandemic compounded the complex problems we already faced, including climate change, economic inequality, and increasing threats to democratic values and human rights. 

These growing challenges threaten our safety and security and undermine our pursuit for economic dignity. 

Every one of our citizens deserves the right to experience the joys of family life, to do meaningful work, and to live lives full of purpose.

When we gather in regional meetings like this one, we must make sure that our debates and agreements concerning infrastructure and institutions always prioritize results that make a difference at the level of individual families.  People must come first.  And until doors of opportunity are open for all, we cannot rest. 

Climate Change 

Colleagues: Rising sea levels pose an existential threat to my country.  In 2019, a Category 5 storm devastated two of our main islands. 

We are not and have never been the polluters, yet we suffer from the greatest vulnerabilities caused by carbon emissions. 

Our debt burden remains high, in significant part due to these climate risks, including the need to regularly rebuild homes, businesses and infrastructure after devasting hurricanes.  Our cost of borrowing also prices in the risk of future hurricanes; we are already paying a high price for the intensifying weather patterns of tomorrow.

We urgently need the developed countries to honour their commitments to compensate for the Loss and Damage associated with climate change.  And in order to build resiliency, we urgently need finance and access to technology. 

Each of our countries must keep the pledges we’ve made, in this and other settings, to reduce our own emissions.  We have seen glimpses of a future we cannot survive; we must change course, or perish. It is that simple. 

Regional Peace and Security

Colleagues: Democracy cannot be taken for granted; it is a commitment that must be continually renewed.  Just over two weeks ago, a violent mob stormed government buildings in Brazil in an effort to overturn the outcome of free and fair elections. 

I reiterate the solidarity of The Bahamas, and CARICOM, with President Lula de Silva and the Government of Brazil, and our unwavering commitment to democracy and rule of law. 

The scenes in Brasilia uncomfortably echoed those just a few years ago in Washington, DC.  Political violence, in all its forms, must be condemned anywhere in the Americas. 

Haiti 

Colleagues: The crisis in Haiti is getting worse.  The tragic situation there continues to pose a substantial threat not only to Haitians, but also to The Bahamas and neighbouring countries, all of whom are experiencing a significant increase in irregular and often dangerous migration. 

With the support and leadership of Haiti, collectively, we can, through CELAC and other regional organizations, help Haitians build a path out of crisis.

We commend Haitian-led efforts to hold elections before the end of 2023, to arrest the threat to public security posed by violent gangs, to relieve hunger and malnutrition, and to alleviate the political crisis. 

Enhanced regional partnership can especially help to scale up capacity-building for the local police, and tackle trafficking, particularly in people, contraband and guns. 

These Haiti-led solutions provide promising alternatives to the usual inclination to carry out activities in Haiti without Haitian direction, and the preference for investing in the strengthening of the NGOs in Haiti, as opposed strengthening her public institutions. 

Extra-Regional Partnerships 

In terms of the wider region, the economic and security challenges we face are great, and we welcome CELAC’s initiatives to strengthen cooperation in facing them.  Collaboration makes us stronger, and leads to faster and more durable solutions.

International Obstacles to National Development 

And even while we pursue national development, other international partners pursue policies which harm our progress.  The Bahamas will continue to voice its displeasure with the discriminatory practice of the blacklisting of countries.  I invite you to join us. 

We will also continue to advocate against the unfair use of GDP per capita to determine how or if developing countries, in vulnerable developing regions, qualify for reasonable concessionary financing or grants.

The use of the Multi-Vulnerability Index in assessing eligibility for help, rather than the blunt, outdated measurement of GDP per capita is a fairer measurement.  I invite you to join us in advocating for mutual agreement of alternative eligibility criteria for international financing and Overseas Development Assistance.

Summit Declaration 

Colleagues: Dialogue is important; collaborative solutions cannot be built without it.  But talk is not sufficient.  The work we do here must translate into tangible benefits for our citizens.  Let us share a determination to make each meeting, and each conversation, a stepping stone to real progress for people.

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Do Not Exclude Cuba from the Summit of the Americas

Cuba denounces U.S. government exclusion of Cuba from preparations for Ninth Summit of the Americas

Excerpts from statement to the press by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla

I am obliged to denounce the fact that the U.S. government has decided to exclude the Republic of Cuba from preparations for the Ninth Summit of the Americas set to take place in Los Angeles, June 8-10; and is currently exerting extreme pressure on numerous governments in the region that have privately and respectfully opposed this exclusion.

The U.S. government is misleading the public and governments of the hemisphere by saying that it has not yet made decisions regarding invitations.

I respectfully urge Secretary of State (Anthony) Blinken to say honestly whether or not Cuba will be invited to the Ninth Summit of the Americas.

A central axis, according to preparations for the event, will be health.  And I must inform our people and international public opinion that there are currently negotiations underway, conducted in an unclear manner, with quite a few neoliberal elements, and many shortcomings, in relation to the real needs of the peoples regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the structural causes of precarious health systems that have led to tragic consequences and caused an extremely high number of deaths in our hemisphere, including the United States of America, and have avoided substantial cooperation and basic financing to address these consequences, and are now negotiating in an opaque manner a so-called Health and Resilience Action Plan for the Americas through the year 2030.

I must note that these negotiations are being held, in an obscure manner, with the exclusion of Cuba and other member states of the Pan American Health Organization, which are participating in these processes, in violation of their own mandates.

Cuba has always, in a modest but altruistic and persistent fashion, provided the possibility for international cooperation in health, which has been recognized worldwide.

There are Latin American vaccines against COVID-19 which are Cuban. The medical brigades that responded to the COVID emergency in the region, in the hemisphere in more than 50 countries on the planet, have been Cuban.

It would be convenient to take into account during this process, and benefit our peoples, Cuban medical presence in confronting natural disasters and epidemics in the past, the provision of tens of thousands of medical scholarships for low-income Latin American, Caribbean and United States youth, the existence of the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana, Operation Miracle that returned the sight of millions of low-income persons, Cuba's ability to establish cooperation, transfer state-of-the-art technology, provide pharmaceutical products, vaccines and novel treatments, the ability to share advanced protocols and medicines in the field of health…


Another central axis of the Summit, from which Cuba is intended to be excluded, is emigration.  A document with a long title: Letter of Understanding on Migration Management and Protection of Migrants is also being negotiated behind the back of international, US, Latin American and Canadian public opinion.  It is a code that seeks to force Latin American and Caribbean States to repress migration, to absorb the migrants that the United States decides to process outside its territory, which incorporates elements of the racist, xenophobic and plundering U.S. vision of our migrants.  It does not address in any way the real causes of migration, but it does, however, offer palliatives, stimuli, financing and economic incentives to countries that send migrants to the U.S. and are closer to its borders, to attenuate this process.

With Cuba, however, his recipe is the extreme tightening of the blockade, causing deprivation to Cuban families, the application of Undersecretary Mallory's stark memorandum: "depressing wages, causing hunger, despair and the overthrow of the Government," is the American prescription in relation to Cuba…
The exclusion of Cuba from the Ninth Summit of the Americas would constitute a serious historical setback in relation to the two previous editions.  In Panama, in 2015, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz led the delegation from our island which participated on equal footing, and raised his firm, dissenting voice, but always serene, respectful and constructive…

A third axis of the Summit of the Americas is that of democracy and human rights.  In the obscure negotiations taking place today, the intention is to establish the Organization of American States to certify all elections in the region.  This is the same OAS of the coup in Bolivia, and the intention of the United States, historically responsible for coups in our region, and also responsible for the coups in recent decades against progressive governments.

How can a Summit take place, centered on democracy, having excluded, at the arbitrary whim of the host, certain countries of Latin America and the Caribbean?  Can anyone think of something more undemocratic?
The U.S. has no moral authority to set itself up as a model in this matter or to criticize others…

The Ninth Summit of the Americas could still be an opportunity if, in an inclusive manner and on equal terms for all countries, it debated, without exclusions and with sincere commitment, the most pressing problems that affect the continent.

Cuba supports the genuine efforts to promote dialogue, links and cooperation between Our America, the America of Bolivar and Martí, and the United States, between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the United States government…

Cuba, which firmly defends the unity within the diversity of Our America, today expresses our profound gratitude to the peoples and governments that maintain a courageous, dignified, solidary position, demanding of the U.S. government that Cuba not be excluded from the Ninth Summit of the Americas.

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THE STATE OF (HUMAN) RIGHTS IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS IN 2017

PRESENTATION AT THE HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM AT THE UNIVERISITY OF THE BAHAMAS

April 7, 2017

By:  Joseph Darville

VP Grand Bahama Human Rights Association

The Israelites, the Bible states, wondered forty years in the desert. It’s not that they were physically lost, for they knew where they were headed, and knew how to get there. The stars by night and the sun by day were the only GPS they needed. And they were fortified by manna in the desert.

But woefully, that nation of people was mentally and psychologically lost. Leaving the land of enslavement, after coming to the realization that as a people of value and dignity, they no longer cherished the ungodly treatment meted out to them. Yet, having subjected themselves for so long to this bondage, they were infused with the consciousness of enslavement at the very core of minutest parts of their being.

By Divine grace and a genetic transformation, they came to realize that no entry into the promised land was possible until every iota of mental slavery was exorcised from the very foundation of their being. It could have taken them but a mere sixty days by foot to reach their ultimate physical goal. But as long as forty years were necessary to wipe out the vestiges of enslavement.

Four decades, yes, it took them to wipe clean their minds and hearts, that long, indeed before old habits died out. The very genetic recalibration had to take place. Even the great Moses was never allowed to enter the promised land. He and the other “old” heads had to literally die out and take with them the residual of the consciousness of slavery, for indeed, a consciousness of enslavement cannot ever enter the Promise Land.

For many years too, we were enslaved. Almost two hundred years ago, the physical shackles tumbled from our ankles, and we began our wandering in the desert of human reconstruction, not really knowing who we were or where we wanted to go. But yet, like the Israelites, we knew intuitively, and our souls cried out in desperation for our promise land.

But the sounds and sensation of those damn shackles kept us in mental bondage. Even now, and after forty plus years of political independence, the curse of enslavement still hangs around our necks. And if we listen very quietly, we can still hear the hammering and the clinging of those despicable physical shackles.

For fear of retribution, many, too many of us, cling to the old vestiges of the plantation. Our masters now, only having changed color, and having elevated themselves to the status of demi-gods, have so fine-tuned their capricious power and control over us, that mental enslavement has become their special art. Thus, our promise land is nowhere even on the horizon.

So, my lamentation is that we are more enslaved now under our own native leaders than we were under our white slave masters. Please excuse my expression, but the ‘black nigga” syndrome of slaving on the plantation, without any notion of our singular rights, is very much alive in this nation, both for poor blacks and whites.

In such a state of affairs, one can conclude that the state of human rights in this nation is defunct, not even in ICU, but in rigor mortis, having for too long under gone the rites of extreme unction (last rites). Sadly, we have yet to see the birth of real freedom in this land. As a matter of fact, if what has been now called the Spy Bill had been passed, our individual freedom especially of privacy and public utterances would have been drastically curtailed, if not totally abolished. It would have indeed further shackled our most precious gift of freedom to express.

Individually, we are very proud people, and we love our Bahamaland. However, a child given a piece of candy, when she deserve a full meal, is also very happy and proud. Essentially, we have gotten rid of one set of slave masters and embraced another; and that “another” is even more pernicious. For when our own, knowledgeable about every iota of our psyche, enslave us, they do so with even more vengeance, for they have fine-tuned the technique of psychological enslavement as an art.

At the rate we’re going, or really, not moving, we may achieve true freedom and independence by 2041, when I’m 100 years old. In other words, we will take five times longer than it took the Israelites. I pray I’m still alive to witness that illusive reality.

We are an independent people, and as such should have the freedom, the right and ability, even obligation to structure and build one by one our beautiful communities. We can then become the envy of island nations, the glory of our own nation and the focus of the world. Our beauty, of both people, land, and sea with their natural and abundance of resources, are all we need to become all that the Good and Great Creator meant us to be. But we will recognize and accept this reality only when we are REALLY independent, really free, relying on those wonderful gifts so bountifully bestowed upon us by our loving Creator.

The Good and Gracious Creator gives to each and every one of us all that is essential, not just for our survival, but enough to prosper and grow together as wonderful reflection of his glory and power.

First we have to recognized what we have been bountifully given, give thanks for it all, and them work to create a fruitful and enjoyable life for everyone else. Selfishness, greed, and false pride must be removed from our hearts, and replaced with joy, thanksgiving and the ultimate gift of unconditional sharing. Dreadfully, our political leaders, embracing wholeheartedly the colonial mentality, know not such an enlightened path.

When Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment are meted out to our defenseless citizens, with impunity, even when our constitution and the UN Declarations of Human Rights, forbids such, we are again embedded in the plantation syndrome. From the some thirty articles, simple and yet profound, in the United Nation Declarations, and to which our nation is a signatory, some nineteen of them are contravened and denied on a daily basis in this nation. When our disciplined forces are so uninformed, or simply calloused, in these matters, brutal and dehumanizing treatment of our citizenry, as well as those who enter our shores from other nearby nations, become the norm.

Beating of suspects by the very ones designated to protect our safety, as if they were only useless black niggas is carried out with impunity, no accountability; only when someone actually dies does an individual family member become sufficiently incensed or is courageous enough to report brutal and dehumanizing treatment. And then, even then, the course to justice is literally a nightmare.

But these reprehensible acts come to light from time to time, as has occurred recently in the cases of the despicable treatment of Cuban and other nationals in the detention centre. Consequently, our national and international image sank deeper and deeper into the abyss and the quagmire of ignominy.

Yet the most sad thing about this matter, in the present STATE OF THE NATION, is that for those who can excuse such behavior, mistakenly on our behalf, view even the expression of “human rights” with anger and vengeance. We, rights defenders, are seen as being anti-Bahamas, devious, infidels, subversive, carrying out treasonous acts against the state. That my sisters and brothers, spells out clearly the state of human rights in our nation. Thus, this legitimate arm of any civilized and democratic society has to be practiced mainly underground for fear of threats, ridicule and retribution.

Without even keeping in mind the serious physical actions brought against individuals in society at the hands of law enforcement personnel, the daily life of citizens of this nation is burdened with a plethora of uncertainties.

One does not share in the daily decisions which fundamentally affect our lives. Our leaders play the secrecy game, making decisions which often create havoc, fear and apprehension in the nation. They take umbrage in the fact that there is no Freedom of Information Act yet enacted. We are thus subjected to the old colonial civil servant secrecy law, and thus in all matters, confidential or not, we only become aware of them and the consequences of these many decisions after the fact, when our lives have been seriously impacted.

This again, is in the order of the old plantation regime, keeping us ignorant, uninformed, and thus our masters can ride higher and higher on their thrones of pontification, in the name of “divine right of kings.” We are under the illusion that we live and operate in a participatory democracy; this is, in fact, a fallacy, and illusion.

The system of democracy we exercise in this land remains one of psychological enslavement; we daily obey our maters for fear of retribution. As a matter of fact our leaders aim to become plutocrats (rich), and rule as if we were an oligarchy (ruled by the wealthy), and not a democracy. Whether they be ecclesiastical or political leaders, they are our servants and not demi-gods who rule with a condemning iron fist.

The Commission on the reform of our Constitution states the following in reference to freedom of information:

“ 15.11 A corollary of the right of free speech is the right to have access to public information. The right of free expression embraces the right to impart and receive information. Thus it is not surprising that some Constitutions link the right of freedom of information to that of free speech. Some provide for extensive rights of freedom of information, such as the South African model, which provides a right of access to information held by the state (art.32). Others do not elevate it to a constitutional right, but have adopted freedom of information laws. It would be difficult in a common law system, where legislation dealing with official secrets, breach of confidence legislation and the regulations governing the public service still pertain, to grant a constitutional right to government- held information. But the Commission is of the view that some form of statutory regime should provide the citizen with the access to information needed for the proper functioning of a democracy.”

One by one, our civic, human and natural rights are denied in so many ways, resulting in many of our brother and sisters suffering relentlessly. And according to my venerable friend, and veteran poetic prophet, Etienne Farquharson: we have been shackled with the 7D’s: disregard, disrespect, deceit, dishonesty, denial, disorder, and culminating with the seventh D: DAMNATION. You may wish to add more D’s.

These are the modern-day shackles inhibiting our way forward; aware of our fundamental freedom and rights under the constitution and international protocols, the frustration of enslavement becomes even more malicious.

The contravention of our basic human, civic and social rights, are mainly perpetrated by official agencies of the state. As was stated in the human rights report, a few years ago the UN in referencing to cruel and dehumanizing treatment of persons:

“The constitution prohibits such practices, but human rights monitors and members of the public expressed concern over continued instances of police abuse of criminal suspects. Police officials, while denying systematic or chronic abuses, acknowledged that police on occasion abused their authority.

There were other allegations of police beatings and brutality throughout the year. The government stated that no official complaints were received, in reference to many of these allegations. Victims' families and community activists claimed that many officers had their cases thrown out of court or dropped by the Attorney General's Office. In addition, many officers waited years for their court date, only to return to work without having their names cleared.”

With a large percentage of our citizens living at the level of subsistence, and many even below that, too few have the means to fight for, defend or legally afford the costs to maintain or regain their fundamental rights as citizens in a democratic society. These abuses will continue unabated until sufficient numbers of our citizens wake up, realize and accept their individual freedom. So until then, expect the carnage to continue, due to ignorance of our national and international rights: acts which result in the maiming of our citizens, even to the finality of death; desecration, pillage, raping of our environmental heritage by foreign entities, like what took place and still presently taking place in Bimini; the dispossession of our crown land generally without our knowledge; the fallacy that our leaders have infallible rights to do as they please without consultation of the citizenry. This is the very antithesis of a true and participatory democracy.

Yes, we do elect leaders every five years, but then, soon after, we go into a catatonic state, mesmerized, hypnotized, seduced by the trickery, deception of our leaders, as we fall prey to their almost despotic rule.  Then again, after five long years we awaken from our slumber. With the enticement of plenty liquor, money, adorned with T-shirts and an abundance of Bahamian food, we become aggressively passionate again, elect others or the same individuals; then we’re back into our slumbering state, ruled by our masters, having again reaffirmed their continued power base of domination.

Oh, how our psyche loves to be ruled; it is indeed so much easier to be ruled, ordered and subjugated to the will of our masters. They are no longer our servants, but our indomitable plantation slave masters. And thus continues the regime of banana republic politics.

My brothers and sisters, all the acts which undermine our fundamental rights are the basis of much of the malaise, crime in our nation. A people who have no sense of ownership, power or participation in the national life are easily led to feed on and destroy the nation. Thus, the level of murders, the rape and pillage of our women and children. As has been so truthfully stated, “society prepares the crimes and individuals commit them.”

Did you know that in 2010, the Bahamas was declared by the United Nation to have the highest per capita in the world for rape, some 133 in 100,000. And those are just the reported cases. The way we treat our women and children marks the manner of our bearing. I cannot imagine at this moment the statistics! But who pays attention when our beloved women still cannot officially be recognized as equal to men in this nation. And our LBGT Community becomes the vicious prey of religious bigots.

Our environmental rights are daily being eroded in the manner our lands and seas are offered to the highest bidder, irrespective of the pillage, rape and devastation which can result. All of this again is carried out in secrecy, and I’ve already addressed one of the prime example in the utter and on-going destruction of the beautiful gem in the ocean, Bimini.

These are our lands, sea, sea coast and seabed and they should not be sold, given away, or in any way used unless benefitting us, the Bahamian people. So states the legislation governing crown land. By virtue of the stewardship of these islands, we have a serious responsible to safeguard this heritage patrimony for thousands of generations to come; it is our right and privilege; and, thus, a national and fundamental and individual right. We should aim to protect and preserve for the generations from whom we are borrowing them.

The Freedom of Information movement is embedded in Universal Declaration of Human Rights developed by the United Nations in 1948. The guiding principle is based upon four freedoms: Freedom of speech; Freedom of religion, Freedom from want; and Freedom from fear.

In further expounding on freedom from fear, it states:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

If our people do not wake up soon, and very soon, we will continue to be doomed and sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. Our voices need to be heard and not simply on talk shows, but in practical, meaningful, and dynamic ways. If ever we needed a quiet, peaceful, non-violent revolution, it is NOW! We labor under the calloused burden of unrighteous taxation with, certainly no representation, but even more so without consultation. Information is power, and we need to know every fundamental right we should enjoy as a human being, citizen of this Commonwealth, and actually citizen of the world.

We have by virtue of the ignorance of our fundamental rights, have inadvertently sold our freedom to the calloused, indifferent and corrupt demagogues. They tread upon us furiously, as if it were their legal prerogative.

As someone has so truthfully stated in historical perspective:

Apartheid was legal

The Holocaust was legal

Slavery was legal

Colonialism was legal

Legality is a matter of POWER, not justice.

Thus, it is not righteousness or justice which governs our nation, but rather power and that unrighteous power breeds corruption without limitation.

I encourage more individuals, especially the young, to become educated, informed, committed and passionate about leading this Commonwealth into the promise land, “God’s Kingdom come on Earth”, as promised by Jesus Christ. According to His admonition, we are not independent until our spirits are free and all fear is removed from our hearts! Until then, we are nothing but slaves in our masters' vineyards. Fear not my sisters and brothers, fear not; do not even fear itself, for then that is still fear!

The Good and Gracious Creator gives to each and everyone of us all that is essential, not just for our survival, but enough to prosper and grow together as wonderful reflection of his glory and power.

About the Author: Joseph Darville is a native of Long Island, Bahamas and a resident of Freeport, Grand Bahama. He is the founding member and past president of the Bahamas Counselor's Association; past president of the Bahamas Mental Health Association and the Grand Bahama Mental Health Association; founding member and past president, and presently Vice-President, of the Grand Bahama Humane Rights Association; founding member and presently co-chairman of the Bahamas National Drug Council; a founding member of the Caribbean Human Rights Network; past VP of the Caribbean Federation of Mental Health; founding member and chairman of Operation Hope, [volunteer drug prevention, education & rehabilitation program]; and an administrative VP of the Freeport YMCA. Joseph is a past VP of the Bahamas Union of Teachers and taught at the St. Augustine's College in Nassau as well as at Queens' College, where he was also a guidance counselor; principal of Grand Bahama Catholic High School from 1977-1997. He is an advanced master/teacher in Reiki training, a natural energy healing method, as well as a teacher of Transcendental Meditation. He has received many awards for outstanding service and achievement in teaching, communication, and citizenship, including the 25th year of independence Commonwealth of the Bahamas Citizen’s Award. He now serves as a director/Chairman of the Coalition to Save The Bays, and presently Board Chairman for the Grand Bahama Humane Society. Joseph is married to Melanie and they have two children, and four grand children. Joseph can be reached at: jldarville@savethebasys.bs

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Human rights in Haiti

By Clément Doleac
Research Associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs

 

Dictatorship and human rights violations in Haiti

In the past five decades, Haitian people have suffered systematic human rights violations that were rarely condemned, thus preventing any state from having real democratic institutions and impeding any democratic political regime to exist.


From 1957 to 1986, the Duvalier family exerted a harsh dictatorship in Haiti without respect for fundamental human rights, such as rights of association, social rights, of economic rights and cultural rights. These dictatorships received millions in US government aid under various security and humanitarian reasons because of their role as a bulwark against communism (such as the Trujillo dictatorship in Dominican Republic).[1]

After being elected in 1957 and having served in office for seven years, Francois Duvalier proclaimed himself president for life in 1964. When he died in 1971, his son Jean-Claude dynastically took office, who was strongly supported by the US as part of an anti-communist shield in the country.[2] Jean-Claude fled the country due to mass protests and political opposition against the authoritarian rule.[3] He departed on February 7, 1986, flying to France in a US Air Force aircraft, illustrating how he consistently benefited from the intrusive behavior of neo-colonial powers.[4]

During the Duvalier dictatorship, thousands of recalcitrant opponents of Duvalier were murdered, directly or indirectly by the military and the Tonton Macoute, while abductions, extra-judiciary execution, rape, and torture were also common practices as well. The state and its agents were responsible for humiliating treatment, thefts, extortions, and expropriations.[5] Around 100,000 Haitians sought asylum in foreign countries, such as the Dominican Republic, the US base of Guantanamo, and Florida, as well as Europe and other Latin American countries. Nearly 300,000 persons sought refuge from Port-au-Prince to more remote parts of Haiti.

After a transition period, the democratically elected popular priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide came to office. In a constitutionalist action, his ascension happened against a background of right-wing death squads and the threat of military coups. As Haiti expert Paul Farmer once stated, “Aristide was seen as a threat in the US.” The New York Times wrote, in one of is more pathetic moments, pictured Aristide as “a cross between the Ayatollah and Fidel”.[6] The Haitian economic elite shared this dislike. As one Haitian businessman put it: “If it comes to a choice between the ultra-left and the ultra-right, I’m ready to form an alliance with the ultra-right”.[7] Nonetheless, Aristide was elected on December 16, 1990, by an overwhelming 67 percent of the vote in a field of 12 candidates.[8] No run-off was required.

In fact, the Haitian elite allied with high-ranking members of the Haitian army and Haitian National Intelligence Service (SIN) to conspire against the elected president. They were able to successfully overthrow Aristide in a military coup the following year.[9]

Return to Democracy and Interference in the Hopeful Elected Presidency of Haiti

After three years of terror, Mr Jean Bertrand Aristide came back into office in 1994 for a short amount of time in order to finish his term as elected president. During his two years in office, Aristide abolished the Haitian army, and in 1996 became the first elected civilian to see another elected civilian, René Préval, succeed him as president. Préval himself had the distinction of becoming Haiti’s first president ever to serve out his term, neither a day more nor less than was his due.[10] In November 2000, Aristide was reelected again for a four-year term.

Aristide’s second term, however, was undermined by the governments of the US and France. US government hostility had been no secret since 1991, and the historical support that Washington had for the Haitian military was clearly evident. Rebel leader Guy Philippe, for example, had received training during the last coup at a US military facility in Ecuador. Philippe was known to have executed several pro-democracy activists, including Louis-Jodel Chamblain. Philippe had fled Haiti in October 2000, when the authorities discovered him plotting a coup with a group of security forces officials.[11]

For its part, the French government was insulted by Aristide due to his ongoing claims about a debt France owed to Haiti. Aristide stated that France “extorted this money from Haiti by force and should give it back to us so that we can build primary schools, primary healthcare, water systems and roads”.[12] He had done calculations, adding in interest and adjusting for inflation, “to calculate that France owes Haiti US$21,685,135,571.48 and counting”.[13]

In 2002 and 2003, several incidents occurred in the countryside during by the US-backed right-wing militia. These included the killing of a number of Aristide’s supporters and members of the far left-wing militia (the so-called chimeres, “chimeras”). A raging civil war was soon underway. In 2003, the Canadian government hosted the Ottawa Initiative for Haiti in Montreal in order to determine the future of Haiti’s government. Officials from Canada, France, the US and various Latin American countries were present, yet no Haitian officials attended. The conference resulted in an expressed preference for regime change in Haiti in less than a year.[14]

The right-wing militia took over control of several cities in 2003 and Cap-Haitien, the second most important city in the country, in February 2004.[15] The militia received support from sectors of Haiti’s elite as well as from sectors of the Dominican military and government cohorts at the time. It is also believed that they had contact with U.S. and French intelligence.[16]

Despite massive protests supporting Aristide in Port-au-Prince and the acceptance of an international peace plan by President Aristide on February 21, the US and French governments, “invited” Aristide to leave the country in order to bring peace and security again to the country. In fact, the US military “accompanied for his own security” the constitutionally elected president on a US Air Force flight.

The Dissident Voice reports that since then “a quasi UN trusteeship had begun. Since that time the Haitian National Police has been heavily militarized and steps have been taken towards recreating the military”.[17] With the end of Aristide’s second presidential term, human rights violations have begun to rise again. [18]

Impunity in Haiti under United Nations’ MINUSTAH presence

In 2005, the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations stated that the human rights violations that were being found in Haiti still exist but did not derive from the state or government but the system. More specifically they emanated from two antagonistic and elderly armed sectors of the population. The first consisted mostly of paramilitaries and ex-militaries (the Army had been disbanded in 2005) with the objective of destabilizing the leftist government. The second was composed of Aristides’s supporters rebelling against him through the creation of the Front de Resistance Nationale (FRN, “National Liberation Front”). The resulting insurrection had led to the interposition of a United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, also known as MINUSTAH, over the last nine years.

Twenty-two lawsuits dealing with crimes against humanity were filed against Jean-Claude Duvalier regarding the crimes perpetrated during his dictatorship when he returned to Haiti in 2011. Nonetheless, Judge Jean Carves waived every lawsuit against him within a short time. In 2014, an appellate court declared that the lawsuits for crimes against humanity were valid, but Duvalier died in October 2014, which was before the statement was made. As for the violations committed by private groups and Aristide’s supporters and opponents, most cases still go unpunished but his estate of many millions remains an irresistible lure.

From “Yes, We Can” to “No, You Can’t”: U.S. Military Occupation after the 2010 Earthquake

The election of President Obama led to high hopes for a dramatic change in US foreign policy in Haiti, but these were crushed by the harsh reality of the continuity of American foreign policy, which has proven not to roam from their grim past.

In January 2010, just after a major earthquake shook the country, President Obama sent the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) to Haiti in order to “secure” Port-au-Prince’s airport. After three days, SOUTHCOM’s deployed around 22,000 members of the US military throughout the country and a US Navy and Coast Guard flotilla surrounded the island as if perhaps Haiti had decided to declare war on the United States, an unsheathed memory of a troubled past.[19] The United States took full command of Haiti’s airport and airspace without any regards to questions of national sovereignty, and the US government restricted all entry and exit from the country. The actions did little to improve the country’s recovery efforts.[20]

The heavy US military presence in Haiti after the earthquake turned out to be but a part of Obama’s larger strategy of containment of Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela. Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were chosen to lead the US civilian response, and the US government established an Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission with Clinton as co-chair in order to effectively control every aspect of Haiti’s economics and politics.[21]

The Violation of Democracy in the Name of Stability: The 2011 Elections in Haiti

Additionally, one of the priorities of the Obama administration was to effectively hijack the Haitian electoral process in 2011. The Center for Economic and Policy research (CEPR) released a report after the 2011 elections displaying many of the problems that had occurred with the election.[22] The Organization of American States (OAS) concluded that the elections represented a political decision rather than an electoral one. Many citizens displaced by the earthquake were not allowed to vote, and fewer than 23 percent of registered voters had their vote counted.[23] In addition, numerous electoral violations were reported including ballot stuffing, destroyed ballots, and intimidation.

Former First Lady Mirlande Manigat won the first round of the election and had to run off against a second opponent. OAS election observers chose to “examine the results”, which led to the removal of the governing party’s candidate Jude Celestin of the Inite (“Unity”) party in favor of a pop musician candidate Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly who, in the end, was elected president.[24]

Ricardo Seitenfus, a special representative for the OAS in Haiti, states that a secret ‘core group’ of foreign dignitaries sought to force the president of Haiti out of office in a clean-cut coup. He stressed that this core group also “engineered an intervention in Haiti’s presidential elections that year that ensured that the governing party’s candidate would not proceed to a runoff.”[25] It appears then that this disruption was backed by illegal foreign intervention against the Haitian government as well as by a series of human rights violation in which the US government, the United Nations Secretary, and the OAS all shared responsibility.

When Aristide tried to return to his country in 2013 after nearly ten years in exile in South Africa, President Obama personally called South African President Jacob Zuma twice in order to block Aristide’s return.[26]. President Obama also effectively persuaded the French government and UN Secretary Ban Ki Moon to join efforts in order to prevent further “threats.” Even after the return of former Haitian President Aristide (thanks to South Africa’s resistance to American imperialism), the US government all but installed the neo-Duvalierist Michel Martelly as president as a mere puppet to defend US interests. Bill Clinton’s former aide, Mr Garry Conille, was later named Haiti’s prime minister.[27]

After Ten Years of Military Occupation, Human Rights in Haiti are in a Much More Deteriorated State

These political intrigues and this spoliation of democracy by the US government has not served the best interests of the Haitian people. One of the most emblematic cases is the cholera epidemic in the country. Even despite the fact that the United Nations constantly negated its responsibilities, many families of victims have launched lawsuits against the UN, stating that the epidemic were prompted mainly by some UN soldiers from Nepal. The result of cholera epidemic was the killing of around 10,000 Haitians in the past four years.[28]

Furthermore, several natural disasters such as the earthquake in January 2010, Storm Isaac in August 2012, and Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, have led to the displacement of two million people who have since been installed in refugee camps.[29] More than one year later, in December 2013, there were still nearly 150,000 persons housed in these camps. Only 72 of these camps were built on public spaces while 229 were built on private property.

Around 18 percent of these camps were eventually closed because of governmental orders and 10 percent were closed due to evictions. The evictions, carried out by police or military force without secured alternative housing options, were a human rights violation. Most of those evicted still have yet to find new accommodations and are still living in the street or in miserable camps.

The institutional fragility of the Haitian state has clearly led to unstable an undermining of economic, social, and cultural rights of the Haitian people. The authorities are not able to provide the deserved rights in respect the availability of fields such as alimentation, housing, education, health or and access to jobs which are all but ignored.

An extreme example is that child exploitation continues to remain a reality in Haiti. Since the earthquake, some poor families have “given” their children to rich families. The children receive education, food, and housing in exchange for domestic tasks. In full daylight, these children, called the “restaveks,” are exploited, deprived of their rights, exposed to physical and verbal abuses, and are obligated to engage in forceful and painful work under conditions slightly better than slavery. UNICEF reported in January of 2012 that there are around 225,000 “restaveks” in Haiti.[30] Sexual violence is also a big issue in Haiti, with around fifty cases each year, many likely to go unreported[31].

Furthermore, the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the UN has reported that human rights defenders have been prosecuted throughout the country.

Civil and political rights remain fragile due to weakness of governing state and institutions. The poor access to the judiciary system and high crime rates in Haiti are evidence of this. The murder rate has risen from 5.6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2009 to more than 14.3 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012. Cases of public lynching have become more prevalent with more than 100 a year occurring between 2010 and 2012, illustrating the low confidence in the judicial system.

Moreover, the local and legislative elections initially scheduled for 2012 have yet to occur and there is still no date for these elections to be staged.

The Haitian president has sought to appear as to be the one fulfilling his duty by purposing a new draft electoral law, which members of the Senate refuse to ratify citing the unconstitutionality of the process leading to this draft.

In addition, the situation of the Haitian people living abroad is also of concern because they represent a very high level risk of dangerous statelessness. In fact, many Haitian people abroad are victims of the denial of their rights to identity, nationality, and personal dignity.

For example, in September 2013, the Dominican Republic Supreme Court declared that the people born from illegal immigrants in the Dominican Republic would be subject to nationality “degradation”. This Supreme Court statement was made retroactive, since 1929, meaning Haitian descendants born in Dominican Republic since then were being deprived of their nationality, being neither Haitian nor Dominican.[32],[33]

Conclusion

As stated by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Haiti, the situation of human rights in the country is very serious. The Independent Expert presented five ways for improving the situation: “a strong political will, civil society active participation, a consensus on prioritized problems to solve, a congruent coordination and concentration of efforts, and a strong perseverance of these efforts in order to achieve these goals.”[34] The statement may be a bit naive considering the unremitting history of a plague of sadness, which now haunts Haiti.

The current situation in Haiti is a result of the foreign policies of the French, Canadian, and American governments and their allies’ (UN, OAS, etc.) with the ongoing illegal military intervention in the country. These interventions have brought about human rights violations, state destabilization and massive suffering. With the current illegitimate president inducted by the US government with the support from the OAS, how can the situation be any different?

Military invasion, occupation, and foreign intervention has not helped to return the country to democracy or to uphold human rights. In fact, it has been a disaster. Today those responsible don’t want to accept accountability for this situation and choose instead to criticize Haitian political actors for the current condition without no regard for these crimes. True solutions lie in respect for fair elections, popular will, democratic life, and putting an end to military occupation.

References
[1] “François Duvalier, 1957–1971″, The Library of Congress, Country Studies, December 1989.
[2] ABBOTH, Elizabeth. Haiti: The Duvaliers and Their Legacy, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1988,
[3] Report of the Special Representative of the Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/1987/61, August 5th 1987, par. 1 to 3, 18 and 87.
[4] MOODY John “Haiti Bad Times for Baby Doc, ss violent protests grow, a besieged dictator imposes martial law” in Time Magazine, Feb. 10, 1986
[5] Report of the Special Representative of the Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/1996/94, January 24th 1996, par. 8.
[6] FRENCH Howard W. “Front-Running Priest a Shock to Haiti” in The New York Times, December 13, 1990
[7] FARMER Paul “Who removed Aristide” in the London Review of Books, Vol. 26 No. 8 • 15 April 2004 pages 28-31
[8] FARMER Paul “Who removed Aristide” in the London Review of Books, Vol. 26 No. 8 • 15 April 2004 pages 28-31
[9] FRENCH, Howard W.; Time Weiner (14 November 1993). “C.I.A. Formed Haitian Unit Later Tied to Narcotics Trade”. New York Times. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
[10] FARMER Paul “Who removed Aristide” in the London Review of Books, Vol. 26 No. 8 • 15 April 2004 pages 28-31
[11] FARMER Paul “Who removed Aristide” in the London Review of Books, Vol. 26 No. 8 • 15 April 2004 pages 28-31
[12] MACDONALD Isabel “France’s debt of dishonour to Haiti” in The Guardian, Monday 16 August 2010
[13] FARMER Paul “Who removed Aristide” in the London Review of Books, Vol. 26 No. 8 • 15 April 2004 pages 28-31
[14] The details of the meeting were reported by Michel Vastel in “Haiti put into trusteeship by the United Nations?” L’Actualité, 15 March, 2003 or in ENGLER Yves, “Media Cover-up of Canada’s Role in the Overthrow of Jean-Bertrand Aristide”, Part 1 of a 4 Part Series, Dissident Voice, January 30th, 2014
[15] SDA-ATS News Service, 29 février 2004 “La Maison blanche appelle Jean-Bertrand Aristide à quitter le pouvoir” in Interet General, on February 29, 2004
[16] SPRAGUE Jeb, Paramilitarism and the Assault on Democracy in Haiti, Monthly Review Press, 2012.
[17] ENGLER Yves, "Media Cover-up of Canada’s Role in the Overthrow of Jean-Bertrand Aristide", Part 1 of a 4 Part Series, Dissident Voice, January 30th, 2014
[18] [18] For more information regarding the role of US and French government in Aristide destitution, see Paul Farmer, “Who removed Aristide” in the London Review of Books, Vol. 26 No. 8• 15 April 2004 pages 28-31:
[19] As stated by the US Secretary of Defense
[20] BAR editor and columnist JEMIMA Pierre “Don’t Blame Republicans for Obama’s Actions in Haiti” in Black Agenda Report (Information Blog)
[21] BAR editor and columnist Jemima Pierre “Don’t Blame Republicans for Obama’s Actions in Haiti” in Black Agenda Report (Information Blog)
[22] JOHNSTON Jake and WEISBROT Mark “Haiti’s Fatally Flawed Election” in CEPR, January 2011
[23] As stretched by a US Secretary of State report “Although turnout was higher than in 2009, it was only about 22 percent in the first round of the current election process.
[24] JOHNSTON Jake and WEISBROT Mark “Haiti’s Fatally Flawed Election” in CEPR, January 2011
[25] In an interview with Dissent Magazine, with information cited again by CEPR here and here
[26] WEIBSROT Mark, “Haiti must decide Haiti’s future “ in the Guardian, on March 17, 2011
[27] ENGLER Yves, “Media Cover-up of Canada’s Role in the Overthrow of Jean-Bertrand Aristide”, Part 1 of a 4 Part Series, Dissident Voice, January 30th, 2014
[28] PILKINGTON Ed “Haitians launch new lawsuit against UN over thousands of cholera deaths” The Guardian, March 11 2014
[29] GALLON Gustavo, Independent UN expert report on the situation of Human Rights in Haiti, A/HRC/25/71, February 2014, Human Rights Council.
[30] GRUMIAU Samuel, «UNICEF aids restavek victims of abuse and exploitation in Haiti», Port-au-Prince, Haïti, 31 janvier 2012
[31] GALLON Gustavo, Independent UN expert report on the situation of Human Rights in Haiti, A/HRC/25/71, February 2014, Human Rights Council.
[32] According to his data, the number of Haitians living abroad would be about 4.5 million people. In 2007, the International Crisis Group estimated that a population of more than 3.71 million Haitians and descendants of Haitians residing abroad. The reference is International Crisis Group, “Construire la paix en Haïti: inclure les Haïtiens de l’extérieur”, Rapport Amérique latine/Caraïbes no°24, Port-au-Prince/Bruxelles, December 14 2007.
[33] GALLON Gustavo, Independent UN expert report on the situation of Human Rights in Haiti, A/HRC/25/71, February 2014, Human Rights Council.
[34] GALLON Gustavo, Independent UN expert report on the situation of Human Rights in Haiti, A/HRC/25/71, February 2014, Human Rights Council.

The Council on Hemispheric Affairs, founded in 1975, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and information organization. It has been described on the Senate floor as being "one of the nation's most respected bodies of scholars and policy makers." For more information, visit www.coha.org or email coha@coha.org

November 19, 2014

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