Haiti - FLASH : A report reveals the complicity of the Haitian Government in 3 massacres
Three deadly massacres targeting impoverished neighborhoods in Haiti were carried out with Haitian government support and amount to crimes against humanity, according to a report titled "Killing with Impunity: State-Sanctioned Massacres in Haiti" released Thursday, April 22, 2021 by Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic and the Observatoire Haïtien des Crimes contre l’humanité (OHCCH). The report points to evidence that the gang-led attacks were resourced and supported by state actors, ranging from high-ranking officials in the Moïse administration to the Haitian National Police.
This report analyzes three attacks that took place between 2018-2020, which have together killed at least 240 civilians. The massacres targeted the Port-au-Prince neighborhoods of La Saline, Bel-Air, and Cité Soleil, which have played a leading role in organizing protests demanding government accountability for corruption and other human rights violations.
The report is based on a rigorous analysis of the evidence that has been gathered by multiple Haitian and international actors in recent years, with regard to international criminal law. Harvard Law School students Joey Bui (JD’21) and Nathalie Gunasekera (JD’21) led the research and wrote the report under the supervision of Professor Lindstrom.
