One year later: Call on US to let a Haitian solution emerge

Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse. His murder came only days after the killings of activist Netty Duclaire, journalist Diego Charles, and nineteen others in Delmas 32. No one has been held to account.

One year later, de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry maintains a stranglehold on government power and the situation in Port-au-Prince has reached levels of unprecedented misery and danger. The brutal violence and insecurity in the capital reverberates out into every corner of the country - gang fighting has cut off land access to the South for over a year and blocked routes to the North, increasing food and water insecurity, and causing closures of schools and hospitals. 

Haitians have been mobilizing to demand a government that works for them, including through the historic consensus process carried out by the Commission for a Haitian Solution that resulted in the Montana Accord. They have put forward a vision for achieving democratic stability in Haiti, one that requires rebuilding democratic institutions, tackling corruption, and redistributing political power. 

But US support for the de facto government means that Henry has an effective veto in any national dialogue and removes his incentives to cede power that benefits him and the PHTK party, which has presided over this unprecedented crisis after being installed at the urging of the US and others in the Core Group. It is support that the US is not hesitating to offer even though Henry himself, as well as other PHTK-affiliated officials and individuals, are alleged to have been involved in the Moïse assassination and have obstrcuted the investigation by replacing prosecutors and failing to provide protection to judges and their clerks. 

The US Hands Off Haiti advocacy campaign is focused on the US role in keeping a leader without a mandate in power in Haiti, despite the horrific track record of Henry and his allies in PHTK. Check out the Consensus Talking Points on US policy towards Haiti for more details and see the recent statement from the NYU, Harvard and Yale Law Clinics which concluded: “It is time for the United States to prioritize support for human rights and rule of law over support for the PHTK.”

As long as the US allows Henry to veto negotiations, a Haitian solution cannot emerge. Join us in calling on the US to stop picking winners and losers in Haiti! Sign on as an organization and as an individual.

Add your organization by filling out this form, and please help us reach 100 signatures this week by spreading the word to your partners in other networks as well.