The Sad Face of Haiti
By César Chelala

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Known as the "Perle des Antilles" at the time of its independence in 1804, Haiti has since experienced several periods of upheaval and terror that have turned a once-promising country into a sad reality. Human-rights violations are widespread, and justice is non-existent in the country.

A recent visit in early March showed me how little Haiti has progressed since my first visit in 1993. In the capital city of Port-au-Prince, one feels an atmosphere of violence that can at any moment erupt into actions of tragic consequences.

A visit to a hospital in Cité Soleil, a poor area in the capital, had to be conducted in an armored personnel carrier, each individual protected with helmets and bullet-proof vests. Even so, on reaching our destination, we had to return without visiting the hospital because the U.N. soldiers and security personnel accompanying us couldn't ensure our safety. This current oppression stems from decades of almost unrelenting violence.

On Feb. 29, 2004, President Jean Bertrand Aristide resigned under strong pressure from France and the U.S. in what some labeled "a modern coup d'état." He was sent first to the Central African Republic and then to South Africa, from where he still influences events in his country.

Aristide was replaced by Gérard Latortue, chosen by a group of U.S.-approved Haitian "wise persons." He is a transitional caretaker with almost no power to govern his country or restrain his own police force from carrying out acts of violence.

The situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate as the government intimidates, arrests and kills member of Lavalas, Aristide's party, as revenge for similar killings carried out by Aristide's government. In October of 2004, the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince called the Ministry of Health demanding emergency vehicles to remove more than 600 corpses that had been deposited there, the result of killings that had taken place in the previous weeks.

On Oct. 28, 2004, the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed concern about arbitrary arrests and detentions of former members of Aristide's party, as well as other acts of violence and intimidation carried out against human-rights advocates and journalists, including the murder last September of Moleste Lovinsky Bertomieux, host of a daily program on Radio Caraïbes.

An investigation by the Center for the Study of Human Rights of the Miami School of Law carried out in November of 2004 found deplorable conditions and human-rights violations throughout the country. The investigation, headed by Thomas M. Griffin, a former U.S. federal law-enforcement officer, concluded that Haiti's security and justice institutions fuel the cycle of violence. The report describes with compelling evidence how dead bodies left to rot in the street end up being eaten by dogs and pigs.

Adults are not the only targets of police violence. Child-welfare workers have reported that the rate of beatings and killings of street children has increased five times since the ouster of Aristide. These murders are carried out by the police, death squads and the military. Michael Brewer, director of Haiti Street Kids, Inc., has described how groups of men who belong to the military patrol Port-au-Prince and kill street children "for sport."

Jocelyn McCalla, executive director of the National Coalition for Haitian Rights, told me, "Lack of justice is the most critical issue in Haiti today."

While talking to a wide spectrum of people, from an ambassador to drivers, I heard this belief continuously echoed: Haitians are desperate to live in peace and security and to lead normal, productive lives. That is why the main task is to establish the rule of law, including finding a just solution for the more than one thousand detainees currently awaiting trial.

With the judiciary all but destroyed, a possible solution would be the creation of a Special Court of Justice along the lines of what was established in Sierra Leone. A Haitian Special Court should develop out of an agreement between the government of Haiti and the United Nations. And, unlike the Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia tribunals, which are composed exclusively of international judges elected by the U.N. General Assembly, Haiti's Special Court should be composed of both international and Haitian judges, prosecutors and staff.

Haiti is a vibrant country cursed by its own political elites and repeated foreign interventions. The establishment of civil justice is a pre-condition for peace in the country, which continues to be ravaged by almost daily acts of violence. Peace is also the necessary predicate to efforts to stimulate Haiti's tattered economy.

The establishment of a Special Court could bring a measure of accountability in Haiti, and would let the victims of human-rights abuses and their families know that justice will finally prevail in their country.

Dr. César Chelala is an international public-health consultant and a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award for his writing on human rights.