Topics

Homophobia has long been a problem in Haiti, and staff at Kouraj (a LGBT rights organization focused on improving treatment towards LGBT people in Haiti) say it’s only gotten worse since the 2010 earthquake. Chachou Jean Francois, a transgender group leader and youth educator at Kouraj, is the arrival of foreign evangelicals imposing their views. After the 2010 earthquake, many of the organizations that rushed to Haiti to help were christian evangelical groups. It is   widely believed in Haiti’s LGBT community that Christian fundamentalism spread, along with anti-LGBT sentiment.   Read More HERE. Why it’s gotten harder for LGBT people in Haiti since the earthquake By Amy Bracken, February 6, 2018 The name of Haiti’s most prominent LGBT rights organization is Kouraj (Haitian Creole for courage) — with good reason. The group’s headquarters have moved three times after attacks. The current office is […]

The Foyer Notre Dame de la Nativite in Haiti has recently been the center of sexual abuse allegations. Ten U.S. Senators are pressuring the Haitian government into closing down the orphanage. Many children have tested positive for the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia and claim to have been victims of abuse. The director of the orphanage denies the claims and states that the children could have contracted the disease from their birth mothers or off of the premises. The Senate letter urges immediate shut down and relocation of children so that they are kept safe. Read More HERE. US senators seek to close Haiti orphanage amid abuse claims By Ben Fox | AP February 2 MIAMI — Ten members of the U.S. Senate have asked the State Department to pressure the Haitian government into closing an orphanage where several children being adopted by […]

Even though the United States has donated approximately $4.2 billion since the 2010 earthquake, The Trump administration has shown no interest in contributing to the U.N Cholera Relief Fund in Haiti now, nor in the future. The administration argued that they are not responsible for the epidemic and blamed it on U.N. incompetence and the Nepalese peacekeepers. Ban Ki-Moon, former U.N Secretary General has established a trust fund to prevent the further spread of cholera, but has never acknowledged any U.N. legal obligation to compensate Haiti’s victims. It’s now up to the Trump Administration to decide whether to provide aid. Trump Won’t Pay a Penny For U.N. Cholera Relief Fund in Haiti   Colum Lynch, Foreign Policy  June 1, 2017 The Trump administration will rebuff a recent U.N. appeal to contribute millions of dollars to a cash-short trust fund established last year to provide relief […]

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is designed to help immigrants of countries that are temporarily experiencing extraordinary distress, and the Trump Administration has recently announced the end TPS for many countries, including Haiti. Last November, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) terminated Haiti’s TPS designation. Steve Forester from the Institute of Justice and Democracy (IJDH) and other immigration advocates decry DHS’ decision and vow to fight for just immigration policy that will keep Haitian families together. Haiti has been reeled by a series natural and man-made disasters in the past eight years, including an uncontrolled cholera epidemic that was introduced by UN peacekeepers in the months following the 2010 Earthquake. Read the full article HERE. This is what will happen once Temporary Protected Status is revoked for 300K immigrants By Samantha Grasso, February 4, 2018 Eight days into the new year, […]

Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH)’s Executive Director, Brian Concannon told a crowd that Trump’s Vulgar remark is an insult to the dignity of the Haitian people. Concannon said, “President Trump’s remarks about Haiti are false. They are an affront to the dignity of the Haitian people and the American people.” Watch him addressing the rally in Haitian-Creole.

 The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) along with its sister organization the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) continues to fight for Haiti’s prisoners’ rights by challenging the country’s justice system to respect the fundamental human rights of every single Haitian citizen.  We invite you to watch this 60-second video produced by our partner the New Media Advocacy Project titled “The Men of the Cell 5.”