Wednesday April 17, 2024, as part of the 3rd session of the Forum of Peoples of African Descent, Me Jacques LETANG, President of the Bar Association, member of the Haitian delegation, in his intervention at the Palais des Nations in Geneva attempted to shed some light on the root causes of the Haitian crisis.

Intervention by Me Jacques LETANG:

“Haiti is going through a new period of acute crisis which is on the verge of sweeping away the vestiges of the rule of law and bringing about the reign of violence and impunity.

But this crisis does not fall from the sky. It is the product of a complex history, where international interventions tinged with good feelings have never ceased to be worked by postcolonial issues marked by a deep contempt for these people of former slaves who so proudly won their freedom . As if, despite everything, it satisfied some people to be able to say: this is all they are capable of.

It is time, once again, to affirm that we are capable of better. That we are a great Nation, with deep roots, which can bring a lot to the world, which has already brought a lot to the world.

But to do this, we must collectively ask ourselves the right questions about the reasons that led us to where we are.

We must shed light on the scars left by slavery and colonization, on the bleeding caused by the ransom demanded by France and the unworthy debt purchased by the United States.

We must shed light on the role of the international community which has accompanied corrupt and gangsterized regimes, involving itself in coups d'état, sheltering deposed presidents or notorious criminals, interfering in electoral processes, negotiating its intervention against commercial advantages or pledges of servility…

We must shed light on the causes of the obvious failure of the various United Nations missions and its many perverse effects; on 'deadly assistance' which, failing to develop Haiti, has made donors and NGOs profit in recent decades.

We must shed light on this mechanism of violence which is taking away the last vestiges of our democracy. We will not be able to turn the page without neutralizing those who are ready to destroy the country rather than having to be held accountable for the governance of recent years.

I am happy to participate in this 3rd session of the permanent forum on people of African descent to carry the demand for justice formulated by the Haitian people.

Let's not hide it, Haitian institutions are today incapable of dealing with it. It is at this crossroads that you must help us, that we must find together the capacity to carry out transitional justice, to achieve a real transition in terms of justice, by setting up truth and justice commissions on the present and the past, and why not laying the foundations for an internationalized criminal jurisdiction."

HL/ HaitiLibre