Candis M. Hamilton, Contributor
I RECENTLY returned from Haiti. This was my second trip in less than one year, and the change has been stark. I was part of an official delegation of the Inter American Commission on Human Rights. What struck me in my first visit last year were the similarities between Haiti and Jamaica. I saw in Haiti in that first visit the Jamaica of our future. I've heard it repeated so many times in Jamaica, "it cannot get any worse" and yet it does. Haiti is a clear reminder that despite our despair for the current plight in Jamaica it can still get worse.
Today, Haiti is in a crisis. Violence continues to rise particularly in Port-au-Prince making it difficult if not impossible to move around without fear. Incidents of violence are meted out indiscriminately on ordinary and affluent Haitians alike. An estimated 700 murders took place in Port-au-Prince alone since September 2004, including over 40 police officers. An estimated 400 persons have been kidnapped since March 2005. Women, children, journalists and human rights defenders are particularly vulnerable. In its press release after the visit, it stated "The Commission has rarely witnessed the situation deteriorate to the current state, where residents in some parts of Port-au-Prince have effectively been held hostage to the unrestrained intimidation and violence of armed gangs with no effective protection from the State or the international community."
Administration of justice in Haiti is weak. All persons in the justice system from the police to the judges face tremendous pressure on the job. Their salaries are woefully inadequate, as are the resources available for their work, leaving the door wide open for possible corruption.
HUMAN RIGHTS
In this context our delegation faced the challenge of promoting the use of the inter-American system of human rights to civil society representatives from around Haiti. This was particularly challenging, given the fact that the prominent journalist Jacques Roche who had been kidnapped on July 10, 2005, was found tortured and murdered by his assailants on the second day of the seminar. Despite this, we managed, I believe, to convince them that Haiti and its situation was not going unnoticed.
We managed to convince them that the fundamental rights enshrined in the American Convention on Human Rights and the mechanisms available before the Inter American Commission on Human Rights to protect these rights offer hope. While international mechanisms may move at a pace slower than most Haitians will appreciate, once initiated the ball keeps rolling. Like any legal system anywhere in the world it is not an instantaneous solution to a problem. There is no single approach to address a country's weak rule of law and administration of justice but such a petition is a viable approach.
Shining the light on the situation in Haiti, and the daily injustices faced by the people of Haiti will remind us here in Jamaica that we are not immune. I know considerable efforts are being made to address the violence in Jamaica, but when Mr. Vegas' song 'More Love' where his shadow is afraid to walk beside him because of all the guns, resonates with us all, we need to keep shining the light on the situation until each of us can see that we all need to care.
Candis Hamilton, attorney-at-law, is a consultant with the Inter American Commission on Human Rights. Her views are personal and do not necessarily represent the views of the Inter American Commission on Human Rights.
