Haiti's New Mining Law

The brief says the 2026 Mining Decree, published in Le Moniteur on March 30, 2026 and due to take effect six months later, is very similar to a 2015 draft law prepared with World Bank technical support that civil society, human rights lawyers and the World Bank itself had criticized. It notes four differences from that draft: no maximum term for a mining agreement, slightly stronger language on expropriation, a new clause allowing royalties to be amended by decree, and no Fund for the Promotion and Development of Mineral Resources. It states that the decree creates a National Mining Authority and no longer requires parliamentary approval of exploitation permits, as the 1976 decree did.

The brief lists the decree's weaknesses on transparency, the environment and community rights. It points to a 10-year confidentiality period for reports and data under mining titles, review deadlines of 30 to 180 days that it calls unrealistic, a presumption of non-objection to environmental studies when the Ministry of the Environment does not respond, and silence on people displaced by mining. It argues that the decree conflicts with the 1987 Constitution on the right to property, information and participation. It concludes that Haiti lacks representative government and that gangs control much of the country, so this is not an appropriate time to encourage mining investment.