(2023) « Vivre un cauchemar » : Haïti a besoin d'une réponse urgente fondée sur les droits humains face à l'escalade de la crise

“Living a Nightmare” Haiti Needs an Urgent Rights-Based Response to Escalating Crisis HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH “Living a Nightmare” Haiti Needs an Urgent Rights-Based Response to Escalating Crisis Copyright © 2023 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 979-8-88708- 061-1 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org AUGUST 2023 ISBN: 979-8-88708- 061-1 “Living a Nightmare” Haiti Needs an Urgent Rights-Based Response to Escalating Crisis Map ....................................................................................................................................... i Glossary .............................................................................................................................. iii Summary ............................................................................................................................... 1 Recommendations ................................................................................................................ 7 Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 13 I. Soaring Insecurity ............................................................................................................ 16 Applicable Legal Standards .................................................................................................... 16 Killings, Sexual Violence, and Kidnappings by Criminal Groups ................................................ 16 Rise of a Violent “Self-Defense Movement” ............................................................................. 22 Port-au-Prince Communities Most Affected by Violence ............................................................ 25 II. Catastrophic Humanitarian Situation ..............................................................................45 Humanitarian Conditions in Areas Controlled by Criminal Groups ............................................. 47 Thousands of Haitians Flee Violence and Chaos....................................................................... 53 Applicable Legal Standards .................................................................................................... 56 III. Politics, Crime, Police Complicity, a Dysfunctional Judiciary ......................................... 58 Political Brinksmanship .......................................................................................................... 60 Decades of Criminal Influence in Politics ................................................................................. 64 Police Complicity in Criminal Activity ....................................................................................... 69 Increased Flow of Arms and Ammunition ................................................................................. 72 Dysfunctional Judicial System and Overcrowded Prisons .......................................................... 75 IV. The International Response to the Crisis ........................................................................79 Targeted Sanctions ................................................................................................................. 82 Calls for an International Force ................................................................................................ 84 Failures and Abuses of Past International Interventions ........................................................... 89 Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................................97 i Map The metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, highlighting the communes where abuses were documented. Data © CNIGS. Graphics © Human Rights Watch ii Haiti is administratively divided into 10 departments, which are subdivided into districts, each of which has communes . The communes are in turn divided into community sections , and these are made up of neighborhoods. 1 According to Haitian and international humanitarian and human rights organizations working in Haiti, this administrative structure may vary and there can be additional or different subdivisions in some places, for example in densely populated or large communes, where residents often refer to subdivisions called “areas” to identify specific zones. The “metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince” refers to the region encompassing the commune of the capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, including at least seven other communes (Cité Soleil, Croix-Des-Bouquets, Cabaret, Pétion-Ville, Delmas, Carrefour, and Tabarre) that are closely connected and have a total estimated population of 3 million people. 2 1 1987 Constitution of Haiti, http://www.oas.org/es/sla/ddi/docs/ha1%20constitution.pdf; United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), January 9, 2013, https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/es/operations/haiti/document/administrative-division-haitixls (accessed August 4, 2023). 2 Information based on official Haitian publications, documentation from the United Nations, nongovernmental organizations, and other experts, and 12 in- person and virtual interviews with representatives of Haitian and international humanitarian and human rights organizations, government officials, and security experts working in Haiti. iii Glossary BINUH: Bureau Intégré des Nations Unies en Haïti, United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti CARDH: Centre d’analyse et de recherche en droits de l’homme, Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights CARICOM: Caribbean Community CERP: Center for Economic and Policy Research EU: European Union FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization IOM: International Organization for Migration MINUJUSTH: Mission des Nations Unies pour l'appui à la justice en Haïti, United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti MINUSTAH: Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haïti, United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti MSF: Médecins Sans Frontières, Doctors without Borders OCHA: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OHCHR: United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights RNDDH: Reseau National De Défense des Droits Humains (RNDDH), Rezo Nasyonal Pou Defann Dwa Moun, National Human Rights Defense Network UN: United Nations UNHCR: United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees UNDP: United Nations Development Programme US: United States WOLA: Washington Office on Latin America WFP: World Food Programme WHO: World Health Organization 1 H UMAN RIGHTS WATCH | AUGUST 2023 Summary They rape us because they are in control, because they have guns, because there is nobody to defend us. There is no police or state. — Survivor from Cité Soleil 3 Josephine T., 29, and her sister were walking home with some men to the Port -au-Prince neighborhood of Brooklyn on April 15, 2023, when they were stopped by members of the G9 criminal group at a place called Carrefour la Mort, or Block of Death. The G9 members lined up the men and killed some with machetes, others with gunshots. “The criminals cut open some of the men’s bodies before gathering them all together and setting them on fire,” Josephine said. 4 They then raped the two sisters repeatedly. A few hours after Josephine made it home, she learned that her 27-year-old brother was among those who had been killed. 5 Josephine’s violent experience is not unique. Brooklyn, on the outskirts of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, has been mostly cut off from clean water, electricity, and health care since clashes between the G9 and a rival criminal group, G- Pèp, began in July 2022. Despite the risks, residents have to leave the neighborhood in search of food and to meet other basic needs. The two groups agreed on a truce in late June 2023, which led to a shaky ceasefire, but neighborhoods remain under their control and reports of abuses continue to mount. Residents still struggle to send their children to school, and many can often only eat one meal every two or three days. The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) estimates that criminal groups in Haiti killed more than 2,000 people between January and June 2023, an increase of almost 125 percent compared to the same period in 2022. 6 BINUH also reported 1,014 kidnappings 3 Human Rights Watch interview with Josephine T., Port-au-Prince, May 4, 2023. The names of all witnesses and victims quoted in this report have been changed to protect their privacy and avoid potential retaliation by criminal groups. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6 United Nations Security Council and United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Report of the Secretary-General, S/2023/492, July 3, 2023, https:// documents-dds- ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N23/183/33/PDF/N2318333.pdf?OpenElement (accessed July 31, 2023); Information provided to Human Rights Watch by BINUH via e-mail on July 25, 2023 (on file with Human Rights Watch). “L IVING A NIGHTMARE” 2 during this time period, as well as “pervasive rape,” as criminal groups use sexual violence to terrorize the population and demonstrate their control. Family members of victims and survivors described suffering or witnessing these and other abuses in the Port - au-Prince metropolitan area since January 2023. Various forms of violence have often been accompanied by the burning of homes and looting, forcing people to flee. The Haitian government has failed to protect people from the violence of criminal groups. To those living in affected areas, the police and other authorities scarcely exist. In response, some residents have turned to “popular justice,” forming the Bwa Kale movement that gained traction in late April 2023. According to BINUH, as of June 2023 the movement had reportedly killed more than 200 people suspected of being members of criminal groups, often in collusion with police officers. The dire security situation is exacerbated by intense political deadlock, a dysfunctional judicial system, and long- running impunity for human rights abuses. Prime Minister Ariel Henry has controlled all executive and parliamentary functions since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, and he has not reached a consensus with Haitian political actors to enable a democratic transition. Based on available information, there have been no prosecutions or convictions of those responsible for the killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence committed since the start of the year. Meanwhile, the UN estimates that n early half of Haiti’s total population of 11.5 million people is acutely food insecure. Over 19,000 people living in the Cité Soleil commune of Port-au-Prince faced catastrophic hunger in late 2022 for the first time on record in Haiti and in the Americas. Haiti is now one of the countries with communities most at risk for starvation, alongside Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) elevated Haiti to “the highest concern level” for food insecurity for the period from June to November 2023. 7 In addition, about 5.2 million people currently need humanitarian assistance. 7 “Hunger Hotspots, FAO-WFP Early Warnings on Acute Food Insecurity June to November 2023 Outlook,” World Food Programme (WFP), Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), May 29, 2023, https://www.fao.org/3/cc6206en/cc6206en.pdf (accessed July 31, 2023). 3 H UMAN RIGHTS WATCH | AUGUST 2023 Almost 195,000 Haitians are internally displaced due to violence since 2022, and many others have left the country, often undertaking dangerous journeys they hope will lead to safety. In the first half of 2023, more than 73,000 people were forcibly returned to Haiti, often in abusive conditions, mostly from the Dominican Republic and other countries, despite the high levels of risk to their lives and physical integrity. This report documents some of the abuses committed by criminal groups in four communes of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince—Cabaret, Cité Soleil, Croix-des- Bouquets, and Port- au-Prince itself— between January and April 2023. In total, Human Rights Watch documented 67 killings, including of 11 children and 12 women, and 23 cases of rape, including 19 cases in which victims were raped by multiple perpetrators. This count only includes cases where Human Rights Watch interviewed victims or their family members and other witnesses, and not cases reported by other organizations. Many of those Human Rights Watch interviewed were forced to flee their homes following this round of violence. The report is based on interviews with 127 people, before, during, and after a Human Rights Watch visit to Haiti in late April and early May 2023. Those interviewed included 58 victims and witnesses of violence, all interviewed in person in Haiti, as well as members of Haitian civil society, human rights and diaspora groups, representatives of the United Nations and humanitarian agencies, Haitian political actors and government officials, including Prime Minister Henry, and international officials working on Haiti. In addition, Human Rights Watch reviewed data and reports by the UN, international nongovernmental organizations, Haitian civil society groups, and the media. Human Rights Watch also verified 15 videos and 5 photographs of violent incidents and used satellite imagery to geolocate key footage of specific cases in the metropolitan area of Port- au-Prince. Some of the most egregious abuses occurred in and around the Brooklyn area of Cité Soleil, where Josephine lives. From mid-March 2023, clashes escalated between two of the main criminal coalitions, the G- Pèp federation, which at time of writing controls Brooklyn, and the G9 alliance, which controls all surrounding neighborhoods and is attempting to expand and take control of Brooklyn. The G9 has blocked off all exit routes from Brooklyn, except Carrefour la Mort. Its members positioned themselves there, and during a month- “L IVING A NIGHTMARE” 4 and-a-half of extreme violence from mid-March through late April, routinely shot at, killed, and gang- raped Brooklyn residents trying to go to the city center or return home. Most of the violence occurred at a place known as Dèyè Mi (Behind the Wall). None of the victims from Brooklyn interviewed by Human Rights Watch had denounced the abuses publicly, reported them to the police, or filed judicial complaints because they feared reprisals and lacked confidence in or access to judicial authorities. This violent struggle for control—fueled by elite and criminal groups’ electoral and economic interests in the area—has severely restricted the ability of Brooklyn residents to access critical services and basic necessities, as markets and health centers have closed. Nearly all victims and witnesses from Brooklyn said they faced daily challenges finding food for their families and living amid filthy wastewater, due to the accumulation of garbage in the city’s sewage canals that run through the neighborhood and into the sea. The G9 cut off electricity approximately two years ago and did not allow water delivery tanks or sanitation workers to enter Brooklyn during the clashes. Some whose homes were burned down in the clashes struggle to find a place to sleep at night. A community organization working in Brooklyn documented the killings of around 100 people, as well as around 100 instances of sexual violen ce during the seven-week period in March and April 2023. Since May, only a few sporadic abuses have been reported on Carrefour la Mort and at Dèyè Mi, but violence continues in other parts of Brooklyn due to attacks by G9 members who still surround the neighborhood. Haiti is party to core human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the American Convention on Human Rights, that protect the rights to life, physical integrity, and liberty, among others. Haitian authorities are obligated to protect these rights effectively, including by taking adequate measures to protect people from reasonably foreseeable threats to their lives by non-state actors, including criminals and organized crime. In late 2022, Prime Minister Henry called on the international community to deploy a specialized armed force to assist the Haitian National Police in addressing the country’s insecurity. The United Nations secretary-general echoed this call. After months of inaction, the United Nations Security Council on July 14, 2023 , gave the secretary-general 30 days to present an options paper, outlining possibilities for a multinational force, peacekeeping operation, or other international response. On July 29, Kenya announced that it would 5 H UMAN RIGHTS WATCH | AUGUST 2023 “positively consider” leading a multinational force in Haiti and deploying 1,000 police officers to “help train and assist Haitian police restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations.” Nearly all Haitian civil society representatives and victims of abuse interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that the situation has deteriorated so drastically this year that some form of urgent international response is needed to restore basic security and the rule of law and to ensure that all Haitians have access to basic necessities. Many said that the dire security situation and extreme hunger and poverty is worse now than at any time they remember. Civil society representatives also told Human Rights Watch that meaningful change will likely only happen with the establishment of a new, more legitimate transitional government, ideally led by technocrats who do not have links to criminal groups and who would not run in upcoming elections. They urged that any international force deployed in the country should not in effect prop up Prime Minister Henry, whom they see as heading an illegitimate and corrupt government with alleged links to criminal groups, and the political establishment that accompanies him in power. Many also highlighted the continuing impact in Haiti of the legacies of slavery, colonialism, racism and anti-Blackness, forced debt, and poverty. They caution that, alongside the historical harms and abuses that resulted directly or indirectly from the intervention in H aiti of outside powers and entities, many Western countries and the UN can still have a significant impact on Haiti’s economy and politics. Since the early 19 th century, when the US, France and other countries refused to recognize Haiti’s independence in order to protect their own slave- owning interests, the country has suffered violent occupation, interference in the control of its public finances and political processes, and forced debt . Haitians in the mid-20 th century also endured almost 30 years of dictatorship characterized by violence, corruption, and human rights abuses, during regimes that received support from the US and France. In the 2000s, UN peacekeepers were responsible for sexual exploitation and abuse of women and girls, and a deadly cholera epidemic, which the current cholera epidemic can in part be traced back to. “L IVING A NIGHTMARE” 6 While those interviewed largely said that some form of international force is now needed to support the Haitian national police in addressing violence, they said that steps must be taken to avoid repetition of past harms and to support implementation of a Haitian-led reparations process. Human Rights Watch calls on the UN Security Council to heed these calls and, if it authorizes the consensual deployment of an international force in Haiti, ensure that it is based on clear human rights protocols and has adequate funding and robust oversight mechanisms. These should be complemented by strong measures to ensure accountability that include Haitian civil society groups, as well as the provision of humanitarian aid and other basic services to those in need. Human Rights Watch also calls on the US, Canada, France, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) members and other governments to support the facilitation of the establishment of a transitional government that would work to re -establish rights- respecting rule of law and provide access to basic necessities for all Haitians, until democratic elections can provide the basis for the formation of a regular government. Urgent action is needed to address the extreme levels of violence, lack of security and near-total impunity, and the palpable feelings of terror, fear, hunger, and abandonment that so many Haitians experience today. 7 H UMAN RIGHTS WATCH | AUGUST 2023 Recommendations To the United Nations Secretary -General • Ensure that BINUH’s activities support the establishment of a transitional government, including through the provision of technical and financial resources and by strengthening interactions with Haitian civil society representatives and political actors (including the opposition) and taking into account their proposals. • Ensure that OHCHR, BINUH, and other UN agencies support the implementation of a vetting mechanism for the Haitian National Police, under the authority of the transitional authorities, with the goal of identifying, investigating and as appropriate prosecuting, police officers implicated in human rights violations, corruption, support to criminal groups, or other crimes. • Ensure that OHCHR and other UN agencies work to provide training and technical support to a specialized pool of Haitian judicial investigators, prosecutors, and judges focused on ensuring accountability—including for crimes by members of violent criminal groups and police officers, politicians, and others supporting them —with a view toward reform of the judicial system. • Support the implementation of measures to address the humanitarian situation and severe overcrowding in prisons, primarily because individuals are held for extensive periods in pre-trial detention, and to have prisons where members of criminal groups allegedly responsible for serious abuses, and their supporters, can be detained in secure and humane conditions. • S efforts to ensure that those arrested or detained for their alleged involvement in criminal acts are guaranteed rights-respecting trial procedures that include access to legal counsel and deprivation of liberty only as a last resort; a humane, rights-respecting, and functioning pre-trial facility; a rights-respecting criminal trial process that includes the right to judicial review; and a functioning prison with humane conditions. • Support the provision of trauma-informed specialized health care, legal support, and psychosocial support, including during criminal proceedings, for survivors of sexual violence, including through support to Haitian organizations. • Work with the transitional government to implement specialized programs for the disarmament, demobilization, and social and economic reintegration of people “L IVING A NIGHTMARE” 8 associated with violent criminal groups, with special attention paid to trauma- informed support for children associated with such groups. • Rigorously apply the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy to any planned cooperation with the Haitian National Police and other security forces in the country. To the United Nations Security Council • Any authorization of the consensual deployment of an international force, as requested by Haitian authorities and the UN secretary-general, should be primarily composed of police officers and should support the Haitian National Police’s efforts to restore basic security. The force should be mandated to patrol and secure access to the country’s main roads to ensure the transport of food and humanitarian aid and to allow residents to circulate freely; secure key locations such as ports, airports, courts of justice, and hospitals to allow services to be provided to the population; and provide technical, logistical, and intelligence support to the Haitian authorities as they seek to investigate, arrest, and prosecute abusive leaders of criminal groups and those backing these groups through rights- respecting procedures, including by creating conditions to allow members of these groups to safely surrender their weapons. The Security Council should also: o Require the creation of an independent mechanism, with the involvement of Haitian civil society groups, to monitor and report on the international force’s conduct and performance. This mechanism should include a plan to publicize its existence to the Haitian public; accessible, confidential, and independent complaints procedures for the public; an independent investigation branch with a gender perspective; and procedures to share evidence with other countries’ judicial systems to better ensure accountability in the countries of origin of forces responsible for breaches of international norms and UN codes of conduct. o Reiterate the expectation that the force’s leadership will not tolerate misconduct of any kind, including sexual exploitation and abuse by the force; will promptly investigate all allegations of misconduct; and will appropriately address incidents of confirmed misconduct. o Remind the United Nations that it must rigorously apply the UN’s Human Rights Due Diligence Policy and refrain from cooperating with units or commanders of the international force or the Haitian National Police that 9 H UMAN RIGHTS WATCH | AUGUST 2023 have credibly been implicated in serious human rights abuses or support to criminal groups. o Urge robust efforts led by Haitian entities focused on: investigating and prosecuting those most responsible for serious violent crimes; resolving the country’s political deadlock and facilitating a transitional government; ensuring the safe delivery of urgent humanitarian aid and access to other basic services; curbing the flow of weapons and ammunition to violent criminal groups; and providing jobs, education, and other opportunities for those in communities previously controlled by violent criminal groups. • Expand the existing arms embargo to include a prohibition on all weapons and materiel transfers to Haitian territory, with an exemption for the Haitian National Police, as long as a strict control mechanism is implemented to ensure delivery and non-diversion. • Direct the Panel of Experts to produce a specific report to identify states and other actors that violate or circumvent the arms embargo with a special focus on transfers of small arms. • Impose further targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on those responsible for killings, kidnappings, sexual violence, and other serious abuses, as well as those Haitian and foreign actors responsible for providing support to abusive criminal groups. • R regular 30-day reporting from the UN secretary-general on the situation in Haiti. • Urgently call for a briefing about Haiti by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on sexual violence in conflict; and for the immediate deployment of a women’s senior protection advisor who should work closely with BINUH, OHCHR, and other UN agencies. To all concerned Governments, Institutions, and Donors • Stop supporting political actors in Haiti who are credibly implicated as responsible for supporting criminal groups. • Support, including through technical and financial resources, facilitation of the establishment of a transitional government to restore basic security and ensure adherence to fundamental human rights, re-establish rights- respecting rule of law, “L IVING A NIGHTMARE” 10 and provide access to basic necessities for all Haitians, until the formation of a regular government on the basis of democratic elections. • Call for any consensual deployment of an international force to be based on clear human rights protocols, have adequate funding and robust oversight mechanisms, and be complemented by strong measures to ensure accountability, curb the flow of weapons and ammunition to violent criminal groups, and provide humanitarian aid and other basic services, education, and jobs in areas that have been most affected by violent criminal groups. • Support efforts by the transitional government and any international force to effectively dismantle criminal groups and their criminal networks by ensuring that those responsible for large-scale killings, sexual violence, and kidnappings, and for providing support to criminal groups, including outside Haiti, are held accountable through rights-respecting procedures. Such support should include steps by foreign governments to examine and improve their domestic actions to address any links existing in their own countries to violent criminal groups operating in Haiti. • Ensure that immigration policies and measures comply with international human rights laws, in particular with the non-refoulement principle, and where such policies and measures exist, keep them in place and expedite their implementation to achieve protection for Haitians. All governments, particularly the Dominican Republic, the United States, the Bahamas, and Cuba, should stop removing, expelling, or deporting people to Haiti as long as conditions of violence and other exceptional conditions present a real risk of serious harm. This suspension of returns should include children born of Haitian parents abroad who face a high risk of violence in Haiti and have no effective access to protection or justice. • Consider directing additional emergency humanitarian aid to Haiti, in particular toward strengthening the functioning of humanitarian agencies to ensure that Haitians can freely receive this assistance and access basic services while a transitional government puts in place a sustainable plan of assistance for those in need. Ensure measures are in place or improved to guard against sexual exploitation in the delivery of all services and assistance. 11 H UMAN RIGHTS WATCH | AUGUST 2023 To the United States, Canada, and the European Union • Impose, fully enforce, continuously update, and adopt additional targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against those responsible for killings, kidnappings, sexual violence, and other serious abuses, as well as those Haitian and foreign actors responsible for providing support to abusive criminal groups, as necessary, to ensure they are tailored to evolving circumstances in Haiti. • Adopt stronger measures to stop the illicit flow and sale of weapons and ammunition to violent criminal groups operating in Haiti. To the United States and France • Explicitly recognize, with guarantees of non-repetition, the responsibility of the US and France for their historic harms and abuses with ongoing impacts and work towards the development of an effective and genuine reparations process led by Haitian people. To Members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) • Continue supporting political negotiations among Haitian civil society representatives, political actors, and government officials towards the establishment of a transitional government that should work to restore basic security and ensure adherence to fundamental human rights, re-establish rights- respecting rule of law, and provide access to basic necessities for all Haitians. • Adopt measures to stop the illicit flow and sale of weapons and ammunition to violent criminal groups operating in Haiti, including strengthening control of seaports and maritime traffic. To Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s Administration • Engage meaningfully and urgently with a diverse group of Haitian social and political actors to craft a solution to the country’s multifaceted crisis with clear objectives and a precise timetable. • Support a process that will allow a transitional government to form, reestablish basic security and ensure adherence to fundamental human rights, re-establish [... middle sections omitted for long document ...] 95 H UMAN RIGHTS WATCH | AUGUST 2023 Most Haitian civil society representatives and international human rights officials who spoke with Human Rights Watch said the current crisis will not end until the Haitian people can choose their own leaders and the country experiences a true democratic transition. 301 Many also noted that the harms and abuses associated with previous international interventions, the legacies of slavery and colonialism, and continuing anti-Black racism have contributed to the insecurity, corruption, and poverty in Haiti, and repeatedly shattered the Haitian people’s democratic aspirations. 302 Haiti’s economy and politics are affected to this day by Western countries, mainly the US. Some international responses to the present crisis, including the migration-related abuses on the border with the Dominican Republic, are rooted in anti-Blackness. 303 These are the reasons why Haitian civil society representatives argue that support for a democratic transition and for the rule of law, while critical, is only one part of future international engagement with Haiti. The other part, they say, has to encompass acknowledgment of and accountability for ongoing harms caused by historic legacies and support from France and the US to a reparations process led by the Haitian people. 304 UN Secretary-General Guterres also recognized at a CARICOM meeting in early July 2023 that “it is impossible to look at the [Haitian] crisis without seeing the long shadow of centuries of colonial exploitation, extortion, dictatorship and other screaming injustices.” 305 Attempting to Sideline the "Montana Accords," The Canada- Haiti Information Project, November 13, 2021, https://canada- haiti.ca/content/nou-pap-domi-denounces-binuh-and-core-group-attempting- sideline-montana- accords (accessed August 2, 2023). 301 Ibid. 302 Human Rights Watch interviews with four Haitian civil society representatives, Port-au-Prince, April 29, 2023; Human Rights Watch interview with a Haitian human rights representative, Port- au-Prince, May 2, 2023; Human Rights Watch interview with a Haitian civil society representative, Port-au-Prince, May 5, 2023; Human Rights Watch telephone interview with a Haitian women rights’ leader, June 5, 2023. 303 Ibid. 304 Human Rights Watch interview with a Haitian civil society representative, Port-au-Prince, April 29, 2023; Human Rights Watch interview with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Haiti, May 1, 2023; Human Rights Watch interview with a Haitian human rights representative, Port- au-Prince, May 2, 2023; Human Rights Watch interview with an international human rights official, Port-au-Prince, May 4, 2023; Human Rights Watch interview with a Haitian civil society representative, Port-au-Prince, May 5, 2023. 305 “Secretary-General’s remarks to the 45 th regular meeting of the Conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community,” United Nations, July 3, 2023, https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2023-07-03/secretary- generals-remarks-45th-regular-meeting-of-the-conference-of-the-heads-of-government-of-the-caribbean-community (accessed August 2, 2023); @UN_Spokesperson post to Twitter, July 3, 2023, https://twitter.com/UN_Spokesperson/status/1675993071471796225 (accessed August 2, 2023). “L IVING A NIGHTMARE” 96 Haiti needs a multi- faceted and rights-based response to address the longstanding, ongoing, and escalating crisis. Despite the efforts of the Haitian government, Haitian civil society, political actors, and other stakeholders to find a solution to the crisis, the security and humanitarian situation in the country continues to worsen, and millions of Haitians are bearing the cost. Haiti needs help now. The failures and abuses of past international interventions should not be an excuse for inaction; it should instead be a call to action to do what it takes to right past wrongs and help Haiti get back on the path towards true democratic governance, the rule of law, basic security, and respect for fundamental rights. The victims of the abuses documented by Human Rights Watch are calling for concrete actions that will enable them to live a life free from violence and fear, where they can meet their basic needs, work, send their children to school, choose their government and elected leaders, and finally, where they can live in peace. “We suffer a lot in Cité Soleil,” said Rosie P., a 42-year-old mother of five. “There’ s no water, no electricity, no food, no peace. There are gunshots all the time, and the kids can’t go to school. I want the international community to bring peace if they can.” 306 306 Human Rights Watch interview with Rosie P., a victim from Cité Soleil, Port -au-Prince, May 4,2023. 97 H UMAN RIGHTS WATCH | AUGUST 2023 Acknowledgments This report was researched and written by Nathalye Cotrino, crisis and conflict division researcher, and Ida Sawyer, crisis and conflict division director. The report was edited by Anagha Neelakantan, senior editor in the c risis and c onflict division. Nīa Knighton, crisis and conflict division associate, provided research, editing, and production support. Devon Lum, research assistant, and Lèo Martine, senior analyst for the digital investigations lab, and Robin Taylor, open-source research assistant for the crisis and conflict division, provided research support. Fred Abrahams, associate program director, provided programmatic review, and Michael Garcia Bochenek, senior legal advisor, provided legal review. Specialist reviews were provided by Juanita Goebertus, director of the Americas division; César Muñoz Acebes, associate director in the Americas division; Nicole Widdersheim, deputy advocacy director in Washington; Akshaya Kumar, advocacy director in New York; Bruno Stagno, deputy executive director for advocacy; Alison Leal Parker, deputy director of the US program; Mark Hiznay, associate director in the Arms division; Sam Dubberley, managing director of the digital investigations lab; Bill Frelick, director of the refugee and migrant rights division; Kayum Ahmed, special advisor on health and human rights; Margaret Wurth, senior researcher in the children’s rights division; Almaz Teffera, researcher in the Europe and Central Asia division; Cristina Quijano, researcher in the women’s rights division; Hanna Gros, researcher in the disability rights division; and Elizabeth Campa, director in the development and outreach department. The report was prepared for publication by Travis Carr, publications officer; Fitzroy Hepkins, administrative manager; and Jo sé Martínez, senior administration coordinator. Johan Romero, Americas division associate, provided the Spanish translation of the report. The French and Creole translations of the report were provided by David Boratav and Remixon Guillaume, respectively. Léa Pernot, officer in the communications department, provided logistical and editing support for the French version. “L IVING A NIGHTMARE” 98 We would like to thank the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) and other Haitian civil society, human rights, diaspora, and community organizations, as well as the international agencies, who provided critical advice and support for this research. Above all, we are deeply grateful to the victims and their families who generously shared their stories with us. hrw.org (above) Smoke rises between houses in the Debussy neighborhood during clashes between criminal groups in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 24, 2023. © 2023 Ralph Tedy Erol / REUTERS (front cover) Families leave their homes in the Pétion-ville commune in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 23, 2023, as criminal groups take over areas of Haiti. © 2023 Richard Pierrin/AFP via Getty Images Haiti is gripped by an unprecedented security, human rights, humanitarian, and political crisis. Killings, kidnappings, sexual v iolence, and other abuses by criminal groups occur daily. Thousands fell victim to these abuses in the first h alf of 2023 and hundreds of thousands are internally displaced or have been forced to flee the country. The insecurity compounds a dire humanitarian situation, with nearly half the population acutely food insecure. Haitian authorities have been unable to stop criminal groups from taking over swathes of the country and have failed to protect people from the violence. Some residents have turned to “popular justice,” forming the Bwa Kale movement. “Living a Nightmare”: Haiti Needs an Urgent Righ ts-Based Response to Escalating Crisis documents abuses committed by criminal groups and the state’s inaction in four communes of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince between January and April 2023. It describes the context in which the violence is occurring, with alleged collusion between criminal groups and political and economic actors, a profound political deadlock, a dysfunctional judicial system, long-running impunity for human rights abuses, alleged police complicity in criminal activity, an increase in arms trafficking from the US, and the ongoing legacies from past international interventions. The United Nations, the US, and other concerned governments should urgently respond to the call from many Haitians for a rights-based int ernational response to the crisis, including by facilitating establishment of a transitional government to restore the rule of law and ensuring that any deployment of an international force is based on clear human rights protocols. “Living a Nightmare” Haiti Needs an Urgent Rights-Based Response to Escalating Crisis