Earlier this week, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted precautionary measures in favor of the 567 families are under constant threat of eviction in the Grace Village camp, located between Lamentin 52 and 54 in the town of Carrefour. Given the "imminent" threat to those in the camp, the IACHR urged the Government of Haiti :

- To adopt the necessary measures to avoid the excessive use of force and of violence in any eviction. In particular, to guarantee that the public authorities' actions as well as those of private parties pose no risk to the life and personal integrity of the camp residents;

- To implement effective security measures, in particular, to ensure that there is an adequate patrol around and inside the camp and to install police stations close to the camp. To this effect, the IACHR asks the Government to provide special protection to women and children;

- To ensure that the residents have access to the potable water required for basic needs;

- To consult with the beneficiaries and their representatives regarding the measures that need to be taken. In particular, ensure that the camp residents' committee as well as grassroots women's groups can fully participate in the planning and execution of the measures implemented for the benefit of residents, including measures focused on the prevention of sexual violence and other forms of violence in the camp; and

- To inform [the public] regarding the adopted measures so as to investigate the events that justifies the adoption of precautionary measures

The IACHR recalls that Grace Village residents have been victims of harassment significant and permanent, which included government complicity in both local and national level. The alleged owner of the land, the Pastor Joel Jeune, the founder of a Florida based 501(c)(3) organization, Grace International Inc., has close ties to the mayor's office and the local police, whose he sought assistance to proceed to illegal evictions. With his private security forces and the Haitian police, Pastor Joel Jeune has orchestrated and participated in violent, forced evictions of displaced families living inside Grace Village.

"The recommendations by the IACHR reconfirm that forced evictions from displacement camps not only add trauma to earthquake victims, but also violate Haitian and international human rights standards," declared Nicole Phillips of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti adding that "landowners should raise their concerns with the Haitian government and international community who have not provided adequate housing to earthquake victims, rather than waging violence against displaced communities desperate to find a safe home."

HL/ HaitiLibre