On March 31, 2022, the Global Justice Clinic and Solidarite Famn Ayisyèn made a submission the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, to inform her upcoming report on violence against women and girls in the context of the climate crisis. The submission, which was co-signed by the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, highlights how land grabbing against women in Haiti constitutes gender-based violence and is aggravating climate vulnerability. It discusses the violent dispossession of SOFA members from land in Savane Diane, in the center of Haiti.  SOFA was using the land to teach women ecologically sustainable farming techniques and support their economic autonomy. The land grab has exposed women in the area to compounding human rights violations and environmental degradation.

Land grabbing is on the rise in Haiti, and may be both fuelled by and contribute to climate vulnerability, as increasingly scarce agricultural land is converted to environmentally degrading agrobusiness or industrial use. The submission urges greater international scrutiny and condemnation of land grabbing.

Read the submission in English
Read the submission in Kreyòl
Read the submission in French
Read the submission in Spanish

Read the press release in English
Read the press release in Kreyòl
Read the press release in Spanish