The Clinton Administration Issues Two Bleak Reports on Haiti

See also:
NCHR Calls for Election Delay Again
Country Report on Human Rights Practices in 1999
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report

Within less than a week, the US government has released two reports on Haiti that together draw a stark picture of a country on the abyss of lawlessness and serious human rights abuses. On Friday, February 25, 2000, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor issued the 1999 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, and on March 1, 2000, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs released the 1999 International Narcotic Control Strategy Report.

Haiti is days away from holding elections that, if carried out as planned, should help the country build a democratic political infrastructure. All seats in local and municipal offices are up for grab. Except for 8 Senators whose term of office has not yet expired, the entire parliament must be elected. Yet few of the concerns raised in these reports have been meaningfully addressed by the candidates and the parties to which they belong.

 In its most relevant summary of Haiti’s human rights climate, the Country Report states:

 “The Government's human rights record was generally poor, and its overall effort to respect the human rights of its citizens was marred by serious abuses and shortcomings in oversight. The HNP's tendency to resort to excessive force resulted in a sharp increase in extrajudicial killings. Police were linked to several disappearances. Police continued to beat, at times torture, and otherwise mistreat detainees. While some HNP members were fired and some were incarcerated for human rights abuses, methodical investigations and prosecutions are rare, and impunity remains a problem. Poor prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and detention, and prolonged pretrial detention also remained problems. However, instances of brutality in prisons decreased during the year. The judiciary remained plagued by understaffing, inadequate resources, and corrupt and untrained judges. Judicial dockets remain clogged, and fair and expeditious trials are the exception rather than the rule. The judiciary is not independent in practice, and in at least 22 cases the executive branch detained persons in defiance of release orders issued by judges. Security forces carried out illegal warrantless searches. Most media practice some self-censorship; however, the press frequently is critical of the Government. Due to the nation's political crisis, citizens were unable to vote for representatives to Parliament. Violence against women, societal discrimination against women, and government neglect and abuse of children remain problems. The widespread practice of rural families sending young children to the larger cities to work as unpaid domestics (restaveks) also is still a problem. Child labor persists. Vigilante activity, including killings, remained a common alternative to formal judicial processes.

The Government's effort to redress the legacy of human rights abuse from the 1991-94 period was slightly more successful than in previous years. The 4-year investigation into the Raboteau massacre was completed in September, an indictment was issued, and by the end of the year, the case was moving towards trial. In July the Ministry of Justice disbursed about $1,700 (27,000 gourdes) in reparation money to 914 victims of the 1993 Cite de Soleil fire, which reportedly was set by the paramilitary Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH). Otherwise, no significant progress was made in addressing other human rights violations or political killings dating from the Duvalier, de facto, or post-intervention periods.”

The Narcotics Strategy Report is no less reassuring:

“Several important counternarcotics goals… remained unfulfilled. While the estimated flow of cocaine to Haiti increased slightly during 1999, the GOH seized less than a third of the amount of cocaine it did in 1998. The HNP deployed none of the twenty-five new officers it had pledged for its counternarcotics unit (the BLTS) for 1999. The GOH failed to draft a much-needed Memorandum of Understanding on Interagency Cooperation. It allowed Haitian Customs and Immigration to spurn CN cooperation with the HNP at ports and airports and to withdraw from participation with the HNP in the JICC. With only two exceptions, mere dismissal-rather than arrest and prosecution-continued to be the standard punishment for narcotics corruption among police. The GOH failed to produce a promised report on 1998's notorious "450 kilo affair." The judicial system continued to move slowly, and while numerous drug cases were handed to the system for investigation, there were no drug convictions in 1999. The GOH also took no steps to join the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force.

Consequently, for the second time in a row, Haiti did not meet standards for certification. Normally failure to be certified leads to the suspension of aid and cooperation. Invoking the national interest, the State Department has decided to exempt Haiti from the aid cut-off. “A national interest waiver was granted in order to preserve our own ability to interrupt the flow of narcotics and to deter undocumented Haitian migrants from risking their lives on unsafe vessels headed for the United States,” said Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in a press conference heralding the release of the Narcotics report.