March 8, 2004

Mr. Santiago Canton
Executive Secretary
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
1889 F. Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Via Facsimile: 1-202-458-3992

Dear Secretary Canton,

On behalf of victims of human rights abuses, their relatives and a number of citizens of Haiti, as well as civil society groups in Haiti and throughout the Americas, listed in the appendix attached to this correspondence, we write now to urge the Commission to seek authorization to conduct an on-site visit to the Republic of Haiti to investigate the critical human rights situation in the country.

As recent events, some of which are summarized below, have made clear, the situation in Haiti is extremely volatile: a state of lawlessness reigns in most of the country, leading to scores of incidents of extreme violence.  The chaotic political situation, and the contradictory reports of unfolding events emerging from Haiti, make it difficult to verify from the outside what is happening on the ground.  What is clear, however, is that serious human rights abuses, political violence, killings, and social turbulence have escalated to the level of a humanitarian crisis.  This state of affairs demands the immediate attention of the international community, and particularly of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, given its established credibility, experience and professional capacity as a factfinding body in situations of political conflict.

In support of this request, we call the Commission’s attention to the numerous reports of extremely disturbing occurrences in Haiti, including the following:

·        Amnesty International has reported that at least eight convicted or indicted human rights violators, several of whom are in the leadership of the opposition forces, are currently at large in Haiti.[1] 

·        Canadian media sources reported on March 3, 2004 that rebel leader Guy Philippe had declared himself the new chief of the country’s military and threatened to arrest the Prime Minister.  An attorney who successfully prosecuted another rebel leader, Louis-Jodel Chamblain, for his role in a 1994 massacre termed this “one of the darker moments in Haiti’s history” and stated that he fears all those who fought for democracy in the past are in danger of being killed.[2]

·        According to French newspaper Le Monde, rebel leader Guy Philippe has declared the resurrection of the Haitian military and himself its chief.[3]

·        The UN news wire reported on March 5, 2004 that in Fort Liberté, recently released prisoners are said to be in charge of security.[4] 

·        The BBC reported that rioters in Port-au-Prince looted stores, ransacked police stations, and set fire to gas stations as a general state of lawlessness took hold of the city on March 1, 2004.[5]

·        The Observer reports a security vacuum throughout the country, and warns that, while rebel leader Guy Philippe has agreed to disarm, he has yet to leave the capital or effectuate a disarmament of his troops.[6]

·        The New York Times reported on March 4, 2004, that opposition forces had fired upon civilians in Port-au-Prince’s Cité Soleil neighborhood, a known Aristide stronghold.  Meanwhile, one pro-Aristide supporter stated that thousands of Cité Soleil residents are ready to defend themselves against Opposition attacks with rifles, handguns, and other weapons.[7]

·        Reuters reports that pro-Aristide forces are also threatening to use force to regain political power: “We are going to burn down the palace with the Americans inside,” said Jean Enzo, a resident of the slums where Aristide built a power base as a firebrand Roman Catholic priest two decades ago.  Enzo states: “We have weapons and we are ready to fight.”[8]

·        BBC News reported that four protesters were killed at a rally on Sunday, March 7.  That source indicated suspicions that pro-Aristide forces were responsible for the deaths.[9]

The Commission itself has recently issued a statement deploring the violence occurring in Haiti and has called attention to the urgent need for a response from the international community.[10]  The Commission has stated that it “stands ready to give whatever assistance it can give within its mandate to alleviate the plight of the Haitian people,” and has pledged to “continue to monitor the events unfolding in Haiti.”

Effective monitoring of events in Haiti will require on-site observation.  The Commission is empowered to carry out such observations by Article 41 of the Convention, which sets out its functions and powers, and in particular, by the terms of Article 18 of its Statute which expressly recognizes its competence to “conduct on-site observations in a state, with the consent or at the invitation of the government in question.”

We recognize the Commission’s long tradition of special concern with the situation of human rights in Haiti.[11]  The Commission has conducted thirteen on-site visits to Haiti between 1978 and 2004. In 1998, for example, the Commission conducted an on-site visit to Haiti given its assessment that the political situation was “in a delicate state of crisis,” that there was “a climate of political instability and insecurity” and that the socio-economic situation was “extremely troubling.”[12]  The Commission issued special reports on Haiti in 1992 and 1993 “[because] of the general gravity of the human rights situation…precipitated and in part aggravated by the military coup of 1991.”[13] 

Haiti is now experiencing extreme political instability.  Its elected president has been removed and an unelected government installed.  The nation is now run by de facto authorities with worrisome rights records, linked to repressive past regimes.  There have been a number of brutal reprisal attacks on political opponents, extra-judicial arrests and killings, looting, lack of effective civil authority, and disruption of humanitarian aid efforts.

In light of these circumstances, the individuals and organizations listed on the attached appendix urge the Commission to take all necessary measures to effectuate an on-site factfinding mission to Haiti as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Deborah Anker

Director, Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic

On Behalf of the Individuals and nongovernmental organizations listed in the attached appendix