Gathered at a recent symposium in Port-au-Prince on the fight against impunity for past crimes and transitional justice https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22237-haiti-justice-opening-of-the-symposium-against-impunity-for-past-crimes.html 80 experts from Haitian civil society organizations and international experts discussed challenges related to impunity for past crimes and opportunities for truth, justice and reparation for victims.

Participants at the symposium noted the challenges of documenting human rights violations, which are essential to establishing the truth and facts, particularly in terms of security for victims and witnesses, as well as access to official archives of the various authoritarian governments.

Participants called on the Haitian authorities to guarantee the rights and safety of victims struggling for justice and to facilitate access to official documents from the various epochs of violence. These conditions are essential to the crucial work of establishing facts and responsibilities, and to any work of memory.

"Shedding light on past human rights violations contributes to the necessary memory work of a nation. Without an active memory policy, a knowledge and education about the crimes of the authoritarian regimes of the past, citizens can not appropriate their history and contribute to a better present," stressed the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH).

Participants highlighted the weaknesses of Haitian justice and the persistent impunity for serious human rights violations in Haiti, to assume their responsibilities and to demonstrate by clear actions that justice and the prosecution of perpetrators of serious human rights violations is a real priority.

FIDH believes that "Impunity is a real scourge in Haiti. The authorities must reverse the trend and demonstrate political will to ensure strong, independent and impartial justice in the country. No one is above the law, this principle must become a reality so that the crimes of the past are not repeated."

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22237-haiti-justice-opening-of-the-symposium-against-impunity-for-past-crimes.html

HL/ HaitiLibre