Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) submitted two Universal Periodic Review’s (UPR) to the United Nations Human Rights Council regarding Gender Based Violence and Justice Challenges in Haiti. The review allows for the State and all relevant stakeholders (including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and regional mechanisms) to report on the status of human rights situations in their country as well as declare what actions they have taken to overcome these human rights challenges.
The UPR report for gender based violence in Haiti was submitted by the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI); Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH); Komisyon Fanm Viktim pou Viktim (KOFAVIV) (Commission of Women Victims for Victims) and endorsed by Gender Action and the Haitian Women’s Collective. Although Haiti has ratified human rights instruments relevant to the rights of women and girls such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Belém do Pará Convention or BDPC), gender based violence, harrasment, discrimination, and other harms continue to impact Haiti’s women and girls. The submitting organizations listed recommendations to combat GBV in Haiti.
The UPR report for justice sector challenges was submitted by the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), Chans Altenativ, and the Reseau National de Défense des Droits Humains (RNDDH), and endorsed by Project Blueprint. The report focuses on the ongoing challenges in the justice sector such as chronic impunity and the lack of an independent justice sector; lack of fair independent and effective trials; and escalating pretrial detention and poor prison conditions. Since the last UPR review in 2016, Haiti has regressed in regards to their human rights obligations to the justice sector.
Read the English UPR submission for Gender Based Violence here, the French version here
Read the English UPR submission for Justice Sector Challenges here, the French version here