UN/OAS Mission Reports on Human Rights in Haiti During 1996

Two weeks ago we presented an analysis of the US State Department's annual human rights report on Haiti for 1996 (see State Department Report). Just last week we received a copy of MICIVIH's report on human rights in Haiti for 1996. It is comprehensive, fair and conveys the nuances of a year where Haiti made definite progress in observing human rights, while not understating the serious problems that remain. The State Department's report failed in several instances to capture this complex situation and thus lacks the grasp of detail and the understanding of context expressed in MICIVIH's report. For example, MICIVIH correctly notes that allegations of police abuse and torture decreased during the second half of the year, after the Mission conveyed its concerns to the government. Moreover, the report states that a more positive attitude toward the police was detected in certain sectors of the population as the HNP took disciplinary action against police abuse and strengthened its command structure, important observations that do not appear in the State Department's assessment.

Both reports fault the slow pace of judicial reform, but MICIVIH's report provides more useful details on the causes and how this sluggishness affects real individuals. MICIVIH correctly describes progress made in the new National Penal Administration, especially concerning the training and oversight of prison guards. One issue that the State Department treats that MICIVIH ignores is the situation of unpaid domestic child labor, the "restaveks" whose status resembles a modern form of slavery.

Read together, the State Department and MICIVIH reports provide a full analysis of the human rights situation in Haiti in 1996. Copies of MICIVIH's report are available: contact by phone 509-23-4047; or fax: 509-23-4039.

Note: MICIVIH will set up a page on the Internet in early March 1997. Plans call for their reports to be available on line. Watch for future announcements.