Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti

Last updated
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
FoundedFebruary 2004 (2004-02)
Type 501(c)(3) organization
03-0541424
Location
Website www.ijdh.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) is a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, US, that seeks to accompany the people of Haiti in their nonviolent struggle for the consolidation of constitutional democracy, justice and human rights. IJDH distributes information on human rights conditions in Haiti, pursues legal cases in Haitian, U.S. and international courts, and promotes grassroots advocacy initiatives with organizations in Haiti and abroad. IJDH was founded in the wake of the February 2004 coup d'état that overthrew Haiti's elected, constitutional government. The institute works closely with its Haitian affiliate, the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI). [1]

Contents

Recent work

Cholera

IJDH, in affiliation with Bureau des Avocats Internationaux  [ fr ], represents victims of the 2010 Cholera Epidemic. Together they seek justice for over 9,600 Haitians killed and 800,000 infected and counting since the Cholera outbreak. [2] The Cholera epidemic originated shortly after the arrival of UN Peacekeepers from Nepal, where cholera is endemic. [3] The country had not reported an instance of cholera in over a century prior to the arrival of UN Peacekeepers, and IJDH and the BAI allege that the haphazard and inadequate sewage piping at the UN base caused the initial spread of the disease. [4]

In November 2011, IJDH and BAI filed 5,000 claims to the U.N demanding accountability for the cholera epidemic. The case calls for the UN to implement a national water and sanitation system, fully compensate the victims of the epidemic, and issue a public apology. [5] Various responses were both supportive and critical of this endeavor. Victoria Fan, in a joint post with Richard Cash from the Harvard School of Public Health, suggests that the lawsuit focused on the wrong culprit. Rather than addressing the problems of the environment and seeing this as a global failure to Haitians, the lawsuit is just playing a form of the “blame game”. [6]

In February 2013, the UN dismissed the claims, citing a confluence of factors, which contributed to the epidemic. [7] It also invoked legal immunity per Section 29 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, adopted by the General Assembly on 13 February 1946. [8] Some argue that changing policy on immunity for the Cholera Case could dramatically affect the way UN Peacekeeping Missions are run in the future. [9]

Early May 2013, IJDH and the BAI called for the UN to begin talks over the compensation claims. If talks did not begin the BAI and IJDH threatened to bring the organization to court. [10] On July 5, 2013, the UN confirmed it would not consider IJDH's claims in a letter responding to Congresswoman Maxine Waters May letter urging the UN to accept responsibility for the introduction of cholera in Haiti. [11] On October 9, 2013, IJDH and the BAI filed a class action lawsuit against the UN in New York on behalf of victims of the cholera epidemic and their families. [12] The case was dismissed in the Southern District of New York but has been appealed to the Second Circuit. [13]

Immigration advocacy

IJDH advocates for the creation of a Haitian Family Reunification Program. In 2010, nine days before the devastating earthquake, the Department of Homeland Security granted Haiti a temporary Protected Status for 18 months. This was extended twice to its current expiration date, July 22, 2014. TPS protects Haitians, who have arrived in Haiti before a certain date, from deportation. [14] [15] Immediately after the earthquake many members of congress indicated support for a system mirroring the Cuban program. This would allow many Haitians to join their families in the United States while they wait for visa status.

At the beginning of 2013 pressure continued as the world marked the third anniversary of the 2010 earthquake. It is estimated that 4,000 Haitians still live in tents and makeshift homes. A reunification program would allow many refugees to safely wait for their visas in the United States, rather than in Haiti. [16]

Rape Accountability and Prevention Project

Following the earthquake in 2010, desperate living conditions and lack of security—particularly for people in the tent camps—caused a spike in sexual assaults. Residents in Port-au-Prince's tent cities were more than 20 times as likely to report a sexual assault as other Haitians [17] and 14 percent of tent camp households reported at least one member having been sexually assaulted. [18] In the first two years after the earthquake, convictions for sexual crimes were rare. [18]

In response to the problem, IJDH, along with BAI and a coalition of Haitian grassroots women's rights groups, formed the Rape Accountability and Prevention Project in June 2010. The project sought to increase prosecution of rapes, and also to provide support, better services and medical care for survivors. In August 2011, BAI was pursuing 20 cases of sexual violence in the justice system. By July 2012, that number had grown to 60. [19] In 2012, BAI brought seven cases to trial, all resulting in convictions. [20]

In Haiti, rape has been considered a serious felony punishable by the courts only since 2005. [18] Police can be slow to arrest perpetrators, doctors are often unwilling to help provide the medical evidence necessary for prosecution, and the court system often works against victims, particularly those who are poor. "Most of the laws we have here have been made by men," BAI's managing attorney Mario Joseph said in 2014. "They look for a way to accuse the women: 'Why did you wear that dress? Why were you there at this time? Why didn't you stay home?' Even when you start the process it's like you've lost the process." [20]

Board members

Collaborators

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peacekeeping</span> Activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace

Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danilo Türk</span> 3rd President of Slovenia (born 1952)

Danilo Türk is a Slovenian diplomat, professor of international law, human rights expert, and political figure who served as President of Slovenia from 2007 to 2012. He was the first Slovene ambassador to the United Nations, from 1992 to 2000, and was the UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs from 2000 to 2005.

Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows:

Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.

Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and doesn't always involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Although, historically, sexual intercourse within marriage was regarded as a right of spouses, engaging in the act without the spouse's consent is now widely classified as rape by many societies around the world, and increasingly criminalized. However it is repudiated by some more conservative cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vesna Pusić</span> Croatian politician and sociologist

Vesna Pusić is a Croatian sociologist and politician who served as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the centre-left cabinet of Zoran Milanović. She was Croatia's second female Foreign Minister taking the office after Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. She is known as an outspoken liberal and an advocate of European integration, anti-fascism, gender equality and LGBT rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti</span> 2004–2017 United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti

The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of its French name, was a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti from 2004 to 2017. It was composed of 2,366 military personnel and 2,533 police, supported by international civilian personnel, a local civilian staff, and United Nations Volunteers. The mission's military component was led by the Brazilian Army and commanded by a Brazilian.

Statistics on rape and other acts of sexual assault are commonly available in industrialized countries, and have become better documented throughout the world. Inconsistent definitions of rape, different rates of reporting, recording, prosecution and conviction for rape can create controversial statistical disparities, and lead to accusations that many rape statistics are unreliable or misleading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Alston</span> Australian law scholar

Philip Geoffrey Alston is an Australian international law scholar and human rights practitioner. He is John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, and co-chair of the law school's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. In human rights law, Alston has held a range of senior UN appointments for over two decades, including United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, a position he held from August 2004 to July 2010, and UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights from 2014-2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Joseph</span> Haitian lawyer

Mario Joseph is a Haitian human rights lawyer. Since 1996, he has led the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) in Port-au-Prince, which represents political prisoners, impoverished communities, and victims of political violence. In 2006, The New York Times called Joseph "Haiti's most prominent human rights lawyer".

Corrective rape, also called curative rape or homophobic rape, is a hate crime in which somebody is raped because of their perceived sexual orientation. The common intended consequence of the rape, as claimed by the perpetrator, is to turn the person heterosexual.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Haiti</span>

Women in Haiti have equal constitutional rights as men in the economic, political, cultural and social fields, as well as in the family.

Crime in Haiti is investigated by the Haitian police. Since the late 2010s, the country has suffered from widespread gang warfare and civil unrest, including a massive prison breakout in 2024. It also suffers from extreme corruption and high levels of sexual violence.

Brian Concannon, Jr. is an American human rights lawyer and foreign policy advocate. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), which he co-founded in 2004. Concannon also serves as a member of the Editorial Board of Health and Human Rights: An International Journal at the Harvard School of Public Health, and is a contributor to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft blog. He is an alumnus of Boston College High School'81, as well as an Ignatius Award winner. He holds an undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and JD from Georgetown Law. He is the recipient of the Wasserstein Public Interest Fellowship from Harvard Law School the Brandeis International Fellowship in Human Rights, Intervention, and International Law and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Canisius College. Brian has qualified as an expert witness on country conditions Haiti in over 40 cases in the U.S. and Canada, appearing on behalf of both applicants and the U.S. government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010s Haiti cholera outbreak</span> 2010-2019 cholera outbreak in Haiti

The 2010s Haiti cholera outbreak was the first modern large-scale outbreak of cholera—a disease once considered beaten back largely due to the invention of modern sanitation. The disease was reintroduced to Haiti in October 2010, not long after the disastrous earthquake earlier that year, and since then cholera has spread across the country and become endemic, causing high levels of both morbidity and mortality. Nearly 800,000 Haitians have been infected by cholera, and more than 9,000 have died, according to the United Nations (UN). Cholera transmission in Haiti today is largely a function of eradication efforts including WASH, education, oral vaccination, and climate variability. Early efforts were made to cover up the source of the epidemic, but thanks largely to the investigations of journalist Jonathan M. Katz and epidemiologist Renaud Piarroux, it is widely believed to be the result of contamination by infected United Nations peacekeepers deployed from Nepal. In terms of total infections, the outbreak has since been surpassed by the war-fueled 2016–2021 Yemen cholera outbreak, although the Haiti outbreak is still one of the most deadly modern outbreaks. After a three-year hiatus, new cholera cases reappeared in October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Goldin Institute</span>

The Goldin Institute is a non-profit organization based in Chicago, Illinois, US, that works directly with communities around the globe to create their own strategies and solutions to issues such as poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, gender empowerment and conflict resolution.

Jonathan Myerson Katz is an American journalist and author known for his reporting on the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the role of the United Nations in the ensuing cholera outbreak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reed Brody</span> American human rights lawyer

Reed Brody is a Hungarian-American human rights lawyer and prosecutor. He specializes in helping victims pursue abusive leaders for atrocities, and has gained fame as the "Dictator Hunter". He was counsel for the victims in the case of the exiled former dictator of Chad, Hissène Habré – who was convicted of crimes against humanity in Senegal – and has worked with the victims of Augusto Pinochet and Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier. He currently works with victims of the former dictator of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, is a lawyer for the ousted president of Niger Mohamed Bazoum and is a member of the United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua. He is the author of several books including To Catch a Dictator: The Pursuit and Trial of Hissène Habré (2022).

Sexual violence in Haiti is a common phenomenon today, making it a public health problem. Being raped is considered shameful in Haitian society, and victims may find themselves abandoned by loved ones or with reduced marriageability. Until 2005, rape was not legally considered a serious crime and a rapist could avoid jail by marrying his victim. Reporting a rape to police in Haiti is a difficult and convoluted process, a factor that contributes to underreporting and difficulty in obtaining accurate statistics about sexual violence. Few rapists face any punishment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violence against women in Guatemala</span>

Violence against women in Guatemala reached severe levels during the long-running Guatemalan Civil War (1960-1996), and the continuing impact of that conflict has contributed to the present high levels of violence against women in that nation. During the armed conflict, rape was used as a weapon of war.

Malya Villard-Appolon is a Haitian activist for women's rights and domestic violence prevention. She is the cofounder of the Commission of Women Victims for Victims (KOFAVIV), an organization that provides services and support to victims of violence against women in Haiti.

References

  1. ↑ Quigley, Fran (2014). How Human Rights Can Build Haiti: Activists, Lawyers, and the Grassroots Campaign. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. p. 85. ISBN   9780826519931.
  2. ↑ Fran Quigley. How Human Rights Can Build Haiti: Activists, Lawyers, and the Grassroots Campaign. Published 2014 (Vanderbilt University Press). ISBN   978-0-8265-1993-1. pg 9
  3. ↑ Doyle, Mark (22 October 2012). "Haiti Cholera Epidemic 'most likely' Started at UN Camp - Top Scientist". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Fran Quigley. How Human Rights Can Build Haiti: Activists, Lawyers, and the Grassroots Campaign. Published 2014 (Vanderbilt University Press). ISBN   978-0-8265-1993-1. pg 10
  5. ↑ "Cholera Litigation". The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  6. ↑ Fan, Victoria; Cash, Richard (11 January 2012). "Cholera in Haiti: The Blame Game". Center for Global Development . Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  7. ↑ Roshan Lall, Rashmee; Pilkington, Ed (12 February 2013). "UN will not compensate Haiti Cholera Victims, Ban Ki-moon tells president". guardian.co.uk. The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "UN will not compensate Haiti Cholera Victims, Ban Ki-moon tells president" (PDF). Opinion Juris. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  9. ↑ Kayyem, Julliette (28 February 2013). "UNs Cold, But Correct, Call on Haiti". bostonglobe.com. The Boston Globe Opinion. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  10. ↑ Brice, Makini (9 May 2013). "Cholera Victims to UN: Start Talks for Compensation or We'll Sue for Billions". counselheal.com. Counsel & Heal. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  11. ↑ "Groups Call UN Secretary General's Response to Cholera Victims and Congress an "Outrage"". Center for Economic and Policy Research. 8 July 2013. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  12. ↑ "U.N. sued for "bringing cholera to Haiti," causing outbreak that killed thousands". CNN. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "BAI/IJDH and Cholera Victims Appeal Court's Dismissal of Their Case". IJDH. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  14. ↑ Abrams, Elliot (22 January 2010). "What Haiti needs: A Haitian diaspora". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  15. ↑ Forester, Steven (12 July 2012). "Haiti Earthquake 2 Years Later: Homeland Security has Failed Haitian Families". The Grio. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  16. ↑ Bastien, Marleine; Forester, Steven (11 January 2013). "Reuniting Haitian families in U.S. an easy fix for Obama". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  17. ↑ Kolbe, Athena; Muggah, Robert (December 8, 2012). "Haiti's Silenced Victims". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  18. 1 2 3 Torgan, Allie (18 October 2012). "Haitians living in fear "under the tent"". cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  19. ↑ d'Adesky, Anne-christine. "Beyond Shock: Charting the landscape of sexual violence in post-quake Haiti" (PDF). Potofanm+fi. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  20. 1 2 Armstrong, Lisa (17 May 2014). "The rapist and the girl next door: the paradox of prosecuting rape cases in Haiti". Salon. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.