Restavèk and Access to Justice
- Haiti's anti-trafficking law of June 2014 treats recruiting and hosting a child for exploitation as trafficking in persons.
- The paper states that the fine of 5,000 to 30,000 dollars under current legislation is too light for years of exploitation.
- The 2010 earthquake destroyed 27 of 28 national government buildings, including Ministry of Justice facilities, and weakened the justice system.
- The paper reports that the IBESR is not fully operational because of lack of funding and understaffing.
- The Office of Citizen Protection is described as not fully operational and without a mechanism to receive individual complaints on children's rights.
- The paper recommends free legal assistance for restavèk children and revision of Haitian laws to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
This paper, written for the Spring 2015 International Human Rights Internship Working Paper Series of McGill University's Center for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, examines the restavèk system in Haiti through the lens of access to justice. It describes the historical and socioeconomic roots of the practice and illustrates the condition of restavèk children with the case of one girl. It reviews the weakened justice system after the 2010 earthquake and the international and domestic legal framework, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the June 2014 anti-trafficking law.
The paper argues that the fines in the new law are too light and that violators should be prosecuted for kidnapping and abduction. It assesses the Brigade for the Protection of Minors, the Institute of Social Welfare and Research (IBESR), the Office of Citizen Protection and civil society groups, and draws lessons from anti-trafficking programs in Nigeria and Ethiopia. It closes with eleven policy recommendations.
How to cite
Center for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism (CHRLP), 2015, Restavèk and Access to Justice, accessed via HaitiDocs, https://www.haitidocs.org/doc/chrlp-2015-prophete-arbouet-restavek-access-to-justice
- Rights holder
- Center for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism (CHRLP)