Haiti - Every Casualty Counts

5,601+

Deaths from armed violence, 2023 – 2024

Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, the existing crisis of armed gang violence has escalated catastrophically. By 2023, over 80 per cent of Haiti’s capital city was controlled by armed gangs, leading to the deployment of a multi-national security mission led by Kenya. More than 5,600 people are believed to have been killed in gang violence in 2024, and hundreds of thousands displaced. The current situation is one of the most severe security crises in Haiti’s modern history, with fears that it may lead to total collapse of state institutions.

Armed violence and widespread human rights violations have marked Haiti’s modern history. François “Papa Doc” Duvalier ruled as dictator from 1957 – 1971, during which time his paramilitary forces were responsible for thousands of killings. He was succeeded by his son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier (1971-1986), whose repressive regime led to the death of an estimated 30,000-60,000 Haitians.

Following a period of military rule and coups, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president in 1990 in Haiti’s first free and fair election. Aristide was overthrown in a military coup in September 1991. During the subsequent military junta government, thousands of Aristide’s supporters were killed. Aristide returned to power in 1994 with the backing of 20,000 US troops, following international sanctions on the military government.

An armed insurgency began in 2004 led by former military officers, leading to the exile of Aristide. UN stabilisation missions were deployed from 2004 – 2018 to try to restore security by tackling the armed gangs. Allegations of human rights abuses, including sexual exploitation, by UN forces tarnished the mission. Since the departure of UN forces, Haiti has faced ongoing, widespread and increasing armed gang violence.

Haiti has also suffered mass casualty events resulting from natural disasters and epidemics, including the 2010 earthquake which killed an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people.

What we’re doing

Every Casualty Counts works with Haitian human rights organisations to support their efforts to document casualties of armed violence, and to bring their research to the attention of international policy makers. We have enabled CRN members from Haiti to make numerous submissions to the United Nations Human Rights Council and international experts about casualties of the armed violence.

Human Rights Council 57th session – Statement for the interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on Haiti

9 October 2024

A statement from Every Casualty Counts and CRN member ‘Défenseurs Plus collective’ during the ‘interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on Haiti’ at #HRC57

Casualty Recorders Network (CRN) members’ evidence to the OHCHR study on the impact of casualty recording on the promotion and protection of human rights

22 May 2023

Every Casualty Counts worked with numerous members of our Casualty Recorders Network, and other casualty recording initiatives, to provide further evidence to the OHCHR study on casualty recording.

Casualty recording in Haiti

Ongoing lack of democratic rule, political stability, resources, and respect for human rights have created an environment in which there have been almost no effective state-led initiatives to document casualties of armed violence in Haiti. The only example of efforts in this area was the National Truth and Justice Commission (Commission Nationale de Vérité et de Justice, CNJV) which operated from 1995 – 1996.

The CNJV was mandated to identify the perpetrators of the many human rights violations and crimes against humanity following the military control of government from September 1991 to October 1994. The short timeframe in which the CNJV operated limited its ability to conduct extensive investigations. However, the Commission’s final report individually identified 8,667 victims of human rights violations during the period, including approximately 3,000 fatalities.

United Nations casualty records

The UN has had some form of presence in Haiti since 2004. These have focused primarily on maintaining security and humanitarian relief. Both MINUSTAH (2004 – 2017) and MINUJUSTH (2017 – 2019) had human rights components within the mission, and recorded incidents of human rights violations. They published periodic reports on patterns of violence and emblematic cases but were not mandated to compile or publish exhaustive lists of victims.

The UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) has been operational since 2019. It continuously monitors human rights violations, including killings, and publishes regular statistical reports. These provide detailed figures on casualties, including demographic breakdowns of age and sex. The High Commissioner for Human Rights and his designated expert on Haiti also investigate killings in Haiti and publish regular reports on the situation.

Casualty recording by Haitian civil society

In the absence of effective efforts to comprehensively document the dead led by national authorities or international actors, the most consistent and reliable sources of information on casualties are Haitian civil society organisations.

Their work is limited by the security situation and the high degree of personal risk to which investigators are exposed. Travelling to the site of killings to interview witnesses carries a high risk of kidnap and potential murder. Witnesses and survivors are frequently too afraid to speak out, for fear of reprisals. Any person asking questions about fatalities will arouse suspicion and hostility from those responsible, with potentially fatal consequences. Identifying casualties is often complicated by the theft of bodies, which are held to ransom by those extorting money from the bereaved. Destruction of human remains by burning, dismemberment or disposal at sea is also a common problem.

Civil society casualty recorders in Haiti must conduct investigations with extreme caution, and within an exceptionally hostile context.

Information on individual casualties

Sources of information about people killed in armed violence in Haiti:

Collectif Defenseurs Plus

CRN Member

Defenseurs Plus is a Haitian human rights organisation established in 2013. It conducts direct investigations of killings wherever possible, and routinely publishes reports about violations of the right to life, including killings by armed gangs and state actors.

Fordi9 Chronicle

Find out more

The Fordi9 Chronicle is an online memorial naming thousands of the victims of the Duvalier dictatorships. It spans the period from 1957 – 1986, and is named after Fort Dimanche, a notorious detention site of the era.

United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH)

Find out more

Active since 2019, BINUH conducts continuous monitoring of human rights violations in Haiti, including killings. It does not publish identifying details of victims but produces regular statistical reports with detailed demographic, thematic and geographical breakdowns of deaths.

Image: Paying Respects by All Hands Volunteers Photobank licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0