Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti

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INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE
& DEMOCRACY IN HAITI

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Recent Reports

Human Rights in Haiti: February - May 2004
Report Date: July 19, 2004

Human Rights in Haiti (7/19/04) is based on investigations and interviews by IJDH's staff in Haiti, and focusses on serious human rights violations over that period, especially killings and disappearances. The report has two main purposes: 1) to amplify the voices of grassroots activists and residents of poor urban and rural areas, who constitute a majority of Haiti's people but whose perspective is consistently marginalized in debates and reporting both inside Haiti and abroad; 2) to document the existence of massive, systematic violations of human rights since February's coup d'etat. The report is not a comprehensive survey of human rights in Haiti over that period. Instead it complements the work of other organizations, such as Amnesty International, that have written more comprehensive reports but did not have an in-depth focus on victims from poor areas.

[ above photo: An unidentified body of a man that was burned. Left outside President Aristide's former Parish - St. John Bosco in Port au Prince - as a sign to Lavalas supporters. ]

The report contains graphic photographs of victims of human rights violations. Although the photos are disturbing, they are a small sample of a very disturbing reality in Haiti. By representing that reality, we hope to help others avoid the same horrible fate as the men and women in the photographs. Copies of the report without the photographs are available.

Download 700K PDF of this report original report - includes photos

Read Anthony Fenton's review of this report, "Human Rights Horrors in Haiti" - July 27, 2004

Human Rights Update, July 26, 2004

Human Rights Update addresses the current human rights situation in Haiti, as of July 26, 2004, with a focus on human rights protection and respect for the rule of law. Information for the Update comes from investigations conducted by IJDH staff in Haiti and from the cited public reports. The report pays particular attention to violations of Constitutionally-protected rights, including the rights to free speech and assembly, and the right to be free of arbitrary arrest and detention. It discusses direct human rights violations by the interim government, as well as that government's failure to protect citizens from violations perpetrated by paramilitary groups.


Brian Concannon:
Director of Institute for Justice and Democacy in Haiti

IJDH was founded to respond to February's violent interruption in Haiti's democratization process. Its mission is to work with the people of Haiti in their non-violent struggle for the return and consolidation of constitutional democracy, justice and human rights, by distributing objective and accurate information on human rights conditions in Haiti and cooperating with human rights and solidarity groups in Haiti and abroad. F

For more information about the organization or this report:

go to Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti website www.ijdh.org

IJDH's director - Brian Concannon Jr.
Box 745, Joseph, OR 97846
brianhaiti@aol.com, or 541-432-0597