UN EXPERT ON SLAVERY EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER 'RESTAVEK' SYSTEM IN HAITI
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Send by emailUN EXPERT ON SLAVERY EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER 'RESTAVEK' SYSTEM IN HAITI
10 June 2009
PORT-AU-PRINCE -- The Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery,
its causes and consequences, Gulnara Shahinian, expressed deep concern today
over the highly exploitative nature of the 'restavek' system in Haiti, which
she considers to be a modern form of slavery.
At the end of her visit to Haiti, Ms. Shahinian emphasized her deep concern
at the restavek system, which deprives children of their family environment
and violates their most basic rights such as the rights to education,
health, and food as well as subjecting them to multiple forms of abuse
including economic exploitation, sexual violence and corporal punishment,
violating their fundamental right to protection from all forms of violence.
Many have been reported as trafficked within the country and outside the
country. Throughout her visit, which also brought her to Ouanaminthe and Les
Cayes, witnesses gave various accounts of this practice and its forms. Ms
Shahinian discussed efforts to address this phenomenon and its root causes
with different stakeholders. The Special Rapporteur expressed her deep
concern at the situation, calling on all actors to make the eradication of
this practice a top priority - "this practice is a severe violation of the
most fundamental rights of the child - the foundation of society - and
reinforces a vicious cycle of violence - it should be stopped immediately."
While noting that the political instability of the last decades combined
with continuous natural disasters have impeded the economic and social
development of Haiti and further deepened poverty and enhanced human
insecurity, the Special Rapporteur commends the Haitian government for its
efforts to address the issue through legislative, policy and programmatic
steps to protect the rights of restavek children. She particularly welcomes
the creation of the Brigade de Protection des Mineurs and the efforts of
Institut du Bien-Etre Sociale et de la Recherche, despite insufficient human
and financial resources. However, she also agrees with the conclusion
reached by many government officials during their meetings with the Special
Rapporteur - Many challenges remain before the complete eradication of the
restavek system in Haiti.
Two new tendencies have been observed in recent years: the direct placement
of children from family to family has been supplemented by the existence of
recruiters, who for financial gain recruit children from rural areas to work
in urban families as child slaves in domestic work and outside the home in
markets. In addition, the majority of the demand has shifted from wealthy
families to those belonging to the poor. Therefore, the situation of
hundreds of thousands of children remains alarming; it requires urgent
attention and a comprehensive, systematic response by the Government. "The
issue should be put urgently on the highest priority agenda of the
Government and the international community", adds the Special Rapporteur.
The following issues should be addressed as a matter of priority and are of
strong concern to the Special Rapporteur:
1. The limited application in national law and practice of the international
human rights obligation of Haiti, irrespective of the fact that Haiti has
ratified many international human rights instruments on the elimination of
slavery and the protection of the rights of the child, in particular the UN
Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave trade and
Practices similar to Slavery, ILO Convention No. 29 on Forced or Compulsory
Labour, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and ILO Convention No. 182 on the
Worst Forms of Child Labour, UN Convention on Transnational organized Crime
and Protocols
2. The fragmented nature and limited institutional and financial capacities
of state agencies dealing with vulnerable children
3. The limited number of programs addressing the issue of child labour
4. The limited number and inaccessibility to free schooling for children
from poor rural communities as well as the absence of a comprehensive health
care and social protection system
5. The absence of comprehensive legislation protecting the rights of the
child, in particular vulnerable groups of children, including restavek
6. The weakness of the judicial system in ensuring prosecution, fair trail
and adequate punishment of perpetrators, thus preventing access to justice
and the right to an effective remedy
7. Insufficient attention to the issue, limited cooperation and fragmented
programmes at the level of international agencies
8. Sporadic and insufficient efforts by the Government to cooperate with and
support civil society
The Special Rapporteur makes the following preliminary recommendations to
the Government of Haiti:
. The human security of each individual child is of utmost importance to the
sustainable, human rights based development of society and a precondition to
sustainable peace. The Government in cooperation with the international
community should attribute the highest priority to policies and programmes
centered around the protection of human rights, in particular the rights of
children.
In addition the Government should:
. Establish a National Commission on children with special attention to
vulnerable children to monitor and ensure protection of the rights of
children
. Conduct an extensive institutional assessment of the agencies dealing with
children, especially vulnerable children, to determine gaps, needs and
financial requirements to ensure effective functioning
. Promote disarmament to reduce societal violence and restore human security
and social cohesion.
In the area of prevention, the Government should develop proactive complex
prevention programs to eliminate the practice of "restavek" by:
. Launching a sensitization campaign on the dangers and impact of the
practice of restavek on children and child labour in general, throughout the
country, including border and rural areas
. Facilitating access and monitor registration of children, particularly at
birth, throughout the country
. Providing alternative income generating programs for poor families in
rural communities to develop agriculture and market their goods (provision
of small start up grants, establishment of revolving funds, training
programs, especially with female-headed households
. Ensuring compulsory and free primary education for children, and increase
access to educational facilities in rural areas, as well as free health care
. Providing training of government officials dealing with vulnerable
children: Government ministries, including local Government agencies, the
Brigade de Protection des Mineurs, labour inspectors, teachers, doctors and
all other relevant professional groups and stakeholders
. Developing special national referral systems and coordinated protection
mechanisms for vulnerable children and ensure their effective functioning
Important legislative changes are necessary:
. The Government of Haiti should take urgent measures to bring local
legislation in conformity with international legal instruments ratified by
Haiti, it should also:
. Ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights,
the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of their Families,
. Develop and implement comprehensive national legislation addressing in a
complex way all issues related to specific groups of vulnerable children and
mechanisms of implementation
. Adopt a Law on the fight against trafficking in humans and develop strong
mechanisms on child adoption
. Adopt immediate and long term measures to address shortcomings in the
administration of justice in the country
To ensure safe return and effective reintegration of children in their
families and communities, the Government should :
. Develop strong cooperation between state entities- juvenile police
brigades , departments on children , social workers and NGOs' to effectively
address these challenges and protect the rights of the child
. Establish special hot lines and services, such as temporary safe place for
restavek children
. Provide safe return and monitor reintegration and reinsertion to family,
schools and community and provide necessary assistance packages ensuring
sustainable protection
. Encourage access to justice and develop special protection legal
mechanisms (in conformity with international human rights standards) of
participation of children in judicial proceedings
. Develop special training and sensitization for the judiciary in the rights
of the child.
Recommendations to International Organizations:
. Prioritize protection of vulnerable children and their families in rural
and urban areas in their programs and assist the Government and NGOs in the
implementation of their programs
. Mainstream protection of vulnerable children and their families in all
development and human security programs
. In cooperation with Government and NGOs, conduct a study on the nature and
incidence of child labour, and, based on its findings develop programs to
address the issue
. Establish special task forces to develop and monitor the effectiveness of
special programs to address the issue
Taking into consideration all the difficulties faced by the Government of
Haiti, the Special Rapporteur congratulates the Government on all its
achievements and commitment to address human rights challenges, in
particular those related to children, as they constitute almost half of the
population. The security and protection of rights of each individual in the
state enhances the security within entire nation, making it stronger and
equal.
The Special Rapporteur visited Haiti, from 2 to 10 June 2009 and met with
Government officials, the United Nations and other international
organizations, and representatives of the civil society to discuss
slavery-like practices in the country.
In May 2008, the Human Rights Council appointed Ms. Gulnara Shahinian as the
first Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of slavery, its causes and
consequences. Ms. Shahinian is a lawyer and has extensive experience working
as an expert consultant for various UN, EU, Council of Europe, OSCE and
government bodies on children's rights, gender, migration and trafficking.
She is also a former trustee of the UN Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary
Forms of Slavery.
For further information on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, please
visit the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/slavery/rapporteur/index.htm) or
contact SRslavery@ohchr.org, tel:
For use of the information media; not an official record
Brian Concannon Jr., Esq.
Director
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
P.O. Box 745
Joseph, OR 97846
541-432-0597
541-263-0029 (cell)
Brian@ijdh.org
Skype: Brian.Concannon
