Wednesday at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington DC, Duly Brutus, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Haiti, signed the Inter-American Agreement against Racism, Racial Discrimination and related forms of Intolerance and the Inter-American Convention against all forms of discrimination, in the presence of the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, and the President of Haiti, Michel Martelly.

The Haitian Foreign Minister said that by signing both agreements, Haiti puts itself at the forefront of the fight against racism and racial discrimination in the region and he also remembered that Haiti went through a long history of fights against segregation and domination, mentioning the historical role Haitians played at the beginning of the 19th century in fighting against slavery and in favor of the independence of the peoples of the America, when Haiti "began to demonstrate its solidarity towards other peoples and to fight the colonial system of slavery."

For his part, Secretary General Insulza recalled that both conventions established a binding definition of indirect discrimination, multiple or aggravated discrimination, and intolerance. "They also protect all human beings against any form of racism, racial discrimination, and acts of intolerance in every aspect of their public or private life."

The Secretary General highlighted that in total, the conventions contained more than 30 causes of discrimination aimed at groups mentioned, therefore establishing legal regimes that can be applied separately or independently.

HL/ HaitiLibre