Twelve years ago, Haiti passed a landmark law to combat human trafficking. Yet for the residents of Zile Lagonav, justice remains a distant promise. On April 30, the Network of Survivors of the Restavèk Practice of Ansagalè (RESAN)—representing branches in Magazen, Bwa Kredi, Bètòti, and Mòn Alo—stood before the press to demand accountability. They reported that regarding the promotion of this law in Awondisman Lagonav, progress is currently a "complete zero".
Their message is clear: laws are only as strong as the courts that enforce them. From the chronic shortage of judges in Ansagalè and Pwentarakèt to the urgent need for a Court of First Instance to protect the island's more than 150,000 residents, RESAN is calling on the government to act. Below is the full translation of their press release—a powerful call for the true application of the law to protect women and children from exploitation.
Press conference to remind authorities of the 12th anniversary of the adoption of the April 30 Law, which is the law against human trafficking.
The Network of Survivors of the Restavèk Practice of Ansagalè, which brings together four neighborhood survivor groups (Magazen, Bwa Kredi, Bètòti, and Mòn Alo), salutes the press—broadcast, print, televised, and online—who have established themselves as the vanguard of society by broadcasting and bringing to the ears of the authorities everything that is working and everything that is not working in society.
RESAN, which is the Ansagalè Survivors Network, takes pleasure in sending this message to all authorities on Zile Lagonav on the occasion of the 12th Anniversary of the Law on Trafficking. We note that in both communes within the Awondisman Lagonav, regarding the promotion of this law, the result is a complete zero.
I- Assessment of the Situation
"To raise a nation" is a phrase many people repeat every day. We know that in our country, since 1987 after the country accepted the Constitution—which is the mother law of the country—it provides a set of prerogatives to all citizens, such as Article 52, which outlines the duties and obligations of every citizen.
However, we remind the authorities that the country rests on three powers:
- The Legislative power, which is there to make the laws.
- The Executive power, which is there to execute the laws.
- The Judicial power, which is there to apply the laws.
These three powers must act in a sense of complementarity following our model of democracy, which is a representative and participative democracy. The Judicial power in Haiti is exercised through 18 jurisdictions, although the State decided to add 5 more to the original 18.
We remind the authorities that we on Lagonav island are treated like a "poor relative" because we have two Justice of the Peace Courts (Tribinal Depè) that are not even well-treated within the Judicial power; the authorities on the Island—the Mayors and the Vice-Delegate—close their eyes as if they do not even live in the same place as we do. We remind our communal Mayors and the Vice-Delegate of Awondisman Lagonav that the Ansagalè Court has had only one single judge for more than 4 years.
Not too long ago, the Ansagalè Court used to have three judges and functioned every day of the week; currently, there is only one judge, which causes the court doors to be closed on Thursdays. It is the same situation for Pwentarakèt, where there is only one judge in the court. While the Ansagalè court does not function on Thursdays, for Pwentarakèt, it sometimes happens that two or three months pass without the judge setting foot in the court.
Despite all of this, it is as if everything related to justice is working on the Island according to our authorities, who seem to suffer from an old pathology. This means they are not in the same reality as us; their feet do not seem to be on the ground.
II- Demands
On this day, April 30, we mark the 12th anniversary of the Law on Trafficking that was adopted in the Haitian parliament following all procedures—voted separately in our two chambers, the Lower House (Chamber of Deputies) and the Upper House (Senate). At this moment, we remind our authorities that we are using this tool—speaking to the press—so they can hear our demands and perhaps become aware of our situation. We ask them:
- After 12 years, we note that the law on the fight against trafficking has not made the progress it should have because the courts we have on the island are only Simple Police Courts (Tribinal senp polis).
- Do the authorities not understand the importance a Court of First Instance (Tribinal Premye Enstans) would have on the island?
- We hope that before June 2—the date the Law on Trafficking was published in the country's official newspaper—we will be applauding because the Justice of the Peace courts will have multiple judges again, as was formerly the case in Ansagalè and Pwentarakèt.
- We remind the authorities that Articles 174 and 175 of the 1987 Constitution trace the path for how judges can be appointed, whether for the highest court (Kou kasasyon), Courts of Appeal (Kou dapèl), Courts of First Instance, or Justice of the Peace Courts.
- We ask the Mayors, the Vice-Delegate of Awondisman Lagonav, and all concerned authorities to ask the CSPJ (Superior Council of the Judicial Power)—which oversees the work of judges—to ensure its work in the penal chain.
- We ask the Mayors, the Vice-Delegate, judges, and all concerned authorities to ask the Ministry of Justice and Public Security to assume its responsibility as the guarantor of the laws.
- We ask our authorities to bring order to everyone in the chain responsible for making human rights respected on the island (Municipal Police, National Police, and the UDMO, who are always mistreating people on the island without reason, under the sole pretext that they have large weapons in their hands).
III- Conclusion
To end today's conference, we ask the press to truly launch themselves into this battle to force the authorities to better understand their tasks. Because of the size the population of Lagonav has reached, we are no longer in the 19th century; we remind our authorities we are in the 21st century, the era of technology.
Therefore, the laws must be applied, and conditions must be established for them to be applied:
- Establish a Court of First Instance very quickly.
- Make the Justice of the Peace courts functional with multiple judges.
- Create other Justice of the Peace courts, because today the population of Lagonav has more than 150,000 people.
We hope the concerned authorities act quickly and well to let the population know that the law against trafficking exists to protect children and prevent them from becoming victims. They are exposed to trafficking just as the country is under the grip of gangs in many areas where authorities have no control.
Consequently, we say "no"—women and girls must not be victims of trafficking anymore in this country. Even though we know boys are also exposed, women and girls are more vulnerable. Based on the Law of April 30, 2014, we demand that women and girls must not be victims of trafficking anymore.
Lionel Francois Networking and Advocacy Officer
Marie Cassandra Jean Baptiste RESAN Coordinator