Corruption
Haiti is challenged by weak rule of law and widespread corruption, ranking 170th out of 180 in Transparency International’s 2020 global Corruption Perception Index. The violence, insecurity, and political vacuum in Haiti are fueled by corruption. It is impossible to imagine the mining industry in the current--2022--context. Even prior to the political, economic, and social crises of the Moïse regime and the post-assassination political void, high levels of corruption in Haiti made it especially vulnerable to mining sector abuses. The mining sector is often characterized by secrecy, which, according to Global Witness, “entrenches corruption and props up kleptocratic regimes.”
Corruption and Risks of Mining
Widespread bribery, misused or stolen funds, and violence in the extractive industries are well documented. In Haiti, widespread community awareness of government corruption contributes to general opposition to mining in Haiti. One of the goals of the Montana Accord, an agreement among Haitian civil society calling for the formation of a transitional government for the country, is to address Haiti’s issue of corruption and hold those implicated to account.
PetroCaribe Case Study
The PetroCaribe scandal exemplifies the problem of widespread corruption in Haiti implicating the country’s highest level of government. Multiple high ranking Haitian government officials spanning three administrations, including then-President Moise, were implicated in the embezzlement of an estimated US$3.8 billion from the Petro Caribe fund, a program intended to finance socio-economic development. Months of large protests were held beginning in 2018, with Haitian people asking “Kot Kòb Petwo Karibe a???” (“Where is the PetroCaribe money?”). Subsequent investigations by the Haitian Superior Court of Auditors and Administrative Disputes revealed overwhelming evidence of corruption, including payments of millions of dollars for projects that were never started, widespread irregularities in project contracts including a contract with a deceased person, and large disbursements to government officials without any documentation of expenses.
Years have now passed since the release of the first report of the investigation in 2018 - yet no meaningful steps towards accountability have been taken. After significant delays and the resignation of the original presiding judge under alleged political pressure by the Moise administration, the investigation was ordered suspended in June 2021, sparking protests and condemnation. The implication of high-level officials in the PetroCaribe scandal highlights the pervasiveness of corruption and the erosion of accountability within the government. None of the implicated politicians and business executives have been made to answer for their hand in the corruption. The ability of the rich and powerful to operate above the law in Haiti continues to serve as a catalyst for demonstrations and the PetroCaribe protests have since grown into a broader anti-corruption movement across the country.
Protest Against Corruption in Port-au-Prince, 2018. Credit: Rony D'Haiti, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Other examples of corruption in Haiti implicating the country’s highest level of government include:
In November 2018, two government officials, Fednel Monchery and Joseph Pierre Richard Duplan, planned and supplied a horrific massacre with police officer Jimmy Chérizier. They are no longer part of the government or police force. More than 70 people were killed in La Saline, a neighborhood in Port-au-Prince that loudly opposed the PHTK government. Chérizier has not been held to account. As of 2022, Chérizier is the leader of the G9 gang, and is establishing himself as a political candidate.
Inl 2019, the vice treasurer of the Senate, Garcia Delva, was accused of conspiracy with a wanted gang leader in the kidnapping of the senator’s neighbor.
Also in 2019, evidence that the Lower Chamber of Deputies spent a seemingly unlikely $2.5 million on water and coffee was circulated on social media.
A senator who admitted to accepting a $100,000 bribe told reporters that he “saw nothing wrong with receiving money during difficult times.”
The State of the Judiciary
The Haitian justice system is ineffective, under-resourced, and politicized. Bribes are common at all levels of the justice system, as is political interference, creating a dual system that often allows wealthy and powerful actors to operate above the law while the disempowered majority live without legal protection.
Unconstitutional manipulation of judicial appointments by Haiti’s executive branch, political arrests of members of the judiciary, threats and harassment of judicial actors including by government officials, large numbers of judicial vacancies, and chronic under-resourcing have made Haiti’s judiciary barely function. Politically significant cases, like the investigations into the PetroCaribe scandal and the assassination of lawyer and political critic Monferrir Dorval have stalled or closed under conditions which raise concerns of interference. Judges and clerks investigating the assassination of then-President Moïse have been targetted by death threats and pressure to change witness statements. Several judicial officials involved in the case have been forced to go into hiding for their own safety.
Haitians in rural communities face additional barriers to accessing justice. Courts of first instance and appellate courts are generally only located in major cities. Justices of the peace, which can be found in rural areas, can only hear limited types of cases and are chronically under-resourced, leading to widespread closures. Haiti’s disempowered and politicized judiciary fails to protect the rights of Haitians and increases the likelihood of corruption in the mining sector.
Local Residents Enter the Justice of the Peace, Quartier Morin, Haiti. Photo: Ellie Happel, 2017.
The problem is that our State is weak, and they let foreigners enter. They permit the foreigners to do as they like. The people know nothing about mining. All decisions are made in Port-au-Prince.
– Community Authority from Anse-à-Foleur
