Democrats and Republicans, editorial boards and city governments, Haitian Americans and all who care to save lives, help Haiti recover, and secure fair treatment are urging the White House to instruct DHS to create a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program.

Please join this effort by adding your name to the petition and broadly distributing the link to all of your contacts and friends nationwide urging them to do the same!

It takes a minute and will send a pow­er­ful mes­sage to the White House that this is some­thing to do NOW!

Thanks in advance for helping Haiti and saving lives by quickly reuniting families!

For more infor­ma­tion con­tact IJDH Immi­gra­tion Pol­icy Coor­di­na­tor Steve Forester at steveforester@aol.com .

Click here for State Representative Dorcena Forry’s e-mail urging your help in securing the broadest possible signing and dissemination of this excellent petition!

Click here to examine the extensive nationwide support for this goal!

HAITI’S JUSTICE SYSTEM, long an instrument of official impunity for the rich, powerful and well-connected, is busy whitewashing the human rights crimes committed under the country’s former dictator and “president for life,” Jean-Claude Duvalier.

On Monday, a Haitian magistrate cleared Mr. Duvalier, known as Baby Doc, of well-documented violations, including extra-judicial killings, torture and disappearances, during his bloody reign from 1971 to 1986. The magistrate, Carves Jean, said the statute of limitations blocked prosecution of the human rights crimes, and he ruled that Mr. Duvalier should face trial only on corruption charges.

The decision is a judicial travesty. It is a fist in the face of thousands of Haitian victims and a statement of contempt for international standards of justice, under which the country had a clear obligation to hold Mr. Duvalier to account. It makes clear that Haitian justice remains what it has been for decades: an oxymoron.

The ruling was made with the apparent blessing of President Michel Martelly, the former pop star who has traded his raunchy carnival act for dark suits and the formal bearing of public office.

A number of Mr. Martelly’s allies and ministers have close ties to the Duvalier dictatorship, and the president has devoted himself to airbrushing the old tyrant’s misdeeds since Mr. Duvalier, 60, surprised the world by returning to Haiti a year ago, after a 25-year exile in France. Mr. Martelly has included Mr. Duvalier at official functions, allowed him to ignore an order of house arrest and minimized the horrific crimes of the past. “It is part of the past,” Mr. Martelly told The Post’s William Booth last month. “We need to learn our lessons and move forward.”

In fact, by sweeping the Duvalier-era crimes under the rug, Haiti is assuring that they will fester, further polarizing a country profoundly, and often violently, divided by class, wealth and race.

It also blatantly ignores decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, to which Haiti is bound, which has repeatedly held that gross human rights violations are not covered by any statute of limitations or amnesty. As Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch has pointed out, Argentina, Chile, Peru and other countries continue to pursue equally old human rights cases — and in cases involving disappearances, the crime is ongoing since the victims’ fates are unknown.

The victims include hundreds of political prisoners tortured and sometimes lost in Fort Dimanche and two other notorious prisons collectively known as “the triangle of death.” They include those beaten and exiled for crossing Mr. Duvalier and his henchmen. And they include countless others subjected to arbitrary arrests, prolonged jailings and murders at the hands of security forces and shadowy militias loyal to Mr. Duvalier.

To excuse all that is to desecrate Haiti’s history and its people. Other governments — starting with the Obama administration, which has spoken meekly on Mr. Duvalier’s case — should demand justice.

See The Original Post :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/duvaliers-exoneration-in-haiti-is-a-judicial-travesty/2012/01/31/gIQAeP6ziQ_story.html

If you would like more information about Jean-Claude Duvalier Prosecutions, please visit http://ijdh.org/projects/jean-claude-duvalier#News Articles

Haiti’s judicial authorities have dealt yet another blow to the victims of former leader Jean-Claude Duvalier, Amnesty International said today after the criminal case against the former “president-for-life” for grave human rights violations was dropped.

An investigating judge in Port-au-Prince yesterday announced that Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier will not stand trial for alleged crimes against humanity – including torture, disappearances and extrajudicial executions – but only for embezzlement of public funds committed during his rule between 1971 and 1986. The text of the judge’s decision has not been made public.

Jean-Claude Duvalier has been under investigation in Haiti since he returned from exile in France in January 2011, after a group of victims filed complaints accusing him of crimes against humanity as well as corruption and theft.

The victims can appeal the judge’s decision and Amnesty International has vowed to continue supporting their search for justice. from exile in France in January 2011, after a group of victims filed complaints accusing him of crimes against humanity as well as corruption and theft.

“The conclusion of the sham investigation into Duvalier is a disgrace and will further entrench impunity in Haiti. No serious effort was made to determine the truth despite the multiple complaints and abundant evidence about the crimes committed and the victims,” said Javier Zúñiga, Special Adviser at Amnesty International who researched the crimes of Jean-Claude Duvalier in the 1980s.

“The handful of victims that have been interviewed had been subjected to intimidation by Duvalier supporters and his lawyers. It is clear that the investigating judge left out invaluable evidence and decided not to interview all the victims that filed complaints. This is a dark day for Haiti and for justice.”

“Duvalier benefited from a safe haven in France for 25 years until he returned to Haiti, where the authorities have failed to hold him to account for the crimes under international law perpetrated by his subordinates while he was in power.”

In January 2011, Amnesty International submitted extensive documentation on the grave human rights violations committed under Duvalier, none of which was considered by the magistrate.

Under international law, torture, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions and arbitrary arrests are considered crimes against humanity when committed as part of a systematic or widespread attack against the civilian population.

No statute of limitations may apply to crimes against humanity and the alleged perpetrators cannot benefit from amnesties, even in the case of former heads of state.

Amnesty International has expressed concern that the current Haitian government lacks the will to bring Duvalier to justice.

“Recent public statements from President Martelly hinted at pardoning Duvalier. This could amount to unacceptable pressure and interference with the investigation. Inviting Jean-Claude Duvalier to take part in public official ceremonies clearly showed that the government wanted to rehabilitate Duvalier instead of holding him to account,” said Javier Zúñiga.

“Haiti has failed to live up to its international obligations to investigate all allegations of crimes against humanity and bring their perpetrators to justice. Victims have been awaiting justice for more than 25 years, and today’s decision is a major setback to them and all Haitians. But this is not the end of the road – we will continue to support the victims at the appeal stage and in international instances if necessary.”

See the Original Post :
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/haiti-dropping-jean-claude-duvalier-case-disgrace-2012–01-31
If you would like more information about Jean-Claude Duvalier Prosecutions, please visit : http://ijdh.org/projects/jean-claude-duvalier#News Articles