12266: US State Department 2002 report on Trafficking in persons - Haiti section (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Merrie Archer <MArcher@nchr.org>

There is very little difference from last year's report with the notable
exception of the drastic reduction in the number of children assisted (down
roughly 80% from last year's total of 760. The "tier 2" rating - on a scale
from 1 to 3 if for countries "making significant efforts to bring themselves
into compliance with the standards". This rating is confusing since it only
cites the trafficking of children for use as restavek, yet it says that the
GOH does not recognize the use of restavek as a problem.

To the GOH's credit, however, over the past month and a half, President
Aristide has loosely alluded to an eventual eradication of the practice.

However, I am curious about how the authors consider Haiti to be making
"significant efforts" if it has neither laws nor enforcement, is neither
investigating nor prosecuting. I checked a handful of other tier 2 countries
in the report for what they are doing to address the issue, and the 6 or 7 I
looked at all included bi-lateral agreements, drafting laws, progress in
enforcing laws, etc.

One would think that the level of "national" TV and radio announcements
would have to be tremendous to make up for the lack of steps in a legal
framework. For those Corbetters in Haiti right now, what announcements have
you noticed on TV and Radio - especially those of you who spend time in the
provinces. Has the message reached radio out there?


Trafficking in Persons Report
Released by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
June 5, 2002
Haiti (Tier 2)
Trafficking in Haiti mainly involves the internal movement of children,
primarily young girls between 6 and 14 years old, from the countryside to
the cities for domestic servitude. Poorer families, unable to provide
adequately for their children, send their daughters, and in some cases sons,
to the cities to work as domestic servants for wealthier families. In
return, the poorer families expect their children to receive shelter, food,
education and a better life. This centuries-old practice places children,
called "restaveks" (derived from the French words "rester avec" meaning "to
stay with"), in situations that sometimes lead to exploitation. Although
many restaveks receive adequate care, some are placed in slave-like
conditions and are subject to violence, threats and other forms of physical
and mental abuse. To a lesser extent, restaveks are sent to the United
States, France, Canada and the Dominican Republic.

The Government of Haiti does not yet fully comply with minimum standards for
the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to
do so. There are no laws prohibiting trafficking and although Haiti has laws
regulating child domestic labor, these laws are not enforced. The government
does not actively investigate trafficking cases and there have been no
prosecutions of traffickers. Despite severe resource constraints, which have
worsened over the last year, the Government of Haiti provides some funding
for activities to protect restaveks. The Haitian Ministry of Social Affairs
has eight monitors to oversee the welfare of restaveks. The monitors respond
to calls to the government-sponsored victim hotline, to police requests and
to word-of-mouth requests. Although the government does not have a facility
to care for restaveks, the monitors work with local NGOs to resettle the
children or find their natural families. The Haitian Ministry of Social
Affairs reported that it served 158 children in 2001, a significant decrease
from the 760 that were assisted the previous year. Prevention efforts are
hampered because many Haitians do not recognize that restaveks can be in
exploitative situations. The Government of Haiti, which does recognize the
use of restaveks as a problem, is attempting to educate the public with
national television and radio advertisements about the mistreatment of child
domestic laborers.


Merrie Archer
Senior Policy Associate
(954) 462 8231