HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Clinics call on the U.S. government to take urgent steps to address insecurity and gang violence in Haiti

The NYU Global Justice Clinic, the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, and the Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School call on the U.S. government to take urgent steps to address insecurity and gang violence in Haiti.  The clinics are deeply concerned that the U.S. government continues to support de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry, despite strong evidence of his government’s involvement in broadening violence.  The Clinics are alarmed about recent and serious threats against human rights defenders, particularly concerning staff of the Réseau National de Défense des Droits Humains (RNDDH). The status quo puts human rights defenders—and all Haitian people—at risk.  The clinics are in close contact with Haitian civil society, and stress that recent U.S. legislation, the Haiti Development, Accountability, and Institutional Transparency Act and the Global Fragility Act, recognizes the right of Haitian people to self-determination. Together, the clinics urge the U.S. government to:

1. Support Haitian-led investigation of and accountability for human rights abuses
2. Ensure transparency in the U.S. investigation of the murder of former President Jovenel Moïse
3. Take concrete, effective steps to enforce U.S. laws on arms trafficking
4. Shift support from Dr. Henry towards an inclusive and Haitian-led political process.

June 27, 2022. Statements of the Global Justice Clinic do not purport to represent the views of NYU or the Center, if any.