The prison situation in Haiti is most worrying, at the National Penitentiary of Port-au-Prince, at the Prison of Cap-Haitien and in other prison centers in the country, we have witnessed inhuman conditions of detention. 219 detainees died in 2022, mainly from malnutrition or lack of access to adequate medicines and health care due to the shortcomings and dysfunctions of the judicial system at all levels.

According to William O'Neill, United Nations Human Rights Expert, "[...] an effective justice system is essential to combat the corruption and impunity that fuel the cycle of violence and have paralyzed the country for decades," believing that the lack of control, accountability and sanctions of officials in the judiciary creates fertile ground for corruption and impunity.

In overcrowded Haitian prisons, detainees are crammed into cramped cells, in stifling heat, sometimes without access to water, sanitation and with insufficient food.

"Jurisdictions must make every effort to allow detainees to live in dignity and commit to significantly increasing the number of cases processed for people in pretrial detention," said William O'Neill, deeming it urgent to restore the Court of First Instance of Port-au-Prince, which has not been operational for more than a year.

Read also on this topic :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37763-haiti-justice-poor-detention-conditions-threats-of-recourse-against-the-state.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34148-haiti-flash-the-hell-of-haitian-prisons-report.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29574-haiti-justice-the-iachr-finds-found-human-rights-violations-in-prisons.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23478-haiti-flash-haiti-world-champion-of-prison-overcrowding.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22998-haiti-flash-explosive-situation-among-the-detainees-of-the-commissariat-of-petit-goave.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20317-haiti-justice-gustavo-gallon-harshly-judge-the-haitian-prison-system.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19870-haiti-flash-new-wave-of-deaths-at-the-national-penitentiary.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-18727-icihaiti-justice-the-national-penitentiary-of-death.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16781-icihaiti-humanitarian-the-state-can-not-feed-all-the-inmates-of-its-prison.html

HL/ S/ HaitiLibre