Human Rights Report 2007

Trafficking in Persons Report   -Report Home Page
Released by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
June 12, 2007

Special Cases

HAITI

Haiti has been in transition since widespread violence and political instability led to the resignation of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004. Since release of the 2006 Report, the country has undergone three rounds of national and local elections: presidential and parliamentary elections took place in spring 2006, and follow-up parliamentary and municipal elections were completed in December 2006. During the reporting period, Haiti struggled to establish a newly elected government and control rampant violence and crime in its capital, Port-au-Prince. Haiti remains the least developed nation in the Western Hemisphere, and is one of the poorest countries in the world, with an average per capita income of less than $500 per year, and an unemployment rate of nearly 40 percent. The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti currently has more than 6,500 troops and 1,600 UN police on the ground to reduce gang violence and kidnappings. Due to the absence of government institutions and a well-trained and equipped national police force, Haiti has been inhibited from addressing its significant human-trafficking challenges. Haiti remains a special case for a second consecutive year in recognition of its transitional status: Its government must be in place and secure before trafficking can be meaningfully addressed. However, the U.S. government anticipates that trafficking in Haiti can be assessed in next year's Report. The following background and recommendations are provided to help guide officials of the new government.

Scope and Magnitude. Haiti is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. The majority of trafficking in Haiti stems from poor rural families giving custody of their children to more affluent families, in the hope that they will receive an education and economic opportunities. The practice of trafficking such children, who are called restaveks, is widespread and often involves sexual exploitation, physical abuse, and youths being subjected to involuntary domestic servitude, a severe form of trafficking in persons. Some of these children are sent to the Dominican Republic, where they live in miserable conditions. Haitian children are also recruited or coerced into joining violent criminal gangs as fighters or thieves. Dominican women and girls are trafficked into Haiti for commercial sexual exploitation. There are reports that Dominican women are trafficked into Haitian brothels serving UN peacekeepers. Haitians also are trafficked to the Dominican Republic where they are exploited for labor on sugarcane plantations and in agriculture.

Areas for Attention for the New Government of Haiti. Haitian officials recognize that human trafficking is a serious problem in the country. The government should make every effort to pass comprehensive legislation to define and criminalize all forms of trafficking, in addition to strengthening the capacity of the Haitian National Police and the Minors Protection Brigade to investigate and prosecute trafficking cases. The government should continue to work with NGOs and social-welfare agencies to improve their ability to identify, refer, and provide services to restaveks and other Haitian children exploited as domestic servants. The government also should provide anti-trafficking training for judges, police, and prosecutors. Working with the Dominican Republic to improve security and aid trafficking victims along the border is an additional goal. Haiti has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Report.