UN expert warns of 'massive failure' in Haitian justice system

By Firdevs Bulut Kartal

TORONTO (AA) - There is a "massive failure" in the Haitian justice system, and conditions in prisons are cruel, inhuman and degrading, a UN expert said Wednesday.

William O'Neill, UN independent expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti, said judges are supposed to charge or release anyone accused of a crime within 48 hours of arrest and prosecutors are charged with visiting prisons every month to ensure conditions are humane.

"Yet these legal obligations are rarely enforced and even rare. Weak accountability combined with rampant corruption results in state institutions that fail to protect human rights," O'Neill told in a news conference regarding his visit. "This situation illustrates a massive failure in the justice system."

He said the population has little confidence in the justice system and officials are rarely punished with weak oversight mechanisms.

"Until this aspect of governance is addressed, the human rights situation will remain dismal regardless of how much aid arrives or if the violence decreases," he added.

- Violence and social unrest in Haiti

Social unrest in Haiti was fueled by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes in August that same year, inflation, cholera cases, kidnappings and increased violence.

Hundreds have lost their lives since April 2022 due to fighting between armed groups.