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Haiti: Protect the Rights of Human Rights Observers
On March 7, 2005, Ira Kurzban, a prominent human rights and immigration lawyer travelling to Haiti as part of a human rights mission was denied entry to the country. Mr. Kurzban has been the U.S. attorney for Haiti’s democratically elected governments since 1991, has represented members of Haiti’s constitutional governments, including President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, now in exile in South Africa, and former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune and Interior Minister Jocelerme Privert, both political prisoners in Haiti, as well as many other clients in Haiti. Mr. Kurzban is also a prominent critic of the Interim Government of Haiti’s (IGH) human rights record.
Kurzban traveled to Haiti on March 7, 2004, with a human right delegation led by Rep. Maxine Waters. The delegation had announced their visit in advance, including their intention to visit Yvon Neptune and other political prisoners in Haitian jails. When the delegation’s American Airlines flight arrived in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Embassy’s chargé d’affaires in Haiti informed Mr. Kurzban that Haitian authorities would arrest him if he entered the country. Mr. Kurzban replied that he had nothing to hide, and tried to enter anyway, but IGH officials blocked him, without providing an explanation. He was forced to return to the U.S. on the next flight. The other members of the delegation were allowed to continue, but the delay prevented them from making some of their planned meetings.
Mr. Kurzban’s unexplained exclusion is a violation of his clients’ rights to an attorney. It also fits squarely within a pattern of attempts to thwart investigation and reporting on human rights violations in Haiti, especially in the prisons. The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti’s (IJDH) report on the December 1, 2004 Prison Massacre documented how independent Haitian human rights workers, journalists, and even families of detainees are denied access to prisoners. On January 14, journalist Abdias Jean was executed by police, as he was covering a police sweep in a poor neighborhood. In April the police arrested and harassed Ginette Apollon and Paul Loulou Chéry, two labor leaders returning from a conference where they had criticized the IGH’s human rights record. Now, the IGH will not let reporters speak with Yvon Neptune, who has spent over a month on a hunger strike to protest his illegal detention. This pattern not only affects individual investigators and prisoners; it has a chilling effect on all independent human rights workers. It is especially worrisome as the IGH has announced elections for October, November and December.
The IGH was installed with the support of the U.S. government in March, 2004, following the ouster of Haiti’s elected, constitutional government. The U.S. continues to be the IGH’s strongest supporter, providing generous financial assistance and critical diplomatic support. MINUSTAH, the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, has been active since June 1, 2004, and is mandated to, among other things, observe and promote human rights and protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.
The undersigned hereby insist: 1) that the Interim Government of Haiti allows all human rights observers the access necessary to adequately verify human rights conditions in the country; that it specifically allow Ira Kurzban access to Haiti on the same terms as any other American citizen, and assure that he be allowed unfettered access to political prisoners and other victims of human rights violations; 2) that the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) fulfills its mandate to protect civilians from physical harm and promote human rights by ensuring Mr. Kurzban’s safety while he is in Haiti conducting human rights work; and 3) that the United States use all the tools available to it, including withholding financial and diplomatic support, to assure that the IGH allows adequate access to all human rights workers, including Mr. Kurzban.
Please sign this petition by June 20, 2005, when it will be delivered to Haitian, U.S. and UN officials. We welcome individual and organizational signatures. |
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The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH)works with the people of Haiti in their non-violent struggle for the return and consolidation of constitutional democracy, justice and human rights, by distributing objective and accurate information on human rights conditions in Haiti, pursuing legal cases, and cooperating with human rights and solidarity groups in Haiti and abroad.
IJDH draws on its founders' internationally-acclaimed success accompanying Haiti's poor majority in the fields of law, medicine and social justice activism. We seek the restoration of the rule of law and democracy in the short term, and work for the long-term sustainable change neccesary to avert Haiti's next crisis. |
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