In the context of the 31st anniversary of the 1987 Constitution, Renan Hedouville, the Protector of the Citizen recalls that on March 29, 1987, Haiti adopted by referendum a new Constitution called the "1987 Constitution" which in its preamble and its various chapters enshrines all a set of democratic principles and values guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 10, 1948: the protection of human rights, the principle of separation of powers, political alternation, gender equity, freedom of the press etc...

He stressed that the adoption of this text marked a historic turning point ending a long period of dictatorship leaving behind the legacy of systematic violations of human rights.

However, he notes "[...] the human rights principles included in the 1987 constitution are daily violated by the authorities, most often in charge of enforcing them. 31 years after the adoption of the Constitution, Haiti finds itself in a deadlock between protection and human rights violations. It is hard to celebrate 31 years since the adoption of the mother law, especially in a context where the Haitian press is in shock with the disappearance of the young journalist photographer Vladjimir Legagneur since March 14, 2018 [...]" https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23928-haiti-news-zapping.html

While welcoming the progress achieved in Haiti in the field of civil and political rights, he reaffirms its commitment to the Constitution and recommends to the political authorities "[...] the implementation of public policies that can combat the phenomenon of impunity which constitutes an impediment to the application of the human rights principles guaranteed by the 1987 Constitution."

IH/ iciHaiti