Impunity and the Non-Report of Rape
The pattern of impunity for abuse perpetrated by both state and non-state actors in Haiti was not unique to sexual assault. The Haitian military was notoriously corrupt—characterized by one prominent social scientist as "organized in practice, not in theory, on the basis of corruption . . . . [C]orruption is found in the process at all levels, from promotions to post assignments, and in the daily routine of military life."85
The Haitian judicial system was widely regarded as corrupt and dominated by the army. Following the 1986 flight from Haiti of Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier, each successive army-backed regime, despite lip service to the need for judicial reform, presided over a system utterly lacking in due process guarantees as well as dependent on and subservient to the military.86
Judicial redress in ordinary criminal and civil proceedings was difficult to obtain. Few cases were adjudicated each year, and prisoners were commonly held for lengthy periods without a trial or sentence. The resolution of these cases often depended more on money or power than on justice. Since before the coup d'état, the police handicapped investigations by refusing to gather evidence. Moreover, the army interfered with the judicial process at every level, including the harassment and punishment of attorneys and judges for carrying out their duties.
While military authorities ruled Haiti, it was extremely unlikely that a victim of abuse by the military, police or others associated with the military authorities could expect justice. In fact, according to reports by Human Rights Watch and the National Coalition for Haitian Refugees and other human rights groups, despite an appalling record of human rights abuses over the past two and a half years, very few perpetrators have ever been held accountable.87 Thus for victims of rape:
A system that already is so rife with intimidation, bribery, corruption, and outside pressures cannot ensure that victims' rights will be respected, and that perpetrators of assaults will be punished in accordance with the law. Even in business disputes and other simple crimes, there is just too much room for something to go wrong.
There is no reason for anyone, and especially a victim of rape, particularly if her assailants are the military, paramilitary forces, or anyone else even nebulously associated with the military, to believe that there is a chance for judicial redress. It just won't happen. Furthermore, the woman would probably be putting her life in danger. It is no accident that the justice system in Haiti does not work. The government [military authorities] has fostered this and benefits from it.88
In cases documented by the UN/OAS civilian mission, women trying to seek legal redress for rape were met by official indifference and incredulity. One woman, raped by attachés, told us that going to the police would be the equivalent of a "death wish." In general, the women feared that the perpetrators would discover that they were pressing charges and return to do them greater harm.
Not everyone we interviewed shared this point of view. The president of the Port-au-Prince Bar Association, Louis Gary Lissade, told us that he believed strongly that any woman who had been raped by a soldier or attaché could go to the police to report her assault, would be appointed legal representation and could proceed with her trial. However, Mr. Lissade also added that the justice system was "weak" in general and that the investigation of a rape is affected by the wealth of the family:
If a [raped] woman belongs to a wealthy family, the family will finance the investigation. They can put a car and money at the disposition of the police. The policemen will have an incentive to conduct a thorough investigation. However, if the women is from the lower class and does not know the author of the rape, the police will have no car, no gas [because of the embargo]. It is all so expensive. It will be a difficult situation for the girl.89
Since Aristide's return, although the Haitian army has been disbanded and the interim police force is civilian-controlled, the justice system is being evaluated in preparation for reform but as yet does not provide meaningful protection of due process or guarantee expeditious trials. In the meantime, to our knowledge, not one case of politically-motivated rape has been investigated, tried, or prosecuted.
85 Laguerre, The Military and Society in Haiti, p. 155.
86 Emile Jonassaint, appointed president on May 11, 1994 by a group of parliamentarians allied with the army, was appointed head of the Supreme Court after the coup d'état against Aristide. For a detailed discussion of the Haitian legal system and its historical domination by the executive and the army, see Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights, Paper Laws, Steel Bayonets: Breakdown of the Rule of Law in Haiti (New York: November 1990).
87 See Human Rights Watch/Americas and National Coalition for Haitian Refugees, Terror Prevails in Haiti; Americas Watch and the National Coalition for Haitian Refugees, Silencing a People: The Destruction of Civil Society in Haiti (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1993).
88 Telephone interview, William O'Neill, former director of legal services for the UN/OAS civilian mission, April 18, 1994.
89 Telephone interview, May 4, 1994.
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