Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti

April 18, 2018 |Press Release Nearly 100 Members of Congress Seek Answers from U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Immigration Program Washington, DC—Nearly 100 Members of Congress have written the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) demanding answers on how the agency is administering the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program.  The letter, led by Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), presses Secretary Nielsen on recent TPS decisions affecting thousands of immigrants from Sudan, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti and Syria.  Signed by 80 Representatives and 17 Senators, the letter argues that the agency has failed to adequately justify ending TPS status for many covered countries and, in many cases, has also failed to make decisions in a timely, transparent manner, creating fear and uncertainty among immigrant communities.   “The Trump Administration’s capricious and arbitrary rulings affecting […]

IJDH’s relentless advocacy for cholera justice led the United States Congress to include $10 million to fund cholera elimination in the Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations bill despite President Trump’s opposition. Teaming up with Haitian diaspora organizations and members of Congress, IJDH was able to secure this money for the United Nations New Approach to cholera in Haiti. This is not a complete victory for cholera justice, but it is a step forward that will save lives. We now call on the UN to immediately keep its promise to consult with the victims of cholera to determine how best to invest the funds. BAI and IJDH Lead Denunciation of Human Rights Violators in Army High Command BAI and IJDH responded to the naming of army officers implicated in the 1994 Raboteau Massacre to the High Command of the newly reconstituted Haitian […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 28, 2018                                                 For More Information Contact: Joyce Jones Communications Director 202-225-4506 (office) | 202-578-0634 (mobile) Congressional Lawmakers Join Forces to Secure $10 Million in FY2018 Omnibus Bill to Address Haiti’s Cholera Epidemic Washington, D.C. – In the current political climate, Democrats and Republicans don’t often agree on much, but in a rare act of bipartisanship, Congress has passed an omnibus package that rejected many of the White House’s harsh budget cuts. The legislation, signed by President Donald Trump before lawmakers left Washington for a two-week recess, included $10 million to help Haiti combat cholera. In 2010, United Nations peacekeepers contaminated Haiti’s largest river, which led to a cholera outbreak that infected hundreds of thousands […]

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WE HAVE RIGHTS: Inside Our Homes from MediaTank on Vimeo. All the four vdieos are in seven languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Russian, Haitian Creole and Urdu. WHEN ICE IS OUTSIDE OUR DOOR ENGLISH – bit.ly/WHREng1 SPANISH – bit.ly/WHRSP1 ARABIC – https://vimeo.com/261334720 CREOLE – https://vimeo.com/261288865 MANDARIN – https://vimeo.com/261299828 RUSSIAN – https://vimeo.com/261312821 URDU – https://vimeo.com/261463891 WHEN ICE IS INSIDE OUR HOMES ENGLISH – bit.ly/WHREng2 SPANISH – bit.ly/WHRSP2 ARABIC – https://vimeo.com/261344311 CREOLE – https://vimeo.com/261290778 MANDARIN – https://vimeo.com/261307038 RUSSIAN – https://vimeo.com/261316844 URDU – https://vimeo.com/261465611 IN OUR COMMUNITIES, IN OUR STREETS ENGLISH – bit.ly/WHREng3 SPANISH – bit.ly/WHRSP3 ARABIC – https://vimeo.com/261349530 CREOLE – https://vimeo.com/261292780 MANDARIN – https://vimeo.com/261303755 RUSSIAN – https://vimeo.com/261321245 URDU – https://vimeo.com/261467745 IF ICE ARRESTS US ENGLISH – bit.ly/WHREng4 SPANISH – bit.ly/WHRSP4 ARABIC – https://vimeo.com/261351959 CREOLE – https://vimeo.com/261295906 MANDARIN – https://vimeo.com/261305471 RUSSIAN – https://vimeo.com/261324397 URDU – https://vimeo.com/261469405     #WE HAVE RIGHTS

On Tuesday, April 3 rd 2018 Harvard Medical School will screen “It Stays With You: Use of Force by UN Peacekeepers in Haiti.” The screening will be followed by a panel discussion led by the film’s producers Cahal McLaughlin and Siobhán Willis as well as human rights attorney Sandra Wisner, Dr. Louise Ivers and Nadia Raymondto discuss human rights abuses committed by United Nations peacekeepers against people of Cité Soleil from 2005-2007 as well as the work of Haitian and international human rights organizations in holding the UN accountable for its role in Haiti’s cholera epidemic that has so far killed 10,000 Haitians and sickened nearly a million more. See flyer below for more details. Get directions HERE.

IJDH Development and Communications Internship Summer 2018 About Us     IJDH has successfully helped Haitians enforce their human rights since 2004. The Institute partners with BAI to support grassroots struggles for justice in Haiti and in the powerful countries abroad where decisions about Haitians’ rights are often made. IJDH and BAI combine traditional legal strategies with organizing, emerging technology and public advocacy to address the root causes of instability and poverty in Haiti. We fight for justice with legal work, but also with creativity, humility, inspiration and humor, and a supportive work culture. We effect broad changes with modest resources by nurturing large advocacy networks. IJDH is looking for Communications and Development interns to join its Boston office. The position is ideal for an undergraduate or graduate student interested in global human rights advocacy and in development and financial strategies […]

  TOWARDS A MORE ACCOUNTABLE HUMANITARIAN SECTOR March 21, 2018 The Oxfam sex abuse scandal in Haiti is just the tip of the iceberg of unaccountable humanitarian action, and demonstrates the urgent need for improved accountability across the humanitarian aid sector. Sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) is prevalent in the aid community: one report found that 23 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Haiti have had a sexual exploitation problem. Like Oxfam, NGOs often do not treat staff SEA as a legal matter or provide remedies to the victims.  Legal obligations exist, but NGOs ignore them. As with SEA, other accountability failures create anger and tension with local communities, and undermine humanitarian actors’ effectiveness. These include failures in aid delivery, sustainability of development projects and, in the case of the United Nations in Haiti, immunity that results in impunity for recklessly introducing […]

BUREAU DES AVOCATS INTERNATIONAUX 3, 2ème rue Lavaud B.P. 19048 Port-au-Prince, Haiti 509 2943 2106 / 07 Fax 2244-7986 Email:  avokahaiti@aol.com                                                                        Port-au-Prince, le 14 mars 2018 Le BAI Dénonce la Nomination d’un Ex-Tortionnaire du coup d’état sanglant du 30 septembre 1991 au soi-disant Haut Etat-Major des Forces Armées d’Haïti Dowloand the English version of this press release HERE. Note de Presse Le Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), dans sa mission première de défendre les droits des plus démunis, les droits inaliénables, imprescriptibles et inhérents à la personne humaine, en particulier ceux des victimes du terrorisme d’Etat, du choléra  importé par la Mission des Nations Unies […]

For Immediate Release (EMBARGOED UNTIL 3-15-2018)  March 14, 2018 What: Press Conference at FANM on Filing of Haiti TPS Lawsuit Who: Lawyers, TPS Recipients, and Community Leaders Time: March 15, 2018 at 2:00 PM Location:  FANM, 100 N.E. 84 Street, Miami,  Florida , 33138 Contact:  Marleine Bastien, Executive Director, FANM, 305 756-8050 Sejal Zota, NIPNLG, (919) 698-5015 Ira Kurzban, (305) 444-0060 Steven Forester, Immigration Policy Coordinator, IJDH, 786 877 6999 Clarel Cyriaque, Esq., 305 797-0141 New Suit Alleges Unlawful Conduct by Trump Administration Officials, Seeks Injunctive Relief to Prevent Deportation of Over 50,000 Haitian TPS Recipients   The Administration’s Decision to Terminate Program Exposes Complete Lack of Knowledge of Immigration Law Resulting in Violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, Plaintiffs’ 5th Amendment Rights and Regulatory Flexibility Act   A new suit filed this morning in the Eastern District of New York alleges violations of law and the Constitution by Trump administration officials […]

Hello friends! These are trying times.  And, laughter is the best form of resistance! Your Team here at IJDH is very excited to announce “A Stand up for Justice and Democracy in Haiti” with Haitian comedians J-L Cauvin , Tanael Joachim and Reg Thomas at Gotham Comedy Club in New York, on Wednesday, May 2, 2018.  All proceeds to benefit BAI/IJDH’s advocacy and legal work in Haiti! Spaces are limited and tickets are expected to sell out quickly!  Bring your family and friends! Where: Gotham Comedy Club, 208 West 23rd St. Between 7th and 8th Avenues, New York, NY 10011 When: Wednesday, May 2, 2018 8:00 PM (Doors open at 7:15 PM) Ticket Price: $30.00 Restrictions: 18 & over Buy your ticket(s) today at:  Gotham Comedy! Ann Ri Pou Jistis! Let’s Laugh for Justice!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Mario Joseph, Av., Managing Attorney, Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), Mario@ijdh.org, +509 3701-9879 (Haïti) (English, French, Kreyòl) Brian Concannon, Esq., Executive Director, Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), Brian@ijdh.org, +1 541-263-0029 (Boston, USA) (English, French, Kreyòl) The UN and Haiti Government Square Off in Impunity Championship, Haiti’s Poor Pay the Price See the French version of this Press Release HERE. Port-au-Prince, March 5, 2018 – The Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) and the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), who represent the victims of cholera imported by the United Nations Mission Stabilization in Haiti (MINUSTAH), urge the Haitian government and the United Nations (UN) to set aside their diplomatic games in order to meet their legal obligations and respect the rights of the Haitian people, especially cholera victims. Attorney Mario Joseph of […]

POUR DIFFUSION IMMÉDIATE  Contact PRESSE: Mario Joseph, Av., Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), Mario@ijdh.org, +509 3701-9879 (Haïti) (anglais, français, kreyòl) Brian Concannon, Esq. Institut pour la Justice et la Démocratie en Haïti (IJDH), Brian@ijdh.org, +1 541-263-0029 (Boston, USA) (anglais, français, kreyòl) L’ONU et L’État Haïtien Jouent la Finale du Championnat de l’Impunité, les Pauvres d’Haïti Paient Les Frais  Veillez lire la version farnçaise de cette note de presse ici. Port-au-Prince, le 5 mars, 2018 – Le Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) et l’Institut pour la Justice et la Démocratie en Haïti (IJDH), qui représentent les victimes du choléra importé par la Mission des Nations Unies pour la Stabilisation en Haïti (MINUSTAH), exhortent le gouvernement haïtien et l’Organisation des Nations Unies (ONU) à mettre de côté leurs chantages diplomatiques pour pouvoir répondre aux besoins du peuple haïtien, particulièrement les victimes de […]

  BAI and IJDH Continue to Fight for the Dignity of the Haitian People in Haiti and in the U.S. Last month, the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) joined the Haitian community in the United States and in Haiti in denouncing President Trump‘s disparaging remarks about Haiti, El Salvador, and all African countries. IJDH’s Brian Concannon told a crowd at a rally in Boston that, “President Trump’s remarks about Haiti are false. They are an affront to the dignity of the Haitian people and the American people.” Meanwhile in Haiti, the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI)’s Managing Attorney Mario Joseph decried the president’s comment while attending a grassroots activist’s protest at the U.S. Embassy in Port-Au-Prince. “On many occasions in the past we have been victims of imperialist countries, particularly the United States,” said Joseph rebuking Trump’s vulgar comments […]

This article was originally published by Yale Law School Sienna Merope-Synge, a Staff Attorney at the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), spoke on February 12 about her organization’s fight to secure adequate remedies for victims of the U.N.’s introduction of a 2010 cholera epidemic in Haiti. The talk was co-sponsored by the Schell Center, the Global Health Justice Partnership (GHJP), and the American Constitution Society. Merope-Synge began by explaining that many viewed this cholera outbreak-the first in Haiti’s history—as a humanitarian crisis, not a legal one. But as it became clear that the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti had caused the crisis by dumping contaminated waste into local rivers, people began coming to IJDH’s offices and ask whether there was something the law could do to address the situation. IJDH had to work creatively, since the U.N. has […]

By Sienna Merope-Synge Sienna Merope-Synge is a Staff Attorney at the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti This article was originally published by Al Jazeera The backlash against Oxfam continues to grow, but the scandal is just the tip of the iceberg of unaccountable “humanitarian” action in Haiti. In the wake of revelations that its staff solicited prostitutes in post-earthquake Haiti, Oxfam has pointed to an internal investigation that led to senior employees resigning or being fired, and released a new 10-point plan to eradicate sexual abuse. But what is striking is that the charity never treated its staff’s abuses as a legal matter. Let’s be clear: this behaviour wasn’t just unacceptable, it was unlawful. Prostitution is illegal under Haitian law and if minors were involved, this was also statutory rape. The behaviour also constituted illegal child prostitution under […]

IJDH Development and Communications Internship Summer 2018 About Us     IJDH has successfully helped Haitians enforce their human rights since 2004. The Institute partners with BAI to support grassroots struggles for justice in Haiti and in the powerful countries abroad where decisions about Haitians’ rights are often made. IJDH and BAI combine traditional legal strategies with organizing, emerging technology and public advocacy to address the root causes of instability and poverty in Haiti. We fight for justice with legal work, but also with creativity, humility, inspiration and humor, and a supportive work culture. We effect broad changes with modest resources by nurturing large advocacy networks. IJDH is looking for Communications and Development interns to join its Boston office. The position is ideal for an undergraduate or graduate student interested in global human rights advocacy and in development and financial strategies […]

Hello Connecticut, Save the Date! Join IJDH’s Staff Attorney Sienna Merope-Synge at Yale Law School on Feb. 12, 2018 from 12:10pm-1:00pm, as she discusses the UN’s role in bringing cholera in Haiti and how they are holding the organization Accountable. Almost two years already passed since UN promised a New Approach to cholera in Haiti, it has not delivered on the promises it made to Haitian people. The victims of cholera are calling on the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to act to eliminate cholera and compensate the victims. #Time2Deliver Find more details about the event HERE. Sponsoring Organization(s) ACS, Schell Center, Global Health Justice Partnership (GHJP) Directions to Yale Law School could be found HERE.

Homophobia has long been a problem in Haiti, and staff at Kouraj (a LGBT rights organization focused on improving treatment towards LGBT people in Haiti) say it’s only gotten worse since the 2010 earthquake. Chachou Jean Francois, a transgender group leader and youth educator at Kouraj, is the arrival of foreign evangelicals imposing their views. After the 2010 earthquake, many of the organizations that rushed to Haiti to help were christian evangelical groups. It is   widely believed in Haiti’s LGBT community that Christian fundamentalism spread, along with anti-LGBT sentiment.   Read More HERE. Why it’s gotten harder for LGBT people in Haiti since the earthquake By Amy Bracken, February 6, 2018 The name of Haiti’s most prominent LGBT rights organization is Kouraj (Haitian Creole for courage) — with good reason. The group’s headquarters have moved three times after attacks. The current office is […]

The Foyer Notre Dame de la Nativite in Haiti has recently been the center of sexual abuse allegations. Ten U.S. Senators are pressuring the Haitian government into closing down the orphanage. Many children have tested positive for the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia and claim to have been victims of abuse. The director of the orphanage denies the claims and states that the children could have contracted the disease from their birth mothers or off of the premises. The Senate letter urges immediate shut down and relocation of children so that they are kept safe. Read More HERE. US senators seek to close Haiti orphanage amid abuse claims By Ben Fox | AP February 2 MIAMI — Ten members of the U.S. Senate have asked the State Department to pressure the Haitian government into closing an orphanage where several children being adopted by […]