Case Studies
Overview Plan for Restoration of the Prison Civile de Port-au-Prince Haitian Prison Authority 1/27/2010* (Updated information 6/28/2012)
The purpose in January 2010 was to describe post-earthquake conditions at the Prison Civile de Port-au-Prince (PC), which was housing 4,367 prisoners at the time of a severe earthquake. Prisoners rioted and breached the secure perimeter, escaping into the city at a time of crisis and disorder. The facilities at the prison were so damaged that inmates could not be housed there until reconstruction occurred. The central housing unit has been restored, and now houses 700 Haitian prisoners. Humanitarian conditions are improved since the earthquake, but there are concerns for the sustainability of the changes.
Policy and Research Papers
Report on Judicial Systems in the Americas 2006-2007. Background information on the Haiti judicial system
This chapter provides background information on the Haiti judicial system. It is based on the Introduction to the Caribbean Community contained in this report; the Report on Judicial Systems in the Americas 2004-2005; the report “Haiti: Failed Justice or the Rule of Law? Challenges Ahead for Haiti and the International Community” (2006), Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2005, published by the U.S. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; the World Bank report “Doing Business” (2006); and data gathered via Internet.
Réforme Carcérale & Droits des personnes incarcérées
Le présent document est le résultat d’une étude réalisée à la prison civile de Pétion-Ville, la seule prison du pays à être strictement réservée aux femmes et aux filles en conflit avec la Loi. Cette étude, menée au cours de la période allant de février à mai 2009, répond à une nécessité de prise en charge effective des personnes incarcérées dans la mesure où les conditions de détention sont, en Haïti, inhumaines et dégradantes. Elle reflète, sur une échelle moindre, la réalité de la vie carcérale haïtienne. Le document qui en découle se veut un instrument de sensibilisation en vue de porter les responsables de l’Etat à adresser, de manière objective, les différents problèmes structurels de l’administration pénitentiaire car jusque-là, les différentes mesures prises par les autorités pour convertir l’administration pénitentiaire en une structure civile et de séparer les hommes des femmes ne se sont pas avérées suffisantes pour déboucher sur une réforme effective du système carcéral haïtien, objet de grandes préoccupations.
Haitian National Police Reform Plan
The Reform Plan for the HNP builds on earlier work to provide a comprehensive strategic management plan for the reform and development of the HNP while responding to the requests from the Security Council, including: the anticipated size of the HNP; the standards of quality which HNP officers are to meet; an implementation timetable; and specification of the resources required for its implementation.
Haiti: Justice Reform and the Security Crisis
The dysfunctional state of Haiti’s justice system has impeded implementation of democratic reforms since the collapse of the Duvalier dictatorship. In spite of robust international efforts for six years following Aristide’s 1994 restoration, little lasting progress has been made, and there has even been regression in some areas. The lack of political will of successive Haitian governments has been the major factor but donor approaches have also suffered from flawed methodology.
Haiti: Overview of police reform efforts; the effectiveness of the police; existence of a police complaints authority and recourse available to ind...
The Haitian National Police (Police nationale d'Haiti, PNH) is the sole domestic security force in Haiti (AFP 28 Jan. 2010; National Post 10 Jan. 2009). It was created in June 1995 to replace the former Haitian army . According to the PNH's website, the police force is divided into three central directorates, which respectively deal with public security, crime prevention and administration. This organizational structure is repeated in the ten regional directorates responsible for order and public security in each of the country's regional administrative departments.
Rule of Law Technical Assistance in Haiti. Lessons Learned
Strengthening the rule of law in Haiti poses a major challenge to both the Haitian Government and several donors. For the Government the challenge is to ensure that the opportunity presented by the return to constitutional order in 1994 is used to construct new and reformed rule-of-law institutions against a background of decades of repression and systematic human rights violations. For donors, the challenge since 1994 has been how to advance a reform process in a political environment not conducive to change and characterized by protracted political crisis and paralysis.
Haiti. Stabilisation and Reconstruction after the Quake
The earthquake that hit Haiti was the deadliest natural disaster ever in the Western Hemisphere. It caused enormous human suffering and physical destruction, the extent and impact of which were multiplied by the country’s longstanding structural problems, such as pervasive poverty, urban overcrowding, unplanned urbanisation and environmental degradation. A long history of corrupt and inefficient governments, centralised political power, extremely inequitable income distribution and by no means always benign foreign interventions has been immensely compounded by the natural disaster. The consequences threaten to undermine the slight progress toward stability and development that had been made since President René Préval took office in 2006.
Building the Rule of Law in Haiti: New Laws for a New Era
USIP has been working with lawmakers and other reform constituencies in Haiti as they strive to reform Haiti’s criminal laws that date back to the early 19th century. In March
2009, USIP commissioned two reports that were written by Louis Aucoin, a professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and Hans Joerg Albrecht, the director of the Max Planck Institute of Foreign and International Criminal Law. At the request of Haitian lawmakers, USIP has also provided copies of the Model Codes for Post-Conflict Criminal Justice, a law reform tool developed by USIP’s Rule of Law Program to assist in the drafting of new laws.
CIGI SSR Monitor. Haiti NO. 1
When the new constitution came into effect in 1987, the Haitian security and justice sector was weak and fractured. The army was intent on playing an internal policing role, the judicial system was corrupt and ineffective, and the local and national governance institutions were incapable of asserting democratic civilian control of the sector.
CIGI SSr Monitor. Haiti No. 2
This edition a CIGI SSR Monitor dedicates particular attention to issues related to penal reform and the overarching issue of corruption in the security sector.
CIGI SSR Monitor. Haiti No. 3
This issue of the CIGI Security Sector Reform Monitor: Haiti analyses the programming shift undertaken by MINUSTAH and some donors from a traditional DDR to
a violence reduction approach, underlining the problems of coordination and knowledge sharing that emerged.
CIGI SSR Monitor. Haiti No. 4
This edition of the Security Sector Reform Monitor: Haiti, written before the January 12, 2010 earthquake, examines issues surrounding the renewal of the UN mission, the
recommendations on the security apparatus put forth by the two presidential commissions and existing security threats. While some priorities of the SSR process will
change dramatically in the wake of the earthquake—with a significant portion of the security infrastructure devastated and the police thrust into the role of relief facilitators—
many of the existing challenges will remain the same, only amplified.
MINUSTAH: DDR and Police, Judicial and Correctional Reform in Haiti. Recommendations for change
This paper sets out five recommendations for change of United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti’s (MINUSTAH) mandate on 15 August 2006. In addition it sets out
recommendations for disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR), and police, judicial and correctional reform that can be realised under the current mandate. These recommendations reflect the current situation in Haiti and are based on an analysis of what is feasible and can be realistically implemented given the existing circumstances. The paper highlights changes that are necessary in the immediate future to enhance DDR, police, judicial and correctional reform so as to ensure human security, local ownership, security and stability in Haiti. DDR and rule of law are critical to ensure sustainable peace, therefore these must receive a strengthened and renewed focus from MINUSTAH and the new Haitian government. The international community and the Haitian government should take advantage of the current window of opportunity to promote sustainable reform and reduction of violence in the Haitian context.
Plan d’action pour le relèvement et le développement d’Haiti. Les grands chantiers pour l’avenir
Le Plan d’action pour le Relèvement et le Développement d’Haïti que nous présentons à nos partenaires de la communauté internationale constitue l’expression des besoins à satisfaire pour que le séisme, qui a si cruellement frappé notre pays, devienne une fenêtre d’opportunité pour, selon l’expression du Chef de l’État, une refondation d’Haïti économique, sociale et sécuritaire.
Haiti: Failed Justice or the Rule of Law? Challenges Ahead for Haiti and the International Community
The report provides a detailed analysis of three key aspects of administration of justice in the country: law enforcement and the Haitian National Police; the judiciary; and the system of detention facilities and prisons. As part of this analysis, the Commission addresses the particular problem of impunity and lack of public confidence in the justice system as well as the involvement of the international community in Haiti.
Observations of the Inter-American Commission on Human rights Upon conclusion of Its April 2007 Visit to Haiti
The objectives of the visit included receiving information on the present situation of human rights in Haiti, particularly in light of the first year in office of the Preval government; to conduct follow-up observations and discussions with Haitian authorities on the situation of the administration of justice; to specifically assess the situation of women and children, namely collect information on the forms of discrimination and violence against this group and the state response; and to engage in additional promotional activities on the Inter-American system of human rights.
Audit of USAID Haiti’s Justice Program
While the justice program has not yet produced measurable improvements in the efficiency or effectiveness of Haiti’s court system, USAID’s contractor has helped lay a basis for future progress in these areas. We were unable to fully determine whether planned results were achieved because USAID/Haiti established baselines and targets to measure only one of its two performance indicators for its justice program activities.
Examination of Legal Aid in Haiti - Lessons Learned
Between 2 and 18 February 2017 a joint team from the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (MINUSTAH and the Justice and Corrections Service) and the USAID Justice Sector Strengthening Program (JSSP), supported by DCAF’s International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT) and the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) undertook a mission to Haiti that examined the MINUSTAH-supported Legal Aid Office (Bureau d’Assistance Légale - BAL) of Port-au-Prince (2012-2017), Cap-Haïtien and Les Cayes (2015-2016), legal aid projects implemented by PROJUSTICE/USAID, and Government-supported BAL established between 2015 and 2017.
The mission report is available in English and French.
Haiti - Prison Reform and the Rule of Law
What risk does prison overcrowding, understaffing and insecurity pose for wider security and justice sector reform efforts in Haiti? This policy briefing from the International Crisis Group examines the problems facing the Haitian prison system. It argues that extreme prison overcrowding threatens Haiti’s security and stability. The most urgent need is to relieve existing prisons by using other space temporarily, while supporting the detention commission in accelerating treatment of pre-trial cases. These measures must be accompanied by construction to meet prison requirements for a generation.
Other Documents
UNDPKO SSR Newsletter no. 17, January - March 2013
The SSR Newsletter provides an update on recent activities of the UNDPKO's SSR Unit, gives an overview of upcoming initiatives and shares relevant information and announcements with the greater SSR community.
In this issue:
- Adoption of African Union Policy Framework on SSR
- Spotlight on a Mission: UNSMIL
- SSR Guidance Launched in Geneva
- Peacekeeping & Human Rights Conference
- Advanced Training on SSR in Sarajevo
- SSR Unit Support Visit to Côte d'Ivoire
- Induction Workshop for SSR Experts in Geneva
- Rule of Law Conference in Haiti
- About the SSR Newsletter