MICIVIH's report evaluates the human rights record of the Haitian National Police during its first year of existence and examines the context in which it was created and became operational. In the course of its activities, MICIVIH has been granted unprecedented access to police stations and to detainees held in police custody. Police authorities at the national and local levels have, in the main, worked in close cooperation with the Mission.
The deployment of the first group of police, on 12 June 1995, marked the start of a new era in the history of Haiti's security forces. The HNP was born of the will to respect the provisions of the 1987 Constitution, and of the need for a civilian police force respectful of human rights and separate from the repressive forces of past regimes. A pattern of massive and systematic human rights violations, which marked the Coup d'Etat period, was brought to an end with the return to constitutional order in October 1994, and with the neutralization and dismantling of the Armed Forces of Haiti (FADH).
The new police force was established within a short period of time. It is made up of young, motivated, and well-educated recruits. The majority of its members have accomplished a great deal despite a lack of effective supervision and their own lack of experience. They have contended with enormous logistical and administrative problems and have faced, at times, a hostile population. In the current context the task of the new police force is a complex one. Despite limited resources and serious operational constraints, police agents must prevent the population from taking the law into its own hands. Increasingly they are called upon to confront protests arising from deteriorating economic conditions; and to resist the politically-motivated provocations of some sectors of society. With the emergence of armed crime, and acts of violence against the police, the work of the police has become yet more arduous; in recent months seven off-duty police agents have been killed by unknown assailants.
The new police force is a cornerstone in the construction of a state of law in Haiti. MICIVIH has borne witness to the real progress which has been made in the sphere of human rights - by and large basic freedoms are enjoyed by the population and individual human rights are upheld by police. From the outset, government and police authorities have expressed their determination to ensure that human rights violations and other police abuses will no longer be tolerated. Shortly after his appointment, the HNP Director General, Pierre Denizé, publicly expressed commitment to the establishment of a "credible and respectable" police force. A code of police ethics and conduct (code de déontologie) entered into force in August 1995 and a disciplinary code was adopted in February 1996. Since the March 1996 arrival of a new directorial team at the head of the HNP, numerous other initiatives have been taken to strengthen disciplinary measures and to ensure respect for human rights, notably the entry into force of the disciplinary code. A program of structural reinforcement is in progress, as well as measures to improve the supervisory framework of the police force, essential for maintaining internal discipline.
Overall, the human rights situation has remained satisfactory since the deployment of the new police force. Violations of fundamental human rights - the right to life, the right to integrity and security of the person, the rights to freedom of expression and association - are the exception not the rule. However, the record is not without its dark shadows. Between July 1995 and May 1996, some 26 people lost their lives and nearly 50 others were reportedly wounded in the course of about 50 incidents during which police agents had recourse to the use of firearms. The shootings took place within various contexts, including on occasion in an atmosphere of hostility toward police. A number occurred during arrests, after police intervened in disputes between individuals, or as a result of police efforts to control public demonstrations. In a few isolated cases - notably in the metropolitan zone - police agents appear to have killed or deliberately shot suspects who were already wounded. Several cases of serious human rights violations, including some possible summary executions, have been reported in recent weeks in the context of police operations to combat armed gangs or to find and arrest those responsible for killing police agents.
Allegations of ill-treatment, relatively few during 1995, increased significantly in 1996 (from 11 to 86), with the majority of incidents reported in Port-au-Prince. Some cases appeared to have arisen in a context of tension and confrontation between police agents and suspects, either during or immediately after their arrest. However, a growing number of victims have reported that ill-treatment was inflicted during interrogation. Most of the victims were accused of membership of armed gangs, of killing a police agent or of armed robbery. The majority said they had been kicked, or beaten with police batons or the butts of pistols. However, MICIVIH has received several allegations of suspects being given electric shocks while held in police custody at a Port-au-Prince police station.
While MICIVIH has noted an improvement in detention conditions at police stations, and greater respect for the 48-hour limit beyond which suspects held must appear before a judge, problems relating to police custody persist. Despite the efforts of HNP agents, police registers are not always adequately maintained and there have sometimes been delays in providing medical attention for injured or ill detainees. Furthermore, there is no HNP budget for distributing food or medical services to detainees held in police stations and on occasion police agents have supplied funds from their own pockets. The rights of those detained in police stations would also be better protected with improved coordination between police and judicial authorities.
One of the greatest challenges for the new police force is to overcome the legacy of impunity which characterized the de facto regime, under which massive human rights violations were committed and those responsible were never held accountable for their actions. The new police authorities, and their elected leaders, have repeatedly and publicly stated that those responsible for human rights abuses will be expelled from the police force. Important efforts have been made by the HNP to put in place mechanisms for investigating alleged abuses and for sanctioning those found responsible. A General Inspectorate, charged with receiving complaints of abuse and conducting inquiries, has been created within the structure of the HNP. With the arrival of a new directorial team at the head of the police force, the inspectorate has been strengthened and rendered more dynamic. Inquiries have been opened in a number of cases and sanctions imposed on some police agents. Judicial inquiries have also been initiated in a small number of cases of police accused of committing abuses.
Nevertheless, few of the incidents which may have involved serious human rights violations have resulted in clear disciplinary sanctions or convictions by the courts. This failing may be partly attributable to procedural delays afflicting police and judicial investigations, but also perhaps to the sudden increase in the number of complaints submitted to the General Inspectorate. The consolidation of mechanisms for investigating alleged abuses is therefore essential. Failure to take action in this regard, and to publish the results of internal inquiries, could serve to reinforce the view among some sectors of the population that HNP agents enjoy the same impunity as members of the armed forces under former regimes. Judicial proceedings should also be systematically initiated in all cases where serious human rights violations, such as killing or serious injury, are alleged.
Public confidence in the police force is essential for the effective functioning of the institution. Policy relating to communications between the police and the population should thus be further developed. At the same time as efforts are made to improve the training, supervision and functioning of the police, a broad-based program of civic education would serve to inform the population of the tasks of the HNP, and would encourage public cooperation with the police in the accomplishment of these tasks.
In the current context, evidence of police respect for the law and human rights is especially important. It will serve to demonstrate the professionalism of the new force, and to prevent a slide toward illegitimate methods in the maintenance of order and the conduct of criminal inquiries. Efforts in progress to develop and consolidate the police force are essential and should be pursued. MICIVIH's report concludes with a set of recommendations. It is hoped these will provide a useful contribution to the HNP's program of action for strengthening the institution, and in the construction of a police force fully respectful of human rights, and which enjoys the full respect and collaboration of the population.
Abridged list of recommendations
b) Continue the training of HNP agents on the ground, especially with regard to police ethics and respect for human rights, the subordination of police to judicial authorities and the role of the police force as an auxiliary of justice. The incorporation of former members of the Interim Public Security Force (IPSF) into the HNP should be based on the same criteria of merit as those used in the selection of HNP agents; and former IPSF agents should undergo the same training program as other members of the HNP. Members of special security units comprised of former IPSF members, in particular the presidential and ministerial security guards, should undergo the same process of recruitment and training as HNP agents.
c) Limit the use of force and the use of firearms and ammunition and take measures to ensure respect for the rules of necessity and proportionality in the use of force, in accordance with the HNP's code de déontologie and the 9 October 1995 memorandum issued by the HNP's directorate. Necessary measures would include the provision of non-lethal weapons to the HNP, with strict controls on their utilization, and training for police authorized to use such weapons. Further measures could include the distribution of defensive equipment among police agents. The use of automatic weapons should be subject to rigorous legal controls and unauthorized weapons withdrawn from police stations. All police agents should be informed that those found responsible for summary and extrajudicial executions, as well as deaths and injuries resulting from excessive use of force, will be sanctioned.
d) Improve the protection of detainees held in police stations. HNP agents should be reminded that torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment are forbidden, and informed that those found responsible for such treatment will be sanctioned. Judges who have reason to believe that a detainee has been ill-treated should immediately inform the public prosecutor so that appropriate legal action can be taken. All detainees who show signs of ill-treatment should be given a medical examination. The mechanism for registering suspects should be systematized and information on detainees clearly and consistently recorded in the register. Any person held in police custody should be brought before a judge within 48 hours. The effective application of the rules governing the treatment of detainees should be regularly monitored, including unannounced visits to police stations. A budget should be provided for medical and food expenses for detainees.
e) Regularly monitor the application of police regulations (above all the Règlement intérieur, le Code de déontologie and the Code de discipline), for example by organizing frequent visits to police stations and ensuring that sanctions are imposed on those found to have disobeyed the rules or broken the law.
f) Improve coordination between the police and judicial authorities to ensure that warrants are correctly issued and served, that detainees' dossiers are quickly processed and that judicial inquiries proceed without delay. For coordination to be effective, police need to be deployed throughout the country. Measures should be taken to overcome logistical impediments to deployment, given the important role of police in the administration of justice. Efforts to strengthen the investigative capacity of the police, for example that of the Brigade d'enquête criminelle, should be pursued. More police need to be trained in criminal investigation, including in scientific and technical methods of inquiry. Equally, increased material resources should be devoted to improving scientific methods of inquiry.
g) Define the status of and clearly identify those responsible for law enforcement and the maintenance of order. The rules governing the status and functions of special police units, such as the Corps de sécurité ministérielle and the Compagnie d'intervention rapide should be clarified. Likewise the status of the Unité de sécurité générale du Palais National and the Unité de sécurité présidentielle should be clearly defined. If the legality of these units is not to be called into question, they should be formally incorporated into the police force, with clear lines of responsibility within the HNP command structure. The powers of arrest of these units should be strictly limited, to cases of flagrant délit, with a stipulation that all those arrested be immediately taken to the nearest police station.
The legality of attempts to create municipal police should also be clarified, as should the existence of other forms of police, particularly voluntary police or communal police auxiliaries, which have no legal status. The objective of such measures should be to ensure the existence and functioning of a single national police force as specified by the Constitution and Haitian law.
The population should be clearly informed of which police units are authorized to carry out searches, arrests and detentions. All police agents should be clearly identifiable by members of the public, through the bearing of uniforms, possession of a valid identity card and a visible registration number. All police vehicles should bear clearly-numbered licence plates.
h) Investigate and sanction abuses, and publish the results of inquiries and sanctions imposed. Attacks on the right to life and the integrity of the person should be given priority for investigation and those implicated suspended until the results of the inquiry are known. Ideally, an independent mechanism should be created to review police investigations. In cases involving an alleged killing or serious injury by a police agent, police commanders should systematically fulfil their obligation to immediately inform the HNP central administration, with a view to the General Inspectorate opening an inquiry. Equally, police commanders should inform the public prosecutor in all cases where there is reason to believe that a police agent may have committed a crime, for appropriate judicial action. Police commanders should be held responsible if - knowing that agents under their jurisdiction have committed abuses - they fail to take all necessary measures to prevent the abuse or to inform the appropriate authorities.
i) Implement a national program of information and civic education on the role of the police and the rights and duties of citizens, with a view to improving relations between the police and the population. The program could emphasize the indivisibility of citizens' rights and duties, as set forth in the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man. According to the declaration, a citizen's obligation to fulfil his or her duties, including that of obedience to the law, is a basic and necessary requirement if the rights of all are to be guaranteed. Initiatives already taken by the government to explain the role and functions of the HNP should be further developed, especially with regard to the maintenance of public order, the prevention of crime, criminal investigation and community policing activities. It may also be necessary to strengthen channels of communication between the police and the media. This would improve the quality of information transmitted to the public and help the population gain a better understanding of the nature and objectives of police work. Improved communication would be especially useful in relation to community policing activities. Strengthening collaboration between the police and local authorities would also contribute to improving relations between the police and the population.
j) Better defend the interests of police agents. Article 12 of the Code de déontologie specifies that the Minister of Justice must "defend national police agents against threats, violence, assault, injury, defamation or grave insult suffered in the course of their duties". To the extent that those who murder police agents are a threat to the stability of society, investigations in these cases should be brought to a conclusion as quickly as possible, to clarify the motives for the killings and to bring those responsible to justice before the courts. As far as possible, the results of the inquiries should be made public. It would also be desirable to consider the possibility of posthumous promotion - in recognition of their courage - for police killed in the course of duty. The possibility of creating a life insurance program for police and their families should also be considered.