PRST/28/3 Situation of human rights in Haiti

GE.15-07462 (E) 290415 290415



Human Rights Council Twenty-eighth session

Agenda item 10

Technical assistance and capacity-building

Statement by the President

PRST 28/3

Situation of human rights in Haiti

At the 58th meeting, held on 27 March 2015, the President of the Human Rights

Council read out the following statement:

“The Human Rights Council:

1. Thanks the Independent Expert for his report on the situation of human rights

in Haiti 1 and takes note of the latest legal and political developments in Haiti,

including the progress achieved in civil and political rights, and in economic, social

and cultural rights:

(a) The implementation, in May 2014, of phase II of the legal aid bureaux

plan to make justice accessible to the most disadvantaged;

(b) The enactment in 2014 of the law on preventing and combating

corruption and the law on paternity, maternity and filiation;

(c) The launching in Kenscoff on 23 February 2015, as part of the Three-

year Agricultural Revival Programme, of the “Spring Agricultural Campaign” aimed

at increasing the production and availability of basic foodstuffs for the Haitian

people;

(d) The announcement, on 5 March 2015, of the development of a new

security plan for the metropolitan region in order to bring an end to violence in the

capital;

(e) The nomination of a new President of the Court of Cassation and of

the High Council of the Judiciary, and his inauguration on 9 March 2015;

(f) The launching, on 11 March 2015, by the Government, the United

Nations and their partners, of a Transitional Appeal for the period 2015–2016 aimed

1 A/HRC/28/82.

United Nations A/HRC/PRST/28/3

General Assembly Distr.: General 9 April 2015

English

Original: French

2 GE.15-07462

at reducing extreme vulnerability of population groups and enhancing resilience in

Haiti;

(g) The submission to the President of the Republic, on 13 March 2015,

of the preliminary draft revision of the Criminal Code by the members of the

Presidential Commission on Judicial Reform, which was established in January

2012;

(h) The continuous work of the Interministerial Human Rights

Committee, created in May 2013, which is responsible for coordinating and

harmonizing public human rights policy.

2. Welcomes the renewed commitment of Haiti to the effective implementation

of the international human rights treaties to which Haiti is a party, with the

submission to the Human Rights Committee in October 2014 of its initial report on

the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and

the forthcoming submission by Haiti to the treaty bodies concerned of its reports on

the rights of the child, in January 2016, on economic, social and cultural rights, in

January 2016, and on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women,

in February 2016;

3. Welcomes the reaffirmation of the commitment of the Haitian authorities to

improving the living conditions of Haitian women and men by, inter alia, devoting

greater attention to respect for human rights;

4. Also welcomes the inauguration, on 23 January 2015, of a new Provisional

Electoral Council, the publication by the Provisional Electoral Council of the

electoral decree and election timetable, and the official launching of the electoral

process on 13 March 2015. The Human Rights Council calls on the Haitian

authorities and all parties concerned to respect the electoral timetable published in

the Official Gazette and to ensure that the elections are properly conducted;

5. Encourages the Haitian Government, in this context, to continue

strengthening the rule of law by, inter alia, combating impunity and corruption and

tackling crime and its causes. The Council strongly urges the Haitian Government to

continue building the capacity of the national police force and the justice system

with a view to ensuring the proper functioning of public institutions and services and

the enjoyment of all human rights;

6. Welcomes the launching, on 2 March 2015, of the “Crackdown” operation

designed to provide an urgent and structured response to the phenomenon of

prolonged pretrial detention as well as the establishment of a “Crackdown”

Commission. The Council calls on the Haitian Government to step up its efforts to

address the causes of prolonged pretrial detention and to reduce the number of cases;

7. Encourages the Haitian Government to strengthen national human rights

institutions, particularly the Office of Citizen Protection, and to provide it with

adequate resources;

8. Urges the Haitian Government to continue to adopt the necessary political

and legal measures to safeguard the rights of members of vulnerable groups,

including child domestic workers;

9. Also urges the Haitian Government to increase women’s participation in

political affairs and to continue to combat gender-based violence and discrimination;

10. Acknowledges that the full enjoyment of both civil and political rights and

economic, social and cultural human rights constitutes a factor conducive to peace,

stability and development in Haiti;

GE.15-07462 3

11. Encourages the international community as a whole and, in particular,

international donors, the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, the group

of countries known as the Friends of Haiti, and specialized agencies of the United

Nations, particularly the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights, to step up their cooperation and coordination efforts with the Haitian

authorities with a view to the full realization of all human rights in Haiti;

12. Welcomes and approves the request of the Haitian authorities for a one-year

extension of the mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights

in Haiti, which concerns technical assistance and capacity-building;

13. Encourages the Independent Expert to continue to work with international

institutions, donors and the international community to raise their awareness of the

need to provide their expertise and sufficient resources to support the efforts of the

Haitian authorities to rebuild the country and pursue sustainable development;

14. Also encourages the Independent Expert to continue to work with the Haitian

Government, Haitian non-governmental organizations and civil society in Haiti. It

invites the Haitian Government to continue its active cooperation with civil society;

15. Invites the Independent Expert to assist the Haitian Government in

implementing his own recommendations and those made by other special

procedures;

16. Invites the Independent Expert to submit his report on the situation of human

rights in Haiti to the Council at its thirty-first session. It further invites him to

undertake a mission to Haiti and to report on that mission to the Council at its thirty-

first session.”