Legal Context
Community members and social movement organizations in Haiti are clear: Kanpe min.
Haiti’s legal and regulatory framework governing mining neither protects the interests of Haitian communities nor provides a stable environment for investors. The Mining Decree of 1976 and the proposed mining law both fall short of guarantees in Haiti’s 1987 Constitution. The Mining Decree and draft law violate rights to information and participation, fail to protect the right to a healthy environment, and do not adequately protect the right to property. The Draft Mining Law—drafted behind closed doors with the World Bank and pending for review in front of the Haitian Parliament since 2017—fails to address any regulatory gaps. Furthermore, the Draft Mining Law would remove existing protections, including the requirement that companies sign a convention ratified by Parliament prior to commencing research activities.
Photo of community action against mining.
The Current Legal Framework for Mining in Haiti
The Mining Decree of 1976 is the current legal regime for mining in Haiti. It is inconsistent, outdated, and fails to protect the interests of the Haitian people or the environment. It favors secrecy over transparency, with sweeping confidentiality provisions that prevent effective public participation, in violation of the rights of the Haitian people. The law does not provide adequate guidance for environmental and social impact assessments. For a further discussion of the deficiencies of the current legal framework for mining in Haiti, see Legal and Regulatory Challenges and Chapter V of Byen Konte, Mal Kalkile? Human Rights and Environmental Risks of Gold Mining in Haiti (pages 153-158).
The Proposed Mining Law
Awaiting review by the Haitian Parliament since 2014 is the Proposed Mining Law. The Proposed Mining Law was written in collaboration with the World Bank and in consultation with mining companies but without the participation of the Haitian public. The Proposed Mining Law presents serious concerns for the rights of the Haitian people and for the protection of the environment. Haitian civil society organizations filed a complaint in 2015 to the World Bank Inspection Panel, alleging that the lack of transparency and public participation in the process and the failure to include adequate environmental and social protections in the Proposed Mining Law violated the World Bank’s own policies. The World Bank Inspection Panel acknowledged that their concerns were “serious and legitimate,” although it dismissed the complaint on technical grounds. In response, 92 organizations, led by Kolektif Justis Min, the Global Justice Clinic, and Accountability Counsel, joined together to demand that the World Bank take responsibility for its actions and stop hiding behind the loophole in its own policy framework.
The Proposed Mining Law fails to adequately protect Haitian communities and the environment. It contains sweeping confidentiality provisions and fails to provide guidance on what is required of environmental and social impact assessments. For a further discussion of the proposed legal framework for mining, see this analysis on the Proposed Mining Law.
Other Legal and Regulatory Challenges to Mining
Decades of foreign intervention has disempowered Haiti’s judiciary and weakened enforcement capacities. Widespread corruption in the courts and the government administration leaves the majority of Haitians without legal protection. Haiti lacks the institutional capacity and resources to enforce its mining laws. As it currently stands, Haiti’s legal framework fails to protect the Haitian public and creates significant corruption and governance risks for potential investors in extractive industries in Haiti.