Makundi ya haki yaonya kuwa huduma ya afya ya kibinafsi inaathiri wengi, kufuja rasli mali za umma

INEQUALITIES

Makundi ya haki yaonya kuwa huduma ya afya ya kibinafsi inaathiri wengi, kufuja rasli mali za umma

Hatua ya serikali kuunga mkono upanuzi wa huduma ya afya ya kibinafsi nchini Kenya imesababisha kutengwa na kurudisha nyuma hatua za kutimiza malengo ya afya kwa wote, makundi mawili ya haki yamesema kwenye ripoti iliyotolewa leo. Sera za kitaifa zilizokusudiwa kuongeza ushiriki wa sekta ya kibinafsi katika utoaji wa huduma ya afya, pamoja na uwekezaji duni katika mfumo wa umma, zimechangia kuenea kwa wahudumu wa kibinafsi ambao mara nyingi hutoa huduma duni, hupuuza vipaumbele vya afya ya umma, na kuwasukuma wakenya wengi katika umasikini na malimbikizi ya madeni.

Ripoti

Ripoti hiyo ya kurasa 52, “Tiba Tatanishi: Athari ya ubinafsishaji wa Huduma ya Afya nchini Kenya,” imeandikwa na Hakijamii kwa pamoja na Kituo cha Haki za Kibinadamu na Haki za Kimataifa katika Chuo Kikuu cha New York (CHRGJ). Ripoti hiyo inabaini kwamba ubinafsishaji umewekea watu binafsi na serikali mzigo mkubwa wa gharama, umewazuia watu wengi kupata huduma ya afya, na unahujumu haki ya afya. Sera kuu ya serikali ya kutimiza mpango wa afya kwa wote—mpango wa kupanua bima ya jamii inayoegemea sekta ya kibinafsi kupitia Hazina ya Kitaifa ya Bima ya Afya (NHIF)—unatishia kuzidisha matatizo haya.

“Ubinafsishaji si suluhisho tosha kwa kutimiza mpango wa afya kwa wote,” alisema Philip Alston, aliyekuwa Mjumbe Maalum wa Umoja wa Mataifa na mwandishi mwenza wa ripoti hii. “Watetezi wa ubinafsishaji wa huduma ya afya hutoa ahadi za kila aina kuhusu jinsi hatua hiyo itapunguza gharama za matibabu na kuimarisha upatikanaji wa huduma ya afya, lakini utafiti wetu umepata kwamba wahudumu wa kibinafsi wameshindwa kabisa kutimiza ahadi zao.”

“Watetezi wa huduma ya afya ya kibinafsi wameshindwa kutoa ufafanuzi halisi wa hali ilivyo,” alisema Nicholas Orago, Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa Hakijamii na mwandishi mwenza wa ripoti hii. “Huku wengi wakihusisha huduma ya kibinafsi na vituo vya kiwango cha juu, ‘mabwanyenye’ na ‘wachochole’ hukumbana na aina tofauti za sekta ya kibinafsi. Huduma ya afya ya kibinafsi imekuwa na madhara makubwa kwa watu maskini na jamii zilizoko hatarini, ambazo hulazimika kutumia wahudumu nafuu wa kiwango cha chini, ambao hutoa huduma ambazo mara nyingi ni hatari au hata kinyume cha sheria.”

Ubinafsishaji umedhibitishwa kuwa wa gharama kubwa kwa watu binafsi na serikali. Sekta ya afya ya kibinafsi hutegemea zaidi ufadhili wa serikali, ikiwemo matumizi ya mabilioni ya pesa kila mwaka kutoa kandarasi kwa vituo vya kibinafsi, ruzuku kwa huduma ya kibinafsi, na malipo kwa miradi ya kisiri ya ushirikiano wa sekta za umma na kibinafsi. Watu binafsi hukabiliwa na ada za juu zaidi katika vituo vya kibinafsi, ambako matibabu wakati mwingine yanagharimu mara kumi na mbili zaidi ya gharama katika sekta ya umma.

“Huduma ya afya ni biashara kubwa, huku mashirika ya kimataifa na kampuni za ufadhili wa kibinafsi zikilenga kujinufaisha kutoka sekta hiyo nchini Kenya,” alisema Rebecca Riddell, Mkurugenzi mwenza wa mradi wa Haki za kibinadamu na Ubinafsishaji katika kituo cha CHRGJ na mwandishi mwenza wa ripoti hii. “Kampuni hizi zinatarajia faida kutoka uwekezaji wao, hatua ambayo husababisha bei za juu zaidi katika sekta ya kibinafsi huku rasli mali haba za umma zikitumika kuimarisha faida za sekta ya kibinafsi.”

Ripoti hii imeandikwa kutokana na mahojiano yaliyofanyiwa watu zaidi ya mia moja themanini wakiwemo wagonjwa na watoaji wa huduma ya afya, maafisa wa serikali na wataalamu. Watafiti walizungumza na wanajamii kutoka mitaa ya mabanda katika miji ya Mombasa na Nairobi na vile vile maeneo ya mashambani katika kaunti ya Isiolo. Wengi walieleza jinsi walivyotengwa kutoka huduma ya kibinafsi au kukabiliwa na matatizo kugharamia matibabu, kama vile kulazimika kuuza mali muhimu kama shamba ama kukatiza masomo ya watoto na fursa nyingine za kutafuta riziki. Wengine walielezea matokeo ya kusikitisha ya huduma ya kiwango cha chini katika vituo vya kibinafsi, ikiwemo vifo ambavyo vingeepukika na ulemavu. Athari zake ni kubwa zaidi kwa watu maskini au wenye mapato ya chini, wanawake, walemavu, na wale wanaoishi sehemu za mashambani.

Watafiti pia walipata kwamba sekta ya kibinafsi nchini Kenya imejilimbikiza zaidi katika huduma zenye faida kubwa,na kupuuza maeneo yenye faida duni, wagonjwa, na huduma. Wafanyikazi wa huduma ya afya katika sekta ya kibinafsi walieleza jinsi walivyohitajika kutimiza “malengo” ya kuhudumia idadi fulani ya wagonjwa na vile vile kufanya kazi katika mazingira duni ikilinganishwa na sekta ya umma.

“Mkinzano kati ya faida na malengo ya afya ya umma unafaa kuwachochea watungaji sera kufikiria upya utegemeaji wa sekta ya kibinafsi,” alisema Bassam Khawaja, Mkurugenzi mwenza wa mradi wa Haki za kibinadamu na Ubinafsishaji na mwandishi mwenza wa ripoti hii. “Huduma nyingi muhimu za afya zina thamani kubwa au ni muhimu kwa kuokoa maisha licha ya kwamba hazina faida kubwa kibiashara.”

Mpango unaotarajiwa wa kusambaza kote nchini huduma ya bima ya afya ya lazima utachangia kuelekezwa kwa pesa zaidi za umma kwa wahudumu wa kibinafsi bila kusitisha kutengwa na gharama za juu. Ingawa NHIF inatoa bima ya umma, hazina hiyo hutoa kandarasi nyingi kwa vituo vya kibinafsi, hulipa wahudumu wa kibinafsi kwa viwango vya juu, na hulipa kiwango kikubwa cha madai kwa wahudumu wa kibinafsi. “Kupanua huduma kupitia NHIF badala ya kuwekeza katika mfumo dhabiti wa huduma ya afya ya umma ni hatua kubwa kurudi nyuma,” Orago alisema.

Msukumo mkubwa wa ubinafsishaji umetoka kwa washirika wa kigeni. Washirika wakuu wa maendeleo wamehimiza Serikali ya Kenya kuongeza jukumu la sekta ya kibinafsi katika utoaji wa huduma ya afya, ikiwemo mashirika ya kifedha ya kimataifa, wakfu za kibinafsi, na mataifa tajiri yanayotafuta masoko mapya kwa bidhaa zao.

“Dhamira ya kiitikadi kwa sekta ya kibinafsi imekiuka haki za wakenya, huku washirika wa maendeleo wakieneza na kufadhili huduma ya kibinafsi bila kuwajibika,” Alston alisema. “Usiri mkubwa juu ya makubaliano mengi na sekta ya afya ya kibinafsi unatoa mwanya kwa ufisadi na maslahi ya kibinafsi.”

Ripoti hii inabainisha kwamba serikali inapaswa kufikiria upya msaada wake kwa sekta ya kibinafsi na kutoa kipaumbele kwa mfumo wa huduma ya afya ya umma, ambao bado unatoa huduma nyingi kwa wagonjwa wanaoruhusiwa kwenda nyumba na wale wa kulazwa nchini Kenya licha ya uhaba wa fedha. “Ingawa serikali inafaa kushughulikia mapungufu makubwa katika mfumo wa afya wa umma, uwekezaji maarufu wa hivi karibuni unaonyesha hamu kubwa ya matumizi ya huduma ya afya ya umma,” alisema Alston.

“Kukiwepo na nia njema ya kisiasa na rasli mali, mfumo wa huduma ya afya wa umma una nafasi bora kutoa kwa wakenya wote huduma iliyo rahisi kupatikana, yenye gharama nafuu, na ya kiwango cha juu ambao wanastahili kupata,” alisema Orago.

This post was originally published as a press release on November 16, 2021.

June 28, 2024 Dev Account Uncategorized

Why We Must Stand with Haiti’s Democracy Activists

HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Why We Must Stand with Haiti’s Democracy Activists

When tens of thousands of people are on the streets decrying dictatorial actions, they’re cheered on as pro-democracy protestors. Yet when similar protests occur in Haiti, they are diminished and overlooked. Being on the right side of history requires that we listen to the voices of Haitian civil society.

In the days leading up to February 7, 2021, the U.S. State Department announced its support for the continued rule of President Jovenel Moïse in Haiti. This position was in direct opposition to much of Haitian civil society, including its vibrant human rights community, which condemned Moïse’s occupation of the presidency as an unconstitutional prolongation of his mandate, which they understand to have ended on February 7. This interpretation of Haiti’s Constitution is shared by Haitian legal experts, including its judicial oversight body, religious leaders and activists. Haitian civil society has been sounding the alarm about Moïse’s abuse of power for years, documenting links to a series of massacres, corruption, and the proliferation of gangs. There has never been a more critical juncture for those based outside of Haiti to listen to Haitian voices.

To emphasize this imperative, the Global Justice Clinic issued a joint statement on February 13 calling for the U.S. government to address the human rights concerns of Haitian civil society and hosted a panel discussion with NYU’s Hemispheric Institute on March 24 to hear directly from Haitian human rights defenders and civil society leaders about the current situation in Haiti.

The U.S. government is not alone in giving short shrift to Haitian civil society. Media coverage has failed to adequately convey the widespread outcry against this administration. Nor has it captured the energy and hope that buoys Haitian human rights activists in this moment. Emmanuela Douyon is an economist and anti-corruption activist with “Nou Pap Domi,” a collective of young Haitians committed to fighting corruption, impunity, and social injustice. She’s inspired by the continued involvement of civil society, especially as “a climate of fear has settled in” the country over the last few months due to insecurity, political violence, and kidnappings: “When I see people who fought against dictatorships – who were victims and suffered a lot – and they come back out here to stand up and to fight, that gives me a lot of strength. When I see people from my generation and younger who say they’re going to keep standing and defending their values, the rule of law, democracy – that gives me hope that we can do more.” [1] Rosy Auguste Ducena, a human rights attorney and Program Director for Haiti’s National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), describes how the continued broad-based engagement motivates her: “What enables civil society to continue playing its role… is that the people have shown they have the will to not give up in this battle – there is a will to see change… That’s the biggest message of hope we have. We’ve reached a moment where we, as civil society, are one with the people. When we see they’re taking their claims and demands into their own hands as their own, we don’t need to work for them; we’re working together and that’s the best hope we have in this current situation.”

Haitian advocates forcefully condemn the pressure by the international community to hold presidential elections this year and to facilitate a referendum to alter the constitutional structure of Haiti’s government. Woodkend Eugene, a human rights attorney from the Human Rights Office in Haiti (BDHH), acknowledges that while it can be “difficult for everyone to agree on a solution, what is certain is that what is happening right now is not the solution.” He stresses that the Haitian Constitution states clearly that there can be no amendments to the Constitution via referendum, that “we cannot go into an election with an electoral council that is not legitimate,” referring to the unconstitutional appointment of its members by Moïse, and in a context of “generalized insecurity where multiple people in power have been connected to armed gangs” (the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions against three such individuals in 2020). Ms. Auguste also pointed out the potential consequences of pushing for elections now: “The international community might be pushing for it, but the Haitian people have said there are things they will not accept or tolerate, and that’s going into elections with this administration. The people won’t accept this referendum, and if this continues to be pushed, we risk falling into a post-electoral crisis… a bigger crisis than [what] we have now.”

Regarding the appropriate role of the international community and the U.S. government in Haiti’s affairs, Ms. Auguste made her message clear: “Firstly, we are not children…Let the Haitian people choose their own future, choose when elections are right for them and choose how their country will be led.”

Ms. Douyon urged the U.S. government to “avoid repeating history, as they did with Duvalier” and to be “on the right side of history” this time by “act[ing] to stand with the people.” U.S. support for the Duvalier dictatorship and its tragic consequences are well-documented.

The clarity and consistency in Haitian advocates’ analysis and recommendations is striking, particularly because Haiti is often painted by the media and foreign actors as a “problem-state”—a never-ending and uncontrollable locus of crisis where it is impossible to discern root causes. Each of the panelists demonstrated that these tropes should be rejected and that Haitian experts should be recognized for what they are—those best placed to assess what their country needs the most. If their recommendations were adopted, rapidly held elections would not be portrayed as the only viable path forward. Instead, the power grab of a man accused of collusion in grave human rights violations would be plainly unveiled.

When tens of thousands of people are on the streets decrying dictatorial actions, they are often cheered on as pro-democracy protestors. Yet when similar protests occur in Haiti, as they have over the last several weeks, these protests are diminished and overlooked. Being on the right side of history requires that we listen to the voices of Haitian civil society.

2021. Gabrielle Apollon, Global Justice Clinic.

[1] All of the quotes from the panel discussion have been translated from Haitian Creole into English.

June 28, 2024 Dev Account Uncategorized

Relocation Now, Mine-Affected Communities in the D.R. and their Allies tell Barrick Gold

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

Relocation Now, Mine-Affected Communities in the D.R. and their Allies tell Barrick Gold

As Barrick Gold prepares to hold its Annual General Meeting in Toronto tomorrow, Dominican communities impacted by the company’s Pueblo Viejo mine and their allies have issued an open letter to the company demanding immediate community relocation.

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The letter from Espacio Nacional por la Transparencia en las Industrias Extractivas (National Space for Transparency in the Extractive Industry (ENTRE) and the Comité Nuevo Renacer, alleges grave harms to nearby communities’ health, livelihoods, and environment due to the mine’s operations. The letter also raises concerns about Barrick’s plans to expand the Pueblo Viejo mine––already one of the world’s largest gold mines–– including by constructing a new tailings dam. Dominican, Canadian, and U.S. based allies, including the Global Justice Clinic, signed on to the letter in solidarity.

Last month, communities affected by Barrick mines in Alaska, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Nevada, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines came together in a Global Week of Action, calling out the gap between Barrick’s rhetoric on human rights and its record. GJC works in solidarity with communities near Cotuí impacted by Barrick’s operations.

May 1, 2023.

June 27, 2024 Dev Account Uncategorized

GJC Issues Statement Calling for End to Mass Deportations to Haiti

HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT

GJC Issues Statement Calling for End to Mass Deportations to Haiti

The Global Justice Clinic and immigrant justice and human rights organizations—many of which are Haitian-led—release a statement denouncing the Biden administration’s launch of one of the largest mass deportation campaigns in U.S. history. These deportations target Haitian people and violate migrants’ rights to seek asylum. The U.S. government is sending Haitian people, including many children and babies, to a country that is reeling from political and humanitarian crises. The decision is infected with anti-Black and anti-Haitian discrimination. The Global Justice Clinic and fellow signatories call for an immediate halt to deportations to Haiti and an end to unlawful Title 42 expulsions.

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This post was originally released as a press release on September 21, 2021.

June 27, 2024 Dev Account Uncategorized

Protect Human Rights Defenders and Peasants Facing Land Grabs: Haitian Human Rights Defender Milostène Castin Submits Communication to UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

Protect Human Rights Defenders and Peasants Facing Land Grabs

Haitian Human Rights Defender Milostène Castin Submits Communication to UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

On November 18, 2022, Global Justice Clinic client and colleague Milostène Castin submitted a formal communication to the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor.

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The communication and supporting affidavit presents the threats that Mr. Castin has received against his life as a result of his solidarity and activism with peasants—subsistence farmers—including those who have been victim to forced, and often violent, takings of their land. It requests that the Special Rapporteur send an urgent appeal to the Haitian Government regarding Mr. Castin’s case. The submission was made on November 18th in recognition of the Battle of Vertières, which marked the victory of the enslaved population of Haiti overthrowing Napoleon’s army.

Mr. Castin is the Coordinator for AREDE, Action pour la Reforestation et la Defense de l’Environnement (Action for Reforestation and Defense of the Environment) and has collaborated with the Global Justice Clinic for the past ten years. Mr. Castin has tirelessly defended the rights of peasants in rural Haiti, documenting and challenging land seizures and forced displacement. He has also spoken forcefully about the impacts of extractivism and the climate crisis on peasant communities, for example presenting on environmental racism and climate (in)justice in Haiti at NYU in October 2022, at an event to mark the launch of former Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism E. Tendayi Achiume’s final thematic report.

Mr. Castin has been attacked and intimidated due to his work for many years. The Global Justice Clinic works with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to represent Mr. Castin in relation to the threats against him.

Mr. Castin held a press conference in Haiti to coincide with his submission to the Special Rapporteur and to call attention to the ongoing threats to peasant rights in Haiti, particularly land grabs and extractivist projects. He continues to call on Haitian authorities to respect and protect the rights guaranteed by the Haitian Constitution of 1987, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, the International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

This post was originally posted as a press release on November 21, 2022.

June 26, 2024 Dev Account Uncategorized

Global Justice Clinic Stands in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples’ Demands at COP27

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

Global Justice Clinic Stands in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples’ Demands at COP27

The Global Justice Clinic stands in solidarity with our partners, the South Rupununi District Council, and the broader International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change, also known as the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus (IPC) as they attend COP27 to advocate for the respect of Indigenous rights in the fight against climate change.

In its opening statement at COP27, the IPC drew attention to the dire impact that the climate crisis has on Indigenous Peoples. The statement, delivered by youth representative Nourene Ahmat Yaya, states that “[c]limate change is a matter of life and death . . . [G]lobal temperatures are increasing, threatening genocide for Indigenous Peoples in Africa, the Arctic, Coastal, Small Islands, and all other ecosystems.” The statement asserts the inherent, collective, and internationally recognized rights of Indigenous Peoples to life, self-determination, territories, and free, prior, and informed consent.

The IPC highlights the need for full and direct participation of Indigenous Peoples in UNFCCC processes and in State actions to combat climate change. The statement calls on States to include clear indicators for drastic reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in their Nationally Determined Contributions to maintain the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree global average temperature increase commitment, noting that the Paris Agreement commits states to respect and promote their obligations to Indigenous Peoples when taking steps toward climate action.

The Global Justice Clinic has a long-standing partnership with the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC), the representative body of the indigenous Wapichan people of Guyana. The Wapichan people are the traditional inhabitants of the Rupununi region of southwestern Guyana. They model sustainable relationships with the earth and practice stewardship of their land as a central tenet of their collective identity. The SRDC has repeatedly asserted the importance of land rights and self-determination in furthering the Wapichan people’s ability to continue their traditional way of life, and to ensure the transmission of customary values between generations.

As such, the Global Justice Clinic supports Immaculata Casimero, Alma O’Connell, and Timothy Williams, SRDC representatives attending COP27, in demanding that the Guyanese government fulfill its obligations to grant legal recognition of the Wapichan territory and recognize the Wapichan people’s contribution to combating the global climate crisis. The SRDC’s effective management and continued protection of Wapichan territory is hindered by national policy that does not recognize their rights to their full territory.

The Global Justice Clinic also joins the IPC and Indigenous rights advocates in underscoring the risks that voluntary carbon markets and the sale of ‘ecosystem services’ pose to Indigenous Peoples’ rights. These market-based climate solutions risk undermining Indigenous Peoples’ land rights and allowing parties in the Global North to continue exploiting the world’s natural resources without meaningfully contributing to real emissions reductions. The Global Justice Clinic echoes the SRDC’s concerns over the lack of meaningful free, prior, and informed consent in engaging villages over Guyana’s Low-Carbon Development Strategy, which aims to use voluntary carbon markets to become a leader in climate change.

We call on governments at COP27 to listen to Indigenous Peoples. We continue to echo the IPC’s demands for swift action to truly reduce emissions and honor the rights and knowledge of the Indigenous caretakers of our planet.

This post was originally published as a press release on November 18, 2022.

June 26, 2024 Dev Account Uncategorized

Indigenous Women in Guyana Commit to Protecting their Lands from Destructive Mining, Deforestation

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

Indigenous Women in Guyana Commit to Protecting their Lands from Destructive Mining, Deforestation

At the end of an indigenous women’s empowerment conference in the Parikwarnau Village in Guyana from April 4-5, 2022, delegates pledged to take action and demanded the same from the government of Guyana.

The eighty-six women attending the conference committed to advocating for legal recognition of traditional Wapichan lands, continuing to sustainably care for those lands, protecting waters and forests from the effects of mining, combating climate change, and addressing pressing social issues. These commitments and demands were set out in a Call to Action by the female protectors of the Wapichan Wiizi.

The conference was hosted by the women’s arm of the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) (and Global Justice Clinic partner), the Wapichan Women’s Movement (WWM). Led by Immaculata Casimero and Faye Fredericks, key topics at the conference included indigenous women’s protections under international law, particularly CEDAW, and their role in the fight for climate justice. For example, indigenous women are particularly vulnerable to the food insecurity that has resulted from climate change, as the family’s primary food providers. Women learned together about concepts like “nature-based solutions”—the idea that focusing on protecting nature and biodiversity through sustainable actions like allowing forests to regrow is a way of combating climate change. “Indigenous peoples are the original inventors of ‘nature-based solutions,’” Immaculata Casimero said at the end of the conference. “To combat deforestation, we have captured aerial images of impacted areas and plan to use them in advocacy efforts.”

Casimero and Fredericks reported feeling a palpable shift in the room after the conference; they are confident that indigenous women felt empowered by this experience and will return to their communities and share their knowledge with others. The women’s plans are captured by the concrete commitments and demands listed in the Call to Action, which the SRDC posted on Facebook.

April 18, 2022.

June 26, 2024 Dev Account Uncategorized

GJC Among Organizations Demanding Halt to Deportations of Haitian Migrants Amidst Worsening Crisis in Haiti

HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT

GJC Among Organizations Demanding Halt to Deportations of Haitian Migrants Amidst Worsening Crisis in Haiti

The Global Justice Clinic, in collaboration with several human rights and migrant rights organizations, jointly issued a factsheet analyzing the ongoing crisis of U.S. deportations and expulsions to Haiti in the midst of an ever-worsening political and humanitarian crisis. It shows the numerous ways the U.S. has violated its legal obligations to Haitian migrants.

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Recommendations include an immediate end to deportations to Haiti, the restoration of access to asylum, and an end to the U.S. government’s discriminatory treatment of Haitian migrants. The signatories of the statement include Haitian organizations Groupe d’Appui aux Rapatriés et Réfugiés (Support Group for Repatriated People and Refugees, GARR), Rezo Fwontalye Jano Siksè (Jano Siksè Border Network, RFJS), and Service Jésuite aux Migrants-Haiti (Jesuit Service for Migrants-Haiti, SJM).

Additional signatories include Amnesty International, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Haitian Bridge Alliance, and Refugees International.

This post was originally published as a press release on December 16, 2021.

June 26, 2024 Dev Account Uncategorized

Racism Causes Climate Vulnerability in Haiti: Collaborative Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

Racism Causes Climate Vulnerability in Haiti

Collaborative Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism

On June 20, 2022 the Global Justice Clinic and seven Haitian organizations made a submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, demonstrating how racism shapes Haitians’ experience of the global climate crisis. The submission by the Clinic and partners in Haiti — Action pour la Reforestation et la Defense de l’Environnement (Action for Reforestation and Defense of the Environment, AREDE), Commission Épiscopale Nationale Justice et Paix (National Episcopal Commission, Justice and Peace, CE-JILAP), Equal Health, Social Medicine Alumni (SMAH), Kolektif Jistis Min (Justice Mining Collective, KJM), Konbit Ekolojis Sid (Working Together for Ecology, South, KES), Mouvman Fanm Mouvman Peyizan Papay (Women’s Movement of the Peasants’ Movement of Papay, MPP), Sant Altènatif Kominote ak Lapè (Alternative Center for Community and Peace, SAKALA) and Sosyete Kiltirèl Jen Ayisyen (Haitian Youth Cultural Society, SOKIJA) — will inform the Special Rapporteur’s upcoming report to the UN General Assembly on racial and climate justice.

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Haiti is consistently named as one of the five countries most vulnerable to climate change in the world. Drawing on the perspectives and experiences of Haitian community organizers, advocates, and social movement leaders, the submission highlights the ways in which the climate crisis is already devastating Haitian communities and reinforcing marginalization — with rural farmers, women, and poor urban communities bearing the worst impacts — and briefly outlines the racist roots of the country’s climate vulnerability. The submission also outlines how racism and xenophobia assure that Haitian migrants experience disproportionate climate vulnerability and harms wherever they live, even beyond Haiti’s borders. An annex presents written statements prepared by contributing Haitian organizations.

As the Special Rapporteur presents her report this fall ahead of COP 27, the submission argues that Haiti exemplifies that just responses to the global climate crisis must center racial justice.

This post was originally published as a press release on July 6, 2022.

June 25, 2024 Dev Account Uncategorized

Law Clinics Condemn U.S. Government Support for Haiti’s Regime as Country Faces Human Rights and Humanitarian Catastrophe

HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Law Clinics Condemn U.S. Government Support for Haiti’s Regime as Country Faces Human Rights and Humanitarian Catastrophe

To mark the second anniversary of the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, the Global Justice Clinic and the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School submitted a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Assistant Secretary Brian Nichols calling on the U.S. government to cease to support the de facto Ariel Henry administration. Progress on human rights and security and a return to constitutional order will only be possible if Haitian people have the opportunity to change their government.

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In the wake of Moïse’s murder and at the urging of the United States, Dr. Henry assumed leadership as de facto prime minister. The past two years, Dr. Henry has presided over a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe. He has consolidated power in what remains of Haiti’s institutions, and has proposed to amend the Constitution in an unlawful manner. Further, there is evidence that ties Dr. Henry to the assassination of President Moïse. Despite the monumental failure of Dr. Henry’s government, the United States continues to support this illegitimate and unpopular regime.

The letter declares that any transitional government must be evaluated against Haiti’s Constitution and established human rights principles. Proposals such as Dr. Henry’s that violate the spirit of the Constitution and further state capture cannot be a path to democracy.

This post was originally published as a press release on July 10, 2023 by the Global Justice Clinic at NYU School of Law, and the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School.

June 25, 2024 Dev Account Uncategorized