Richard Maurasse, the Secretary of State for National Defence, accompanied by members of the Cabinet of Minister of Interior and Territorial Communities [Me Thierry Mayard-Paul], met Wednesday, February 7, 2012, Mr. Michel Forst, United Nations independent expert on the human rights situation in Haiti.

During this meeting, several points were in the agenda, including the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), ratified by the Haitian parliament, on January 31 and, the problem of detainees repatriated to Haiti.

Concerning the implementation of the ICESCR, the Secretary of State informed that the Ministry had organized seminars on the socio-economic and cultural rights. Representatives of the Minister and Michel Forst agreed on the need to take stock of laws in accordance with the requirements of the ICESCR [Article 276.2] to allow the revision, adaptation and contextualization of these laws. A series of workshops in different departments and municipalities in the country will also be organized to allow exchange with the various groups of civil society, local government officials and parliamentarians.

The problem of repatriation of Haitians sentenced for violent crimes, who have already served their sentences in the United States, was also discussed during this meeting. Aware that the country does not have financial and logistical means to face such a problem, representatives of the Minister of the Interior will create an Observation Centre, whose mission will be the evaluation of the dossier of the convicted person and its behavior during the first six months of his arrival in the country. The result will determine whether the person will be incarcerated or not. The team of the ministry said that it waited the recommendations of this report that will serve as a basis to help better assess the situation and will allow understand and decide which policy to adopt.

Article 276.2 : "Treaties and International Agreements, once approved and ratified in the manner prescribed by the Constitution, are part of the legislation of the country and abrogate any laws in conflict with them."

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-4883-haiti-politic-the-national-assembly-voted-the-icescr.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-3390-haiti-security-the-united-states-have-repatriated-this-week-36-haitian-undesirable.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2751-haiti-justice-the-united-states-returns-to-haiti-19-ex-convicts.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2063-haiti-usa-resumption-of-the-deportations-of-haitian-convicts.html

S/ HaitiLibre