The Human Rights Review is a new quarterly report issued by MICIVIH which gives an overview of the human rights performance of the main institutions responsible for human rights protection in Haiti: police, prisons and the judiciary. It is based on the Mission's work both at headquarters and in the field in the three areas of its mandate: monitoring, institution-building and promotion. A French translation of the review is currently in preparation. Appended to the review is a set of tables giving statistics for allegations of abuses by police and prison guards in 1997 and 1998 and figures for prison population and pre-trial detention.

POLICE

Respect for human rights

The overall performance of police in terms of human rights improved during this period. There were no reports of deaths in custody as a result of beatings, and only one fatal shooting incident was reported, compared with 13 individuals allegedly shot dead by police in the previous three months. In relation to the latest killing, judicial sources cast doubt on the police version that Pierre Virgil Michel was shot dead on 28 October inside Miragoâne police station because he was in the process of stealing an alarm clock and threatened the two police agents allegedly present with a gun he had also stolen. Sources suggest the killing took place elsewhere as a settlement of accounts related to drugs between the victim and a police agent and that the body was taken back to the police station. Police investigations into the killing have been limited to a report by the local police commissioner.

Statistics compiled by MICIVIH (see Appendix) show that thirty-one individuals were reportedly killed (whether legitimately or otherwise) by police in 1998, compared with 53 in 1997 and 59 in 1996. Of these, reports of cases of deaths resulting from excessive use of force dropped from 20 to 11. There were three reports of deaths in custody as a result of beatings compared to four the previous year, and nine allegations of extrajudicial executions (eight in 1997). The statistics show a disturbingly high number of allegations of beatings and other forms of ill-treatment during arrests or interrogation, rising from 284 in 1997 to 423 in 1998. This figure excludes more than 100 allegations of ill-treatment without arrest during two police operations in November.⁽¹⁾

In the course of the three-month period under review, there was a noticeable reduction in individual reports of ill-treatment during arrest or interrogation, especially towards the end of the year. Some 90 such cases were reported in different parts of the country, mostly between the beginning of October and mid-November. Beatings were such, however, that many of the victims had visible injuries such as swollen faces, cuts and bruising when interviewed by MICIVIH observers, and one detainee reportedly lost an eye as a result (see Internal HNP investigations). In some cases witnesses corroborated detainees' allegations. In Pétionville police station, 18 cases of beatings were reported. Chefs de postes, inspectors and two police commissioners were implicated in some cases. Among the police stations where there were notable improvements towards December were Les Cayes, Cap Haïtien, Delmas and the central Port-au-Prince police station following action and directives from the Inspection Générale and repeated interventions by MICIVIH, both in terms of investigating individual cases and raising them with the authorities, and also training seminars and discussions on human rights (see below). Greater attention by some judicial officials to reports of ill-treatment may also have had some impact, although judicial officials generally do not question the state of detainees when brought before them and are usually reluctant to pursue the matter. Nor do state prosecutors regularly visit police detention cells.

There were some significant improvements in certain police stations regarding respect for the 48-hour police custody limit. Observers in Les Cayes reported that between September and December this constitutional limit had been exceeded in only six cases in the main police station. Dossiers were being prepared more speedily by judicial police and a vehicle was being made readily available by police authorities for the transfer of detainees to court. During several December visits to the central Port-au-Prince police station notorious for having large numbers of detainees in custody for prolonged periods without seeing a judge, there were no detainees in garde à vue at all or those that were present had only been held for a short period. However, some judicial officials continued to argue that extensions to the 48-hour rule are acceptable. A state prosecutor told MICIVIH that such practices were now "customary" in response to the Mission's concerns that a group of 15 detainees arrested in connection with the ransacking of St Michel de l'Attalaye (Artibonite) police station in November were only taken before a judge after a week in police custody. One of the most glaring irregularities concerned the case of eight individuals accused of complot and being members of the Duvalierist Volontaires pour la Sécurité Nationale. Arrested in Hinche in mid-August, they were held in Pétionville police station from mid-August until November before they were taken before a judge for the first time. (They were finally released by the Port-au-Prince prosecutor on 22 December.)

Observers in the Artibonite reported that maintenance of the registre de rétention had improved considerably in St Marc and Gonaïves police stations after training sessions by UNCIVPOL and MICIVIH. St Suzanne (North-East), Thomazeau and Cerca Carvajal (Centre) were among the police stations where the registre de rétention was also reported as being well-maintained. Among those where there were continuing lapses were police stations in the department of the South, Mirebalais and Hinche. Police stations where there was no registre de rétention included Bainet, Côtes de Fer (South-east), Ouanaminthe sous-commissariat and Belladère. One of the main problems appears to be the fact that police officials do not adequately supervise the filling-in of the register and correct errors and omissions. During a visit to Côtes de Fer police station on 17 November, observers found no police present, but three detainees in the cells. The detainees said they relied on local people to pass them food and water in the absence of police, who were not due to return until later in the day.

Police/Community relations

The public image of the police and its human rights record was most tarnished by several heavy-handed police operations in response to attacks on police. These incidents have placed police-community relations in jeopardy in the localities where they occurred, and required fence-building work to restore trust and confidence on both sides. The reprisals have usually taken the form of indiscriminate beatings and heavy-handed destructive property searches in the area of the operations, often by UDMO units. In most cases, the attacks on police were in response to alleged police assaults. The following such cases were reported to MICIVIH during this period: on 21 October dozens of residents of Arcahaie reported being beaten, many inside their homes, and property destroyed, when local police and CIMO carried out a search operation for individuals alleged responsible for attacking police at a protest barricade the previous day;

more than 40 individuals including children and elderly persons were slapped, beaten or roughed up in or near their homes during a night-time police operation involving an UDMO unit from Gonaïves, and from Cap Haïtien, as well as local police from Plaisance as a reprisal for an attack on a Gonaïves UDMO chief who was badly beaten by residents from the Chadar neighbourhood of Plaisance (North) on 26 November. The attack occurred in response to the wounding of at least one young person by bullets which the local population believed had been fired by the UDMO chief as he tried to force his way through a barricade related to protests by students at a local school. Local residents also reported many homes ransacked, some houses had bullet holes in the walls. Many of those interviewed by MICIVIH had marks or injuries on their bodies. Police authorities identified a breakdown in the command structure as a contributory cause to the abuses; following the looting and torching of St Michel de l'Attalaye police station on 6 November by local people angry at the reported beating of a tax driver, Gonaïves UDMO made three visits to the town over the course of six days. MICIVIH interviewed 19 individuals who alleged that they were roughed up or ill-treated, or had property damaged during these visits, however reliable sources indicated that the real figure was much higher. A state prosecutor told MICIVIH that he had complained to the police commissioner because of the physical condition of the 15 detainees who were arrested in the operation. An inquiry was launched by the Inspection Générale but no outcome has been reported yet; on 3 December, UDMO from Cap Haïtien and local police in Ouanaminthe reportedly beat some residents after a police agent had been shot dead the previous day, though the operation was called off by the Directeur Départemental without any arrests. The killing of the police agent⁽²⁾ - reportedly by a member of a popular organisation - appears to have been linked to the arrest on 1 December of a student, who was released the following day after popular protests.

These incidents underscore the need for tighter supervision by officers during operations and for greater restraint and training of special crowd-control units as well as greater emphasis on police-community relations. Efforts have been made in some of the places to defuse tensions. A prompt investigation by the Inspection Générale in Plaisance and meetings between police, local authorities and students appear to have repaired some of the damage there. The Gonaïves commissaire principal visited St-Michel on 17 November to discuss the incidents with local authorities and plan the redeployment of police to the town. MICIVIH helped set up and took part in a meeting on 22 December with the aim of paving the way for redeployment. Some 60 people participated, including local authorities, members of popular organizations and representatives of the Gonaïves community police. It was proposed that a committee be set up to carry out civic education and that talks should be held regularly between police, local elected authorities and the population to identify problems and find solutions. In Cabaret, where an aggressive police operation had followed the ransacking of the police station by local people angry at the fatal shooting by a police agent in August, residents, police and local authorities took part in a third meeting in October as a means of building bridges, and looked this time at the practical application of respect for human rights. At the request of police, MICIVIH had acted as facilitator between the different sectors to enable the first meeting to take place. Carrefour police said they had taken a number of initiatives to improve community relations by organising meetings with local authorities at the end of December to discuss security and other concerns. Delegations comprised of three police, ASEC and CASEC members visited 13 communal sections to meet with residents, discuss roles and responsibilities of officials, human rights and to listen to the concerns of the local population.

Internal HNP investigations into abuses

Prompt investigations were opened by the Inspection Générale into some of the most serious allegations of abuses (for example, Plaisance and St Michel de l'Attalaye) in or shortly before the period under review and some preliminary measures were taken, for example the removal of the Plaisance police commissioner, the suspension or placing en isolement of HNP agents concerned in other cases. Some of those placed in isolement were subsequently freed. Among those released from isolement was a Cité Soleil police inspector accused of being implicated in the killing of five youths on 30 September (as well as other killings in the past two years); a police agent accused of raping a detainee and a police agent accused of the shooting death of a 16-year-old youth in Port-au-Prince in August. A hospital commission was set up to investigate - unsuccessfully - the disappearance of the victim's body from the morgue. A judicial police agent accused of beating an individual on 27 November so badly during arrest that he lost an eye was placed in isolement in Anti-gang police station in Port-au-Prince but was released on 4 December. The agent said the detainee, who needed immediate hospital treatment, had resisted arrest. At least five HNPs escaped from isolement in the central Port-au-Prince police station during the last three months of the year, one of them accused of the fatal shooting of an individual in a dispute in a tap tap in August which led to the dechoukaj of Cabaret police station by the population (see above, Police/community relations). No judicial investigations proceeded in any of these abuses. As of the end of 1998, 11 HNPs were being held en isolement, all in Port-au-Prince, the number having dropped from 30 in November. None of them were being held for human rights abuses, according to MICIVIH's information.

The national HNP authorities announced the dismissal of some 220 police agents between January and December 1998. Of these 220, 18 were prison guards/officials implicated in the beating of detainees in Carrefour prison in April as punishment for an escape (see below, Prisons). Twenty-five of the police agents had been implicated in one or more human rights violations which had been investigated by MICIVIH, although in at least one case this was not necessarily the main reason for the dismissal. Ten of the incidents which led to the dismissals occurred in 1998, 14 in 1997 and seven in 1996. In the case of ten other HNP agents, the reason given for the dismissal suggests they were implicated in human rights violations but MICIVIH has no information about the incidents.

Eight of the dismissed HNPs were implicated in unlawful killings investigated by MICIVIH, four in non-fatal shootings and eight in cases of ill-treatment/torture. The 25 included three accused of torturing a detainee who subsequently died in Fort Liberté police station in July 1998; a police agent accused of killing an individual when he fired into a crowd in 1997 (as well as other abuses); a group of police who beat detainees in custody in Cayes-Jacmel (South-east) in relation to a drugs find in March 1998, four police agents implicated in the arrest and beating of a judge in Cavaillon in 1998 and a police agent who kidnapped and tortured two individuals, including burning them with an iron in 1997. While these measures are an indication that some abuses are being punished, there remain a number of other cases - including several extrajudicial executions and deaths in custody which may have resulted from beatings reported in the past two years - where investigations are still pending or have never been initiated. Only a small number of cases of ill-treatment appear to be punished at the level of the Inspection Générale, although the police authorities appear to have responded in a more general way by issuing directives or warnings to some police commissioners where beatings have been prevalent.

In November, the Inspection Générale issued its report for the first six months of the year. Outlining the difficulties facing his staff - including threats in some cases - the Inspector General again criticised the failure of the police cadres to sanction abuses or disciplinary offences at a lower level. In most departments, MICIVIH observers have also noticed a marked reluctance on the part of regional and municipal police authorities to investigate abuses, particularly cases of ill-treatment.

Police authorities have now initiated discussions concerning proposals by the Inspection Générale to put in place a more accessible complaints system for the public. Outside of the capital, victims have little other recourse at the moment than to present complaints at the local police station or the office of the Direction départemental, which victims are often reluctant to do for fear of reprisals.

Rights of police subjected to disciplinary measures

In the course of discussions between MICIVIH observers and police agents, the latter have frequently expressed their concern about the legality and lack of clarity regarding the process of placing police agents en isolement as a measure pending the outcome of a disciplinary inquiry. Some of the police subjected to such disciplinary measures when interviewed by MICIVIH have said they do not know whether they are formally in police custody or en isolement. Among the concerns also are that periods of isolement can range from a few days to more than a month without access to a legal authority to assess the legality of the detention. While MICIVIH applauds the police authorities in the efforts to call HNP agents to account for abusive or criminal behaviour, the rights to individual freedom and due process that this raises need to be considered by the HNP. One HNP had been held in Carrefour since August. Six others had been held in Port-au-Prince for more than two months. Conditions in isolement vary considerably, with some HNPs free to walk around the police station where they are being held, while others are locked up in garde à vue cells.

Judicial investigations into abuses by police

In his November report, the Inspector General criticised the continuing absence of judicial inquiries into abuses sanctioned by the police authorities. The lack of judicial follow-up is worrisome and undermines the efforts of the Inspector General to enforce accountability. Fifty-two dossiers had been transmitted to the courts in the first half of the year but "not one of the dossiers passed to the courts for criminal proceedings had reached a conclusion or resulted in a sentence or court decision." These cases included crimes such as murder, rape, corruption, beatings, drug trafficking. According to police officials, a further group of dossiers were transmitted to the state prosecutor in Port-au-Prince in November.

MICIVIH has been monitoring legal proceedings against HNPs accused of human rights violations in the provinces. At the end of the year, four police agents were being held in prison in connection with human rights violations, to MICIVIH's knowledge, three of them for the torturing of a detainee in Fort Liberté and one for the fatal shooting of an individual during a land reform institute operation in L'Estère. Three others from Cavaillon were released on bail (see below). In a handful of cases, victims of beatings have presented complaints before the parquet but no-one was arrested. The following is a summary of cases MICIVIH is monitoring before the courts: in November it was announced that three HNPs currently in prison and accused of torturing a detainee who died in custody in Fort Liberté in July would be tried without a jury; the prompt action of police and judicial authorities in this case make it one of the rare cases of abuse to proceed before the courts; they were also dismissed from the police force in December. In contrast, judicial authorities dropped investigations into the death in custody, possibly as a result of a beating, of a detainee in Hinche police station, also in July. It appears that no investigation was opened by the Inspection Générale, and the only sanctions taken were against one HNP who was suspended for leaving the hospital bedside of the victim prior to his death. An appeal for the release from prison of a Gonaïves HNP on the grounds of illegal arrest was rejected by the court in October; he is accused of killing a man during an INARA (land reform agency) operation in L'Estère July; four HNPs from Cavaillon accused of illegally arresting and ill-treating a justice of the peace were released provisionally from prison in November. Hearings in the case were continuing. They were dismissed from the police force in November; the state prosecutor of Maïssade assigned the November case of two detainees who were beaten allegedly in police custody, one of them seriously, to an examining magistrate for investigation. A police inquiry had identified two police agents responsible and they were suspended for 40 days in December by the Directeur départemental; judicial proceedings by a court of first instance began against a police agent assigned to Chantal police station who allegedly hit an individual on the head several times with his gun butt during a dispute over a TV repair in Les Cayes on 19 November. The victim required stitches in three wounds on the head. The police agent claimed the victim had punched him in the mouth. Initially heard by a justice of the peace, the latter asked the police commissioner to place the police agent in police custody, but this was not done. The same police agent was implicated in an almost identical incident on 25 September which was being investigated by a tribunal de paix; a complaint was submitted to the parquet in Les Cayes in November by a detainee whose eardrum was damaged after he was reportedly subjected to kalot marassa in the Quatre Chemins sous-commissariat. A medical certificate confirmed the injuries sustained.

Training of police

The consolidation of training of police continues to be a priority for the Haitian National Police, training which is carried out both at the Police Academy in Port-au-Prince and also in the field, particularly in conjunction with UNCIVPOL. MICIVIH also collaborates with the HNP in training related to human rights. During the three-month period under review, a pilot training programme in community policing took place in Les Cayes. and ten-day MICIVIH-organised programmes on conflict resolution as a means of preventing human rights abuses were carried out in Cap Haïtien, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Jérémie, Fort Liberté, and Petit Goâve. Some 150 police agents took part in the sessions, which were led by Haitian trainers recruited by MICIVIH as well as observers on issues ranging from individual rights and treatment of detainees to conflict analysis and communication skills. Case studies were incorporated into the programme, including discussions about some topical, local incidents. The stated aims of the course were to improve inter-personal relations, improve relations with the population and to improve relations between the HNP and its partner institutions. The courses also facilitated a better police understanding of MICIVIH's work. Each programme ended with an evaluation, which in Cap Haïtien was attended by the Acting Director of HNP Training. Discussions began subsequently between MICIVIH and the Direction des Ecoles et de la Formation Permanente as to the possibility of integrating the course into the official training programme of the HNP as well as drawing up a training programme for HNP instructors who would run the course.

JUSTICE SYSTEM⁽³⁾

The period under review began with the opening of the judicial year, but with little cause for optimism regarding the judicial reform process. There were few signs of any significant progress, in spite of a meeting in July under the auspices of President Préval at which a series of steps to implement reform had been agreed. In his speech to mark the new judicial year at the beginning of October, the Minister of Justice outlined the principles and need for judicial reform, as well as referring to some of the obstacles. In the context of the judicial reform process, three consultants recruited by MICIVIH visited Haiti in December, two to follow up work on issues related to women and minors (see below Minors), and a third to provide technical cooperation regarding reform of the Code d'Instruction Criminelle. At the same time, a final report on the findings of two consultants who carried out an evaluation of the chaîne pénale in late 1997 was submitted to the Minister of Justice in October, together with a proposal for a draft ministerial circular to state prosecutors on the subject.

In the field, MICIVIH observers carried out regular visits to courts throughout the country, raising cases of judicial irregularities with the authorities and collecting information on the functioning of the judicial system which is then fed into its institution-building work, for example in the form of training or recommendations for measures to resolve problems. In October/November for example, observers based in Fort Liberté carried out a survey of the administration of justice in the department of the North-east based on visits to 17 out of 18 courts in November. Many of the problems observed were identical to those documented in other departments, the following being the main findings of the survey: dilapidated buildings, a lack of office furniture, filing cabinets, legal codes and other materials; no means of communication, no electricity and no vehicles except for one in the Fort Liberté tribunal; very low salaries and a lack of human resources: for example, the post of greffier at Ste. Suzanne tribunal de paix has been vacant for three years; a substitute state prosecutor for Fort Liberté was finally appointed in December 98 after three and a half years. However, protestors then closed down the tribunal civil on 30 December because he did not reside locally; non-execution of warrants due to insufficient police, and no police at all in some areas; failure to respect legal procedures through ignorance or corruption; for example, incorrect use of warrants; juges de paix take judicial decisions or intervene in cases which are not within their jurisdiction; illegal detention for debt and sorcery; general slowness of judiciary and lack of initiative of officials, exacerbated by the fact that many live in Cap Haïtien and commute, spending only three days in Fort Liberté at a time, and working only limited hours; Once the survey was complete, observers organised a two-day seminar on 24-25 November which was attended by juges de paix from all 18 communes, together with Fort Liberté judicial officials, law school students and teachers, lawyers and journalists, MICIVIH's deputy executive director and other staff members. Topics covered included the state of judicial reform, the practical application of international treaties ratified by Haiti, importance of integrity and personal responsibility of judges, the definition of crimes and offences, and the practical organization of criminal assizes.

Visits to judicial authorities in St Marc and Gonaïves in December also confirmed scarce resources and interpretations of the law which at times were in clear contravention both of legal provisions and international human rights principles. Internal upheavals contributed to the poor functioning of the judicial system there. In Gonaives, an examining magistrate (and former state prosecutor) resigned on 8 October over the appointment of a new chief clerk at the tribunal civil whom she had accused of corruption when he worked at the parquet in 1995. The clerk was suspended on 13 October pending a judicial inquiry into the matter. A Gonaïves deputy prosecutor announced his resignation for personal reasons on 12 October. The examining magistrate appointed in September to take over the case of the 1994 Raboteau massacre was not sworn in until 21 October. No replacement was named for the doyen whose mandate expired in July. In late December MICIVIH was told he would be reinstated.

Observers noted the repeated absence of judicial officials in Anse à Veau (Grande Anse): during one visit in October, for example, two juges d'instruction, the doyen, the state prosecutor and another judge were all absent. Observers were eventually able to meet the two juges d'instruction at the end of November. One of the judges had reportedly been assigned 10 dossiers for more than three months during which time he had not begun the investigation. In Cavaillon, judicial records and registers were in disorder and observers noted an exaggerated number of cases where mandats de dépôt had been issued and the accused released the same day without even being transferred first to prison, raising the suspicion of corruption. Crimes which required trial by jury were being tried by courts without jury. In Hinche, the appointment of additional officials to the parquet and the acquisition of vehicles failed to lead to any improvement in expediting proceedings.

Not all the signs were bleak. Observers noted improvements in the administration of justice in Mirebalais following the appointment, at the end of September, of an adviser from the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT): the court records office was being organised, case-registration was improving and two new deputy state prosecutors appeared to be working professionally. A judge in Aquin, in the south, also appeared to be making considerable efforts to respect judicial time limits.

Some overall improvements were noted in the administration of justice in Cap Haïtien in 1998: two of the three examining magistrates were making efforts to respect judicial time limits, the chief court clerk at the tribunal civil was able to provide statistics on the number of cases dealt with for the past judicial year and state prosecutors began exercising their oversight functions by visiting the prison and the main police station towards the end of 1998. Instructions for the improvement of running the garde à vue were noted in the main courante register at the police station, and the state prosecutor appears to have been more rigorous in pursuing complaints of ill-treatment, in one case ordering a judge to carry out a constat médical. Two main problems related to pre-trial detention were noted, however. Most of the cases assigned to the third examining magistrate, many of them for detainees held since 1997, made slow or no progress.⁽⁴⁾ Cases handled by justices of the peace appeared to make much slower progress than those handled by examining magistrates. Judicial cases of minors appeared to be dealt with much more rapidly than in the past, however.

Pre-trial detention

Prolonged pre-trial detention, sometimes for minor offences, continues to be one of the main problems regarding the administration of justice. The table of statistics shows that of the total prison population for December (3,740), only 19 per cent had been sentenced. As indicated above, the efforts of some judges have led to speedier proceedings in a few places, although this has led only to a very slight increase in the percentage of detainees sentenced. With MICIVIH encouragement, and on instructions issued by the Justice Ministry, some judges and state prosecutors started to visit prisons, including the National Penitentiary and Fort National in Port-au-Prince. In October, the Ministry of Justice forwarded lists of detainees held in pre-trial detention prepared by observers in Port-au-Prince to relevant judicial officials and requested two-weekly updates on the status of the cases. Some 300 Port-au-Prince detainees, including 20 minors and 14 women, were released in December, primarily those facing minor charges who had been held for a long time in pre-trial detention and detainees with empty dossiers. Among the minors were 11 youths who have been in pre-trial detention since 1996 and accused of killing a foreigner, even though there was no corpus delicti. An ordonnance de non-lieu had been issued in March 1997, but the state prosecutor opposed their release. In August 1998 an Appeal Court had confirmed that they should be released but the court clerk refused to write up the order unless the defendants paid for it.

In November 1998, MICIVIH was told they would only be released if a rehabilitation centre could be found for them. On another occasion it was said that they could not be released before Christmas because it would alarm the population. They were finally released on 18 December. Other miscarriages of justice include the case of a detainee held in Anse-a-Veau since 1997 who was finally heard by a judge after 525 days of detention and was released for lack of evidence.

In December, MICIVIH interviewed 13 inmates who have spent more than two years in pre-trial detention in Gonaïves prison, hearing allegations of serious judicial irregularities from almost all of them. One said he did not see an examining magistrate until nearly a year after his initial detention. Two said they had not been heard by a judge since 1996. One said he was last heard by an examining magistrate in September 1997. Another said he did not see a judge for 23 months. The state prosecutor ordered the release of 30 inmates from the prison on 24 December when the prison population was at a record high of 292, with 84 per cent of them in pretrial detention. Most of those released had been held for long periods in pre-trial detention for minor offences. Two had been convicted.

Non-respect of release orders/habeas corpus

Article 26 of the Constitution stipulates that, within 48 hours of arrest, detainees must be taken before a judge who will decide on the legality of the arrest. If the detention is deemed illegal, the judge must order the detainee's release which must be executed immediately even if an appeal is made against the decision (Article 26.2). In his October speech to mark the new judicial year, the Minister of Justice called on state prosecutors to respect the constitutional provisions regarding the immediate execution of such orders. Failure by state prosecutors, particularly in Port-au-Prince, to respect release orders issued by judges has long been a serious concern of MICIVIH, particularly as they have mostly related to cases which may have a political dimension. The issue was raised again in a letter to the Minister of Justice on 15 October, which also included an aide-memoire of several cases of arbitrary detention where release orders, whether under Article 26.2 or as a result of judicial inquiries, had not been executed. It noted that violations of the right to individual liberty by Port-au-Prince state prosecutors had increasingly become the norm and that such practices not only harmed the image of the justice system but also undermined the foundations of the rule of law. Some of those referred to in the aide-memoire were subsequently released. Claude Schneider, Phaniel Dieu and former FAd'H General Claude Raymond, detained without trial since July 1996, were released from Port-au-Prince police station in November on the order of the appeal court but Claude Raymond was immediately rearrested reportedly on charges of crimes against the Constitution and murder, in connection with the 1987 election and St Jean Bosco massacres. Lawyer Osner Fevry, detained in March on charges of assault, was released on 15 December. A release order had been issued by the doyen in March.

At the end of 1998, the execution of release orders, either under Article 26.2 or for other reasons was still pending with regard to 20 detainees accused of complot contre la sûreté de l'état or charges with a political context. Nine of the release orders had been issued in 1996/1997. They included Alexandre Paul, held in connection with toxic waste dumping, and three detainees, Léonard and Rémy Lucas and Jean Michel Richardson, held in connection with the 1987 Jean Rabel massacre of peasants who were arrested in February 1998. A release order has been pending since April 1998. The court's ruling noted the failure of the parquet to take steps which would have ensured the legality of the arrest. The failure of state prosecutors to respect judicial decisions ordering the release of detainees is an egregious violation of the right to individual liberty as well as a violation of the constitution. The Ministry of Justice must take energetic steps to correct this unacceptable breach of due process as well as to ensure respect for proper arrest and detention procedures.

Observers in Les Cayes who conducted a survey of court rulings in response to appeals for release on the grounds of illegal detention noted that in 1998, 14 appeals had been submitted, of which eight were refused. Of the latter, four of the detainees were subsequently released by the parquet or acquitted. In Aquin, they were given a list of 11 individuals who had requested immediate release on the grounds of illegal detention but no details as to the outcome of the appeal were available at the time of the visit.

Other illegal detention practices

MICIVIH again expressed its concern to judicial officials in Gonaïves about the continuing practice of detaining adults under Civil Code provisions allowing the Doyen to detain minors for up to six months in response to parental complaints over their children's behaviour. At least three adults were being held in Gonaïves under this provision in mid-October. The state prosecutor countered that some of the detainees are "drug users" but was unable to explain why such people could not be tried under ordinary Haitian law governing the illegal use of drugs. Observers stressed the extent of international concern over this issue and urged the state prosecutor to ensure that prosecutors do not counter-sign detention orders under these provisions.

Training/seminars for judicial officials

For the past two years, MICIVIH has been developing a programme of training on mediation for justices of the peace. Initially started as a pilot project with seminars for judges in the department of the Artibonite, two introductory seminars were presented to the first group of students at the Ecole de la Magistrature at the end of 1997. Since then, presentations on the programme have been given in several places, the latest being in November 1998 at a seminar organised by the Bureau d'Assistance Juridique for justices of the peace and intern lawyers in Hinche. Some 44 participants looked at ways in which mediation can be used by justices of the peace as an alternative means of resolving disputes. The MICIVIH staff member who devised the programme and a justice of the peace who had taken part in MICIVIH's pilot programme in the Artibonite led the workshop. The Ministry of Justice is looking at the possible incorporation of mediation into the training programme of the Ecole de la Magistrature.

In addition to these initiatives and to the seminar organised for judicial officials in Fort Liberté, an observer in Cap Haïtien participated in a session of the monthly training organised for judicial officials and lawyers by the Réseau des Citoyens, giving a presentation on the application of international treaties in Haiti.

Impunity

Extradition proceedings in Europe against former General Pinochet of Chile focussed much attention on the issue of justice for victims of human rights abuses and how to bring this about. In this context, in Haiti, MAPVIV organised a day of reflection on the issue of impunity and international justice in Port-au-Prince. Among the presentations was a paper by MICIVIH about the status of an International Criminal Court. In Haiti, there were few developments with regard to the prosecution of past human rights violations. One of the rare cases progressing through the courts is that of a former FAd'H and HNP agent accused of voies de fait during the coup d'état period in Maniche, near Les Cayes. An examining magistrate has been hearing witnesses in the case and the dossier was transferred to the parquet for réquisitoire définitif, in Les Cayes. Lawyer Luckner Pierre was arrested in Port-de-Paix on an eight-month-old mandat d'amener on 16 October, four days after he came out of hiding believing he was no longer wanted by the authorities. The warrant was issued during a visit by the Minister of Justice to Port-de-Paix on 6 February, immediately after the Minister dismissed Pierre from his position as examining magistrate for unspecified "administrative wrong-doing." It stated that Pierre is accused in the 1982 murder of journalist Richard Brisson, who was allegedly tortured to death in the Port-de-Paix army barracks after taking part in an abortive guerrilla landing on nearby Ile de la Tortue. Members of the Port-de-Paix Bar Association presented an appeal on his behalf on the grounds of illegal arrest which was granted by the doyen. However, the release order was never executed and Pierre was transferred to Port-au-Prince on 18 October.

Haitian NGOs continue to press for justice and compensation, and on 28 October, the Fondation 30 Septembre marked its first year anniversary of sit-ins at the Place des Martyrs in Port-au-Prince by organising a candle-light march in memory of the victims of the coup d'état. The same month, MICIVIH helped organize and gave presentations during a three-day seminar on impunity and reparation held for 60 people in Saint-Michel de l'Attalaye on 16-18 October.

PRISONS⁽⁵⁾

Respect for human rights/accountability for abuses

Only a handful (nine) of (mostly minor) allegations of ill-treatment by prison guards were received for this period, from Jérémie (one case), Fort Liberté (two cases) and Gonaïves (six), where those implicated were new guards. The low figure continued the downward trend of the previous months. MICIVIH had written to the prison authorities in May to express its concern about a sharp increase in reports of beatings by prison guards in the first few months of the year and the first beating to death of a detainee by prison guards in April. Figures for the year show a total of some 191 allegations of beatings, although approximately 100 of these occurred during one operation in April following an escape attempt from Carrefour prison. Only 15 cases were reported after June.

The Inspection Générale took on responsibility for investigating abuses by prison guards this year and as a result, 18 prison guards and officials had been dismissed, all for ill-treatment of detainees. They included the Director of the National Penitentiary, who, along with the 17 others, was accused of being responsible for the April incidents in Carrefour prison. The former Director has disputed that he was responsible for the beatings and alleged that he had refused to have certain inmates killed. One prison guard remained imprisoned for human rights violations, having been accused of the killing of a detainee in Jérémie earlier in the year. He was seriously wounded during an escape attempt by other prisoners (see below, prison/judicial relations).

Prison conditions

Inadequate medical care in many prisons remains a source of concern and MICIVIH has sometimes had to make repeated interventions before detainees have been taken for treatment, as in the case of three seriously-ill detainees in Jérémie, who were eventually taken to hospital for tests and treatment in mid-November. Lack of transport has often been put forward as a reason for delays in transferring detainees for medical treatment, for example in Les Cayes and in Cap Haïtien prison, which was without a vehicle for almost all of the second half of the year, resulting not only in delays in medical treatment, but also in taking detainees before justices of the peace for court hearings. Repeated absences of prison nurses, and inadequate medical supplies have also contributed to inadequate medical attention in some prisons. In October, the DAP Chief Medical Officer was dismissed following an inquiry into the escape from a Port-au-Prince hospital of a female prisoner earlier in the year. Other problems reported during this period included a high incidence of skin ailments in Port-de-Paix prison thought to have been caused or exacerbated by a shortage of water for bathing, and in Jacmel, 30 cases of conjunctivitis were reported. Malnutrition was given in prison records as one of the causes of the 6 November death of an inmate in Jacmel prison. Few medical supplies were available at Hinche and Mirebalais prisons. Steps were taken to improve medical care in Fort Liberté prison after MICIVIH wrote a letter to the prison authorities in October to raise concerns about the medical situation of a number of detainees and the protracted absence of the prison nurse and inspector.

Some of the medical problems appear to be related to poor prison sanitary conditions and erratic food supplies particularly as the prison population has grown. Poor management by prison inspectors has sometimes been the cause of food shortages, also a protracted centralised food requisition process appears to have resulted in long delays in releasing money for food supplies. For example, Port-de-Paix prison had no food stocks on 27 November. There were improvements in some prisons: detainees in Cap Haïtien started receiving two meals a day in November. Observers in Fort Liberté also noted that the provision of food improved following the appointment of a new prison inspector in November. Security concerns also led to detainees in Les Cayes and other prisons being held for long periods in dirty, crowded cells with restricted access to fresh air, exercise and even sometimes toilet facilities, although conditions in Les Cayes were eased slightly when the prison population dropped from 145 in October to 103 in December, following the transfer of sentenced prisoners to Port-au-Prince.

Prison/judicial relations

MICIVIH questioned the legality of the arrest of the supervisor of Jérémie prison on 4 December, who was placed in custody by the state prosecutor on charges of complicity in the escape of 21 inmates of Jérémie prison on 25 November. The escapees killed a fellow inmate, shot and wounded a detained prison guard and injured three of the guards who were on duty. The Director of Prison Administration carried out an in-situ investigation on 27-28 November, placing three guards in disciplinary detention for negligence, and having a fourth, who objected to the measures, placed in police custody. He did not discipline the prison supervisor, because he was not present at the time of the escape. The state prosecutor subsequently questioned the supervisor on 4 December about his alleged laxity in the enforcement of discipline and security, ordered his arrest and also transferred the fourth guard from police custody to disciplinary detention at the prison with the other three. By the end of December, the supervisor had been released and returned to work, while three of the guards were still in disciplinary detention. It should be noted that the prison had been extremely understaffed during the weeks prior to the breakout, rarely having more than three guards on duty at any time. The Jérémie police helped guard the prison in the immediate aftermath of the escape. Six additional DAP guards were finally transferred to Jérémie at the end of December.

International Day of the Detainee (25 October)

In the context of International Day of the Detainee, a number of activities were organised by NGOs, some with MICIVIH support. For example, the organisation Coalition Haïtienne pour la Défense des Droits de l'Enfant (COHADDE) organised, at MICIVIH's headquarters, a conference for prison and judicial officials on the subject of conditions of detention for minors, and the speeding up of judicial proceedings in such cases. Other activities were organised inside prisons.

Training for prison guards

A training programme was developed this year for newly-recruited prison guards. The sessions began in August, and by the end of the year, a substantial percentage of the new DAP guard recruits had been trained, and many of them deployed, to the National Penitentiary, Pétionville and Gonaïves prisons. A module on human rights given by MICIVIH was incorporated into the training from the second batch onwards. In addition, training of (existing) prison record clerks (greffiers) began. By December 1998, all clerks working in Port-au-Prince prisons, as well as those from Jérémie, Les Cayes, Aquin, Petit Goâve, Jacmel and St Marc had completed training in the manual for prison record clerks. The manual sets out directives concerning upkeep of prison registries. The aim of the three-week training sessions is to improve and systematise record-keeping in prisons throughout the country. The training was organised as part of the UNDP-DAP prison reform programme.

Prison monitoring

As part of it's capacity-building work, MICIVIH has been supporting the creation of a network of inter-NGO committees to monitor the human rights situation in prisons and police stations. MICIVIH held training sessions on 11 and 18 November for the committee in Gonaïves. Participants studied the police custody detention register and conducted interviews with detainees at the Gonaïves commissariat. On 16 December, the group visited Gonaïves prison, interviewing a dozen detainees. Similar prison visits and training seminars were organised for such groups in Fort Liberté, Hinche and Mirebalais. All visits to prisons and police stations take place with the collaboration of the police and prison authorities.

OFFICE DU PROTECTEUR DU CITOYEN

Two MICIVIH consultants provided assistance to the Ombudsman's Office during this period. One of them completed a five-month visit in December during which he focussed mainly on the administrative and financial aspects of the office. He assisted in the preparation of a detailed programme of activities and a budget plan for 1998/9, and of a five-year plan identifying objectives and financial needs. Since its installation in 1997, the Ombudsman's Office had suffered serious financial problems which have prevented it from fulfilling its mandate. One of the main short-term objectives of the Office, financial resources permitting, is to open offices throughout the country. The second MICIVIH consultant was recruited to assist in the development of reports.

LOCAL AUTHORITIES

Abuses by aides de CASEC

CASEC members or aides de CASEC were cited as being responsible for beating detainees in Bellevue (West) Thomassique, Thomonde and Hinche (Centre) during this period. In the latter case, police eventually arrested the CASEC members responsible, who were released after an out-of-court financial settlement was reached between them and the victim.

Incidents related to locally-elected officials

There were several reports of Assemblées Municipales beginning to exercise their powers or assume powers not necessarily envisaged by the Constitution. In La Vallée (Sud-Est), the Assemblée Municipale reportedly appointed two Fanmi Lavalas members to replace the two deputy mayors who had resigned. In Bainet (Sud-Est), the Assemblée Municipale assumed the prerogative of naming a new juge de paix suppléant but reportedly failed to do so because of an internal dispute. In Moron (Grand'Anse), the Assemblée Municipale boarded up the Town Hall at the start of December accusing the Mayor of embezzling state funds. Police reopened the building on the night of 8 December after the failure of an attempt by the Délégué to mediate between the Mayor's supporters and those supporting the Assemblée. Some 300 people closed down the Town Hall in Savanette (Centre) on 30 October, accusing the mayor of misusing funds and threatening police who tried to control the crowd. The Town Hall was reopened after 24 hours. The mayor of Pestel was detained at the end of October, accused of illegal arms possession and attempted murder.

POPULAR "JUSTICE" KILLINGS

According to statistics gathered during 1998, there were 51 reported incidents of popular "justice" as a result of which some 90 people were killed by crowds. The statistics show a sharp drop compared to 1997, when 88 incidents were reported and 152 victims. There were 23 victims of such killings, mainly suspect thieves, between October and December. Three occurred in the department of the South, four in the Centre, three in the North-West, one in the Artibonite and 12 in the Metropolitan area. Brigades de vigilance were reportedly responsible for two of the killings in the South, one in the North-West and ten in Port-au-Prince, suggesting a revival of such groups. Activities attributed to brigades de vigilance had dropped considerably as the HNP became established as a police force, although killings by local populations continued. Eight members of a brigade from the Fort St Clair district of Port-au-Prince were reportedly arrested in October but released shortly afterwards. Local residents said they were concerned about the activities of the brigade, which was said to number about 50, and which was reportedly responsible for three killings in November.

MINORS

In the course of this three-month period there were a number of initiatives to address the issue of minors. Of particular importance was a two-day symposium on a draft Code de l'Enfant organised, on 8/9 December, by the Ministry of Social Affairs, with the support of UNICEF. The Code has been put together with a view to increasing protection of minors, including those in detention or subjected to judicial proceedings. Workshops took place on various topics linked to the code, including juvenile justice, and the draft will be reviewed in the light of comments and observations made during the seminar before being presented, eventually, to Parliament. MICIVIH's Deputy Executive Director made a presentation at the conference, which in addition to providing comments on the draft, noted that as of 30 November 1998, there were 118 minors detained in prison throughout the country, 105 of them male, 13 female (some were later released: see Pre-trial detention above). Only 14 minors had been convicted. In Fort National prison in Port-au-Prince, 29 of the minors held at the time were between the age of 10 and 13 years old. (The age of criminal responsibility in Haiti is 16, though in certain cases it is 13.) One particular case of concern raised in the document was that of a 14-year-old girl detained in Cap Haïtien since November who was clearly in poor health, as well as being pregnant reportedly as a result of a rape. On 14 December, the girl had to be transferred to hospital after a serious deterioration of her health.

The issue of the rights of minors, particularly those in detention, has long been one of MICIVIH's main concerns. It has raised numerous cases of irregularities with authorities at a local level throughout the country, urging judges and police to expedite proceedings and also to ensure that minors are given special protection from abuse. For example, the Mission intervened repeatedly on behalf of two minors held on petty theft charges since February in Gonaïves. They were finally released on 21 October. A 12-year-old youth arrested in Jérémie 4 November was released on 18 December for lack of evidence. The Mission has also sought to raise greater awareness of the issue, particularly with regard to the need of the establishment of special legislation, courts and detention centres for minors. Two MICIVIH consultants prepared papers on the rights of women and minors in detention in July 1997 with proposals which were presented to the Government. In December 1998, they returned to Haiti to follow up their work, including meetings with ministerial and judicial officials, and participated in the two-day conference mentioned above.

A number of activities were organised in connection with International Day of the Child (20 November). Of particular note was an initiative by the judge responsible for the dossiers of minors in Cap Haïtien, who organised a day of reflection attended by local authorities, NGOs working with minors and the state prosecutor, as well as MICIVIH. The judge put forward proposals for an inter-institutional platform to deal with issues related to minors, the building of a centre d'accueil for minors and specialised training for justices of the peace and prison guards. A round-table conference was organised on 20 November by the Ecole de la Magistrature on "La justice des mineurs et les structures d'accompagnement en Haïti" attended by police, judicial and prison authorities as well as NGOs, MICIVIH, UNICEF and others. It was followed by an afternoon of theatre, video and other activities led by children. At MICIVIH's suggestion, the state prosecutor for Port-au-Prince visited minors detained at Fort National prison and interviewed detainees whose cases were before the parquet, who promised to release those held on minor offences before Christmas (20 minors were released in December - see Pre-trial detention).

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS⁽⁶⁾

The 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the occasion for an intense programme of activities organised by MICIVIH and many other organisations, some over a period of months, which culminated on International Human Rights Day, 10 December. While the anniversary marked the importance and achievements of the Declaration, it was also the occasion to note how much progress still needs to be made before respect for basic human rights can be achieved in many parts of the world.

In addition to holding many debates, speeches, theatre, dance and radio programmes, film showings and seminars throughout Haiti, MICIVIH organised Parcours, an exhibition about the history of the UDHR and the struggle for human rights in Haiti, together with illustrations representing the 30 articles. It travelled around the nine departments and then opened at the Institut Français in Port-au-Prince in the presence of the Minister of Education and the Ambassador of France on 10 December. Also featured in the exhibition were the winning entries in a painting competition to illustrate five human rights themes which had been organised in some 11,000 schools by UNESCO and MICIVIH with the Ministry of Education. A total of 65,000 posters of the winning entries were printed. Thousands of documents and leaflets related to the UDHR were produced for distribution, including 100,000 copies of the UDHR in Creole and French throughout the year. An exhibition of paintings by Haitian artists related to the themes of the 30 articles was also organised jointly by MICIVIH and MUPANAH (the Musée du Panthéon National d'Haiti) and opened in Port-au-Prince in the presence of the Minister of Justice on 10 December.

Book collections (Fonds "droits de l'homme") were presented to 25 municipal and university libraries in each of the nine provinces. They contained a range of publications on human rights by MICIVIH, UN agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Haitian human rights organisations. More generalist libraries also received a selection of novels having a theme linked to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

Also in the context of the 50th anniversary of the UDHR, OPDAT, the Ministry of Justice and AFPEC (Académie de Formation et de Perfectionnement des Cadres) organised days of reflection in St Marc, Gonaïves, Cap Haïtien, Les Cayes, Jacmel and Petit Goâve at which participants, including MICIVIH, analysed the role of police, the prison and judicial system, the press and civil society in the protection of human rights as well as the need for Haitian organisations to take on the work currently carried out by MICIVIH. In some places, agreement was reached to set up human rights committees.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

UNIFEM's campaign for a world free of violence, launched on 8 September and culminating on 25 November, International Day against Violence against Women, was a focal point in Haiti for many activities on the issue of women's rights. MICIVIH, UN agencies, the Ministère à la Condition Féminine and local women's and human rights organisations organised massive distributions of posters, stickers and leaflets, as well as radio, TV spots and programmes, debates and seminars to raise awareness of these issues. A typical event was organised in Jérémie, where 100 people attended a debate about violence against women staged jointly by the local offices of MICIVIH and the Ministry for Women's Affairs in the town hall on the evening of 25 November. MICIVIH also arranged for three policewomen, a police inspector, an examining magistrate and the state prosecutor to take part in a meeting on the same subject in Jérémie by the Kowoperativ Respekte Fanm. They gave the 120 participants a detailed explanation of all the steps that should be taken in cases of violence against women, especially rape.

Prepared by the Coordination, Analysis and Reports Unit (CARU)

OAS/UN International Civilian Mission in Haiti Misyon Sivil Entènasyonal ann Ayiti OEA/ONU

Boîte Postale 1602, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

(509) 49-6152, 49-6155, 49-6812, 49-6817 or (212) 963-9921

1. Some 40 people reported being beaten or roughed up during a violent UDMO operation in Plaisance (North), and a large number of other individuals claimed to have been subjected to similar treatment in St Michel de l'Attalaye (Artibonite) during another UDMO operation (see section on police/community relations below).

2. Siméus Saintfort was the 14th police agent to be killed in 1998. A total of 47 HNP agents and one HNP civilian employee have been killed since the creation of the HNP force, 12 in 1996, 21 police agents (including 1 USP and 1 USGPN) and one civilian employee of the HNP in 1997, and 14 in 1998 (including 1 USP and 1 USGPN and 2 HNP assigned to the CSM). Seven were killed by other HNP agents either on- or off-duty. Most of the victims were off-duty and in civilian clothing at the time of their death. While most of the them were shot dead, three police agents were lynched, all of them in 1998. All but 11 of the killings occurred in Port-au-Prince.

3. See also section on Minors.

4. An aide-memoire outlining these cases had been submitted to the Ministry of Justice in July 1998 and was reviewed by MICIVIH in December to assess progress. Seven detainees had been provisionally released since July.

5. See also Minors

6. See January edition of Le Courrier de la MICIVIH for more information about activities which took place.