Last week at Club Indigo, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP), organized with the support of the Minustah, a 3-day workshop on indicators of the Rule of Law.

These assizes gathered the Government Commissioners of the 18 Courts of First Instance of the Republic, officials from the Ministry of Justice, members of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ), representatives of civil society organizations and the international community. The official opening was made by Me Jean Renel Sanon, the Minister of Justice. The Canadian Ambassador to Haiti, Mr. Henry Paul Normandin and Nigel Fisher, the Representative of the Secretary General of the UN in Haiti, also spoke at the opening ceremony.

Two experts from the United Nations presented a report on indicators of the Rule of Law in Haiti. Most indicators are at an average level, according to what emerges from this report, covering three main areas: the police, the prison system and the judicial system.

At the opening, the Minister Sanon recalled that the Ministry of Justice is one of the spearheads of the policy of the Rule of Law, citing among the action priorities of his ministry: the fight against prolonged preventive detention, the enlargement of legal assistance programs, the modernization of the State Civil, the Police professionalization and the update of major law codes of Haiti.

The Minister also insisted on the economic and social rights, which according to him, important to talk about Rule of law. Regarding the Civil and Political Rights, the Minister Sanon took the opportunity to recall that the freedom of expression in general and press freedom in particular, are democratic gains that the Government will ever respect. He also recalled that the press is a reliable ally for the Government, in its quest for a better life for all the people of Haiti.

For his part, Ambassador Normandin, whose country has funded the development of the report on indicators of the Rule of Law, welcomed the efforts made by the National Police of Haiti

Me. Jean Roudy Aly, CEO of MJSP, assured that the reflections and proposals made by participants during the workshop, in particular on capacity building and increasing the performance of the police, the prison system and the judiciary, will be used to develop a comprehensive document that will enrich the Action Plan of 2012-2016 of Ministry of Justice.

Me Aly, welcomed the completion of the event, which constitutes an important contribution to the policy of Rule of Law advocated by the Government Martelly-Lamothe.

HL/ HaitiLibre