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#747: FROM CIP: THE CONYERS REPORT (fwd)
From: Max Blanchet <MaxBlanchet@worldnet.att.net>
HAITI TRIP REPORT
September 10 - 12, 1999
Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Chairman
Rep. Tom Campbell
Rep. Donald Payne
Rep. Earl Hilliard
Del. Eni Faleomavaega
Del. Donna Christian-Christensen
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page #
Letters of Transmittal
Introduction 1
The Police
Background 2
Challenges Facing the Police 2
Attrition and Recruitment
Human Rights Abuses
The Police Role During Elections
Drugs
The International Presence 5
The UN/OAS Mission
U.S. Troop Withdrawal
Congressional Issues 6
Recommendations 6
The Judicial Branch
Background 6
The United States and the Haitian Judiciary 7
U.S. Administration of Justice Programs
The U.S. and the Question of Impunity
The Prison System 8
Congressional Issues 8
Recommendations 8
Elections
Background 9
New Elections
Election Issues 10
Voter Registration
Electoral Observation
Congressional Issues 11
Recommendations 12
Appendix A: Partial list of meetings 13
Appendix B: CODEL staff 14
INTRODUCTION
>From September 10th to September 12th, 1999, Congressman John Conyers,
Jr., the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, led a
bipartisan congressional delegation (CODEL) to Haiti. The delegation
focused on upcoming elections and issues relevant to their successful
undertaking such as international monitoring, the proper role of the
police and building confidence in the political process. It also looked
at the status of police training, the U.S. Department of Justice's role
in the establishment of an independent judiciary, and the efficacy of
anti-drug operations.
The members of the CODEL included:
Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Chairman (D-MI)
Rep. Tom Campbell (R-CA)
Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ)
Rep. Earl Hilliard (D-AL)
Del. Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS)
Del. Donna Christian-Christensen (D-VI)
In 1990, Jean Bertrand-Aristide was elected president in Haiti's first
legitimate, democratic elections. A year later he was overthrown in a
coup d'etat and a violent military regime took over, ruling by
repression and fear. In 1994, a United States-led multinational force
restored democracy to Haiti. Ever since then, Haiti has been grappling
with complicated economic, political and social questions necessary for
the consolidation of democracy. This report explores some of those
challenges and is meant to provide some useful observations.
In addition to having jurisdiction over operations of the Department of
Justice generally, the Judiciary Committee has explicit jurisdiction
over enforcement of federal drug statutes, administration of the federal
courts, treaties, conventions and other international agreements. It
also has jurisdiction over immigration and related issues.
The delegation objectives were:
?Evaluate progress of investigations into human rights violations and
the role of US assistance, particularly as it relates to the police. ?
Examine the impact of the withdrawal of the permanent U.S. military
presence. ?Determine the status of judicial reform and the efficacy of
US assistance. ?Observe preparations for the elections and make
judgements regarding the timetable, the technical steps necessary for
their undertaking, the ability of the police to maintain a secure
environment, and the role of international observers. ?Make observations
regarding the public's confidence in the electoral process, the
competence of electoral institutions, and the likelihood of broad civic
participation in the process.
Our findings and recommendations follow.
THE POLICE
Background
After the restoration of democracy to Haiti in 1994, the U.S. Department
of Justice's International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance
Program (ICITAP) established the Haiti Police Development Program. In
the first phase of this program, ICITAP trained 5200 members of the
Haitian National Police (HNP). By next year, ICITAP hopes to have
established permanent education programs allowing the HNP to become more
self-sufficient, institutionalized issues of integrity and civic duty,
and set guidelines for the formation of specialized units such as CIMO,
the riot control squad, and the BLTS, the counter-narcotics unit.
The delegation met with representatives of ICITAP, as well as OPDAT (the
Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance Program), the US
Department of Justice program responsible for judicial reform
assistance. Their budget for FY 1999 is $6.1 million.(1)
A number of things suggest that on the bureaucratic level, the police
will meet ICITAP's goals. For example, in the past seven months, three
classes have come through the police academy which were 100% trained by
Haitians with about 100 cadets in each class. Also, the fact that the
HNP developed their own annual budget this year for the first time is an
encouraging sign.
Challenges Facing the Police
The Haitian National Police, however, continue to face serious
challenges including (1) continued problems with excessive use of force,
human right abuses and mistreatment of prisoners; (2) drug trafficking
within the force; and (3) keeping the police politically neutral and
effectively engaged in providing security. Looming large in the
foreground of these questions is what the impact of the U.S. troop
withdrawal will be, the probable elimination of the police mentoring
mission (CIVPOL), and the scaling down of the UN/OAS civilian mission's
(MICIVIH) human rights monitoring work.
Attrition and Recruitment
In response to concerns raised earlier this year by the House
Appropriations Committee, the HNP in cooperation with ICITAP, conducted
a study on attrition which concluded that attrition was not as bad as it
seemed on the surface. According to this study, 1056 police left the
force voluntarily or involuntarily between 1995 and April 1999. The
overwhelming number of separations were dismissals: 602 police agents
and 230 civilian employees fired. The justifications for dismissal
ranged from corruption and alleged murder to poor punctuality. There is
also a serious attrition problem of another kind: 115 officers have been
killed since 1995.(2) As a consequence of the study, the HNP now
systematically utilizes exit interviews.
The CODEL was alarmed to hear drastically varying estimates of the
actual number of police active in the force. While the official figure
is 6500, several sources in Washington and Haiti assert that the actual
number is probably more in the range of 3500-4000. This is alarming for
a number of reasons: First of all, the need for police will be great in
the months leading up to elections. Second, a reduction in the actual
number of police could result in an over-reliance on elite forces, and
third, it places tremendous strain on the active duty officers who are
already expected to work unreasonably long weeks.
Human Rights Abuses
The human rights situation is a marked improvement from the years of the
de facto regime and abuses do not appear to have any kind of pattern.
The CODEL does however have serious concerns about the general conduct
of the police and certain incidents in particular.
A top priority of the delegation was investigating the involvement of
the HNP in the execution of eleven people on May 28, 1999 in the
neighborhood of Carrefour-Feuilles. Protests in the days following were
so violent that the Justice Minister and the Prime Minister had to flee
the funeral services for the victims. The Minister of Justice has
appointed a three judge panel to investigate the incident and six
members of the HNP are currently in jail.
The National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR) has complained that the
Minister should not have appointed the panel without the Inspector
General's report and is very concerned that the case will be mishandled.
MICIVIH has criticized handling of Carrefour-Feuilles, arguing that some
suspects are being held in isolement, an extra-constitutional and
arbitrarily-created form of detention where the suspects have not been
charged. It is also generally worried that the investigation is
proceeding very slowly. Robert Manuel, the Secretary of State for Public
Safety, personally promised Rep. Conyers progress on this investigation
and an update in the near future to be announced publicly.
Earlier in the day of May 28, riots erupted in Port-au-Prince when a
demonstration organized by a group of businesses and civil society
organizations speaking out for peaceful elections faced
counter-demonstrators throwing rocks. The demonstration's organizers
have charged that the behavior of the police exhibited a bias in favor
of the counter-demonstrators, while the counter-demonstrators dismiss
the allegations. The role of CIMO, the riot control unit formed in 1997
to handle such incidents, is at the center of some of the charges of
police misconduct. For example, last year CIMO was dispatched to the
town of Mirebalais and along with UDMO (the departmental crowd control
unit) and GIPNH (a SWAT team), shares responsibility for severe abuses
of a number of political activists. CIMO's accountability and public
perception could be improved vastly by changing its uniforms, which lack
badges. This measure, suggested by the U.S. Department of Justice last
year, has not been implemented.
In May and June, MICIVIH learned of 16 cases of people being killed by a
vigilante group. On May 13, an investigation team sent to Titanyen
discovered the bodies of two people who had been taken away from Bois
Neuf that morning by a group of people, two of them in police uniform.
Since then, a total of 14 bodies have been discovered in graves in the
area. Progress in this investigation has reportedly been extremely slow
as well and the delegation would like to get a status report soon.
In 1998, MICIVIH recorded 423 incidents of police brutality. Law
enforcement misconduct has inspired a popular campaign against the HNP
leadership. Local organizations, many of which appear to be aligned with
Fanmi Lavalas, have been demanding the resignation of the police
director, Pierre Denize and Bob Manuel, the Secretary of State for
Security.
There is an active collective of indigenous organizations that carry out
human rights activities, many of which the CODEL met with, but it is
clear that they operate at great personal risk. For example, on March 8,
Pierre Esperance, Director of the Haiti office of NCHR, was shot and
injured shortly after a threatening flyer was found near his office.
Some of these organizations, such as those encountered by delegation
staff in Gonaive, are awaiting certification as official NGO's from the
Haitian Ministry of Social Affairs. It is critical that such
bureaucratic obligations are undertaken so that these organizations are
able to fill any void left by a downgraded or nonexistent MICIVIH, which
has been pivotal in training these indigenous groups.
Police Role During the Elections
The police have thus far managed to keep their distance from politics, a
major step forward for a country with a deep history of the
politicization of law enforcement. This is a tremendous break from the
past, when law enforcement served as the long arm of executive power.
However, the elections will present other challenges as well, such as
the potential for violence against candidates. For example:
?On September 5, a gunman fired on Sauveur Pierre Etienne, secretary of
the OPL, an opposition party. ?In March, Sen. Jean Yvon-Toussaint was
killed in front of his home; ?On August 24, gunmen shot at the home of
Emmanuel Charles, one of the nine members of the Provisional Electoral
Council (CEP); ?On August 21, another CEP official experienced a
carjacking; ?In July, election offices in Gonaives and Jacmel were set
afire.
The State Department plans on augmenting CIMO for the elections and is
working on approving contracts for new riot control equipment. It has
also suggested a "non-violence pact," to be signed by all participating
parties.
Drugs
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), approximately
2720 kilograms of cocaine were seized coming from Haiti between May 1998
and June 1999. Most drugs are smuggled into Haiti via ships, although
airdrops and cargo shipments are also used. Most of the drug smuggling
is done by Colombians who either live in Haiti or routinely travel
there.
Although Haiti still has not signed a formal ship-rider agreement, the
U.S. Coast Guard claims that it has "carte blanche" to conduct
overflights or board any vessel at any time as long as the Haitian
authorities are informed in real time. If this is indeed the case, and
drug shipments from Haiti are on the rise, then the most logical
improvement would be to dramatically increase the U.S. law enforcement
presence, particularly the Coast Guard.
Haiti does not have asset seizure laws, therefore law enforcement agents
cannot confiscate large sums of money. Neither does it have domestic
laws relating to money laundering and it will not have any until the new
parliament is in place next year. In the meantime, President Preval has
sought the voluntary cooperation of private banks by requesting them to
ask pertinent questions of clients who make large deposits and to help
provide such information to the government for tax collection purposes.
When the delegation inquired about this arrangement with business
representatives, they stated that the assets of the banking sector are
actually very small. Nevertheless, the delegation hopes such cooperation
with Preval's proposal is forthcoming.
The International Presence
The UN/OAS Civilian Mission
MICIVIH is being phased out due to the withdrawal of U.S. assistance.
The mission plans on going to the UN General Assembly for a new mandate,
replacing the current one authorized by the UN Security Council under
the MIPONUH (United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti) banner.
This means the UN share of funding would come from the General Assembly,
while the OAS will continue to contribute their share. The new mission
will have some police monitoring component and probably will combine the
MIPONUH and MICIVIH functions. Plans on how to facilitate this
transition are still up in the air but a temporary extension of the
current mandate is a possibility. In the opinion of the delegation, a
premature withdrawal of MICIVIH would leave a substantial gap in the
human rights monitoring capabilities in Haiti simply because local
organizations lack experience. Any phase out over the next year should
attempt to minimize this impact.
U.S. Troops
On June 9, the House voted 227-198 for an amendment to the Defense
Authorization bill offered by Reps. Ben Gilman (R-NY) and Porter Goss
(R-FL) to withdraw U.S. troops from Haiti. Every member of the CODEL
opposed this amendment. The amendment, if it becomes law, would end the
U.S. Support Group in Haiti, an outgrowth of Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY
in 1994. The Clinton Administration strongly opposed the amendment,
pointing out that the Support Group has built roads and provided health
care to thousands of Haitians, and arguing that a premature withdrawal
would be disruptive to the pre-election security climate. The delegation
is particularly concerned about the withdrawal in light of the phasing
out of MICIVIH. These two events combined will leave vacuum that Haiti
can ill afford. The administration has pledged to maintain a U.S.
presence by rotating troops in for specific humanitarian missions.
Congressional Issues
The House International Relations Committee and the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee have frozen the U.S. contribution to MICIVIH, which
gets about 60% of its funding from the UN and 40% from the OAS.
Previously, the US paid roughly $3.2 million of the $5 million OAS share
per year. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has a hold on a
$425,000 arrears payment. The delegation believes this Congressional
hold is counterproductive to the establishment of democratic
institutions in Haiti and undercuts the role of a key international
presence.
Recommendations relating to law enforcement:
?When the new parliament takes office in 2000, the passage of forfeiture
laws and legislation to combat money laundering should be a top
priority. Until then, the private sector should recognize their
responsibility to voluntarily provide such information. ?The U.S.
Congress needs to at least ensure that any MICIVIH phase-out minimizes
any human rights observation void. Releasing the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee's hold on $425,000 in arrears would facilitate a
smooth transfer of responsibility to local organizations. ?The
delegation urged Manuel and Denize to make public announcements when
they launch an investigation into serious police misconduct. This will
increase confidence in criminal investigations. ?Increase the U.S. Coast
Guard presence in Haiti. ?A non-violence pact prior to the elections is
a good idea, but it should originate from within the Haitian system, for
example from the CEP. ?The Haitian Ministry of Social Affairs should do
everything it can to expedite requests from NGO's requesting formal
certification. ?If CIMO should continue to receive equipment and
additional training from the US, the HNP should take steps to improve
its accountability and public image. ?The political section of the U.S.
Embassy and USAID should continue to reach out to local human rights
organizations, who have explicitly expressed a desire to increase
contact.
THE JUDICIAL BRANCH
Background
The Haitian judicial system is corrupt and extremely slow. Many of the
judges are holdovers from the years of the Duvalier dictatorship. An
increasing problem is the vulnerability of judges to corruption from
drug trafficking networks; this is partially linked to the fact that
judges still receive very low pay.
The delegation was impressed with the new Minister of Justice, Camille
LeBlanc. He described his priorities as hiring a new generation of
qualified professionals, modernizing outdated laws, and increasing the
resources available, in particular for justices of the peace and those
involved in judicial processes at the local level. He plans to provide
justices of the peace with transportation, enabling them to be the first
line of investigation against voter fraud during the elections, and he
intends to permit the commissaires at the regional level to investigate
allegations made by one candidate against another. Both seem like
sensible ideas if implemented properly, in which case could make
important contributions to a climate of confidence during the election
cycle.
The United States and the Haitian Judiciary
U.S. Administration of Justice Programs
The U.S. has been helping Haiti reform its judicial system through its
Administration of Justice (AOJ) program. The project began with an
agreement signed between the US and the legitimate government of Haiti
in 1993. Over the last five years, the Agency for International
Development has spent $20 million out of $27 million committed.
Most of the AOJ programs concluded this summer, including programs to
improve the competency of judicial personnel by mentoring judges,
distributing legal materials, and working with bar associations. The
projects providing legal assistance, advocacy training, and conducting
public education on human rights and women's rights wound down as well.
Since the AOJ program began, over 50,000 individuals have received legal
assistance and information from Non-Governmental Organizations fulegal
assistance and information from Non-Governmental Organizations funded
through USAID and its subcontractor, Checci. The Department of Justice's
Overseas Prosecutorial Development and Training Assistance Program
(OPDAT) has trained over fifty magistrates and parquets (model
prosecutors) in jurisdictions throughout the country. In the new five
year plan, USAID and the Ministry of Justice expect to revive this
program substantially as well as establish new training efforts related
to commercial arbi
The U.S. Government and the Question of Impunity
During the restoration of democracy, the U.S. Army seized documents,
photographs and other materials from the headquarters of the FAd'H (the
Haitian army) and FRAPH (the Front for the Advancement and Progress of
Haiti), a paramilitary organization with links to the Central
Intelligence Agency. The delegation firmly believes that all of these
materials should be returned immediately.(3)
While the FRAPH documents will not solve all of Haiti's problems with
the justice system, a long and productive meeting with local human
rights organizations in Port-au-Prince convinced the delegation that
they are extremely important to many Haitians. Their return would in a
concrete way assist lawyers investigating the thousands of murders that
occurred during the period of de facto rule and in a broader sense
contribute to a much needed sense of reconciliation.
A study by the American Law Division of the Congressional Research
Service concluded that the documents are the property of the Haitian
Government, and it is clear the seizure violated the spirit, if not the
letter, of the Multinational Force's mandate. Claims by the Department
of Defense and other branches of the U.S. government that the documents
needed to be redacted to comply with the Privacy Act are simply without
merit. The documents should be returned in their original form.
Supposedly the U.S. Government has re-opened talks on the issue with the
new Minister of Justice, Camille LeBlanc. The CODEL hopes that an
inter-governmental committee can begin talks soon.
The Prison System
Overcrowding in the prisons remains a serious problem. The population in
detention has doubled in the last 2-3 years to over 3000 people, about
80% of whom are in pre-trial detention. For the last several years, a
$1.2 million prison reform project has been funded by USAID and carried
out by the UN Development Program. Much progress has been made, but a
registry at the national penitentiary is still incomplete.
While the staff delegation did not tour the prison in Gonaive, it has
been recently refurbished -- partly in the expectation that there will
be convictions in the Raboteau Massacre case. We were also encouraged to
hear reports that even though prison officials sometimes have shortages
of food, the conditions are generally decent compared to the rest of the
country. This is clearly a testament to the excellent work of the
MICIVIH field office and the local NGO's they have been training.
Unfortunately, the NGO's did note that the police, ie, those outside of
the prisons, continue to be abusive. Significant work remains to be done
before organizations such as these are capable of filling a void left by
the departure MICIVIH.
Congressional Issues
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations has a hold
of $2.5 million due to concerns that the judicial project redesign was
prepared without the involvement of the Justice Minister. As LeBlanc
moves forward with judicial reform, more resources will become
available.
The delegation would like to convey to Congress that the Government of
Haiti has assumed more of the costs of the Ecole de la Magistrature,
which is a positive sign toward meeting Congressional conditionalities.
Recommendations related to the Judiciary:
?The Minister of Justice needs to set a numerical goal for reduction of
the prison population. ?An inter-governmental committee including the
Haitian Minister of Justice should be formed immediately to begin the
return of the FRAPH documents to the Government of Haiti in their
original form. ?The Government of Haiti should demonstrate its
commitment to judicial reform by approving the program agreed to at the
donors meeting on July 6, 1998, appointing new staff, and passing
legislation relating to the magistrates school and other matters
relevant to the establishment of an independent judiciary.
THE ELECTIONS
Background
On April 6, 1997, Haiti held elections for nine Senate seats, two vacant
seats in the Chamber of Deputies (the lower chamber of parliament) and
local government positions.(4) The turnout of these elections was only
about 5% by most estimates and there were charges of serious fraud.
Other problems included a decision by the CEP to not count blank
ballots, official publication of the election results without the
approval of the prime minister, and voter confusion due to inadequate
civic education. The only positive aspect in the eyes of many observers
was that reports of election violence were minimal. The controversy
surrounding the elections culminated in the resignation of Prime
Minister Rosny Smarth on June 9, 1997, who sought to distance himself
from tainted elections.
When elections scheduled for the fall of 1998 did not take place, the
parliament voted to extend its term. A constitutional crisis erupted in
January 1999 when President Preval refused to recognize the vote and
announced he would rule by electoral decree. The parliament responded by
charging Preval with trying to rule as a dictator.(5) Eventually, the
dispute was resolved after negotiations between an informal group of
political parties called the Espace de Concertation and the executive
branch were able to choose a CEP.
New Elections
The upcoming elections will run seats for the Chamber of Deputies, most
of the Senate seats, as well as the Communal Administration Councils
(CASECs), the Communal Assemblies (ASECs) and City Delegates. They were
originally set to take place on November 28. A few days prior to the
delegation's arrival, the CEP declared that the elections would take
place on December 19. After our return, President Preval announced the
formation of a committee to look at election schedules.
Much of the political wrangling this summer among the CEP, the
president, the Prime Minister and the major political parties center
president, the Prime Minister and the major political parties centered
on whether 17 or 19 Senate seats would be run, since the latter number
would indicate rerunning the two contested Senate seats that went to
Lavalas candidates in the 1997 elections. On June 11, the CEP announced
that it was effectively annulling the results of those elections.
Subsequent statements describing what it means by "running all vacant
seats" have clarified that elections will be held for all 19 Senate
seats.
Election Issues
Voter Registration
A key goal of the CODEL was to determine whether preparations for these
elections are proceeding on schedule. The information collected varied
greatly: The National Coalition for Haitian Rights believes that the
timetable for the elections is too short and that more time is needed to
organize voter registration, hire staff for the CEP, and restore
confidence in the HNP.(6) The National Democratic Institute (NDI)
believes the technical preparations are unnecessarily elaborate and will
result in delayed elections. Similarly, the International Republican
Institute (IRI) believes that while the cards are a useful long term
goal, they are probably infeasible by December. The International
Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), which is handling much of the
technical preparations, believes the preparations are necessary and
achievable.
A postponement of the elections until next year would probably be
contentious. Critics of a delay, such as the U.S. embassy and most of
the political opposition parties, argue that it would allow political
candidates to run on the coattails of Aristide, who will be running for
president. Second, they note that since the constitution stipulates that
the parliament must be in place by the second week of January, any
extension of the parliament's term would probably violate that
provision. Finally, they suggest that a delay would undermine
confidence; a potential hazard could be a boycott of the elections by
some opposition parties. The delegation urges those parties to not
withdraw from the political process by doing so.
The issuance of voter identification cards for the election is a
controversial issue because many Haitians believe it is simply
infeasible for 4.5 million voters to get an ID card in time for the
elections and an unsuccessful attempt to do so would result in an urban
bias in the electoral results. Moreover, Prime Minister Alexis expressed
outrage that the funding for the contract, which went to Code Canada,
circumvented the Haitian Ministry of Finance and the CEP. Former
president Aristide and many other NGOs suggested that implementation of
the voter ID plan begin in both the urban and rural areas with equal
vigor, an idea that seems eminently reasonable to the CODEL.
The delegation believes that a postponement of the elections is all but
certain. Regardless of when they take place, the massive undertaking of
voter ID cards should begin as soon as equipment is in place and staff