Legislation and Policy

Gerald Oriol, Jr, Haiti’s Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities Sourced: https://www.caribjournal.com/2012/11/07/moving-forward-on-disability-in-haiti/#

While legislatively Haiti meets most human rights standards, many provisions are not regarded. With political instability and a history plagued by the presidency of Francois Duvalier who ruled with a blatant disregard to human life and rights. It should be no surprise that legislation regarding the human rights of persons with disabilities didn’t begin until 1998 with the signing of the San Juan de Puerto Rico declaration, recognizing the need for people with disabilities to be a part of the democratic process. Following this, was the adoption of the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against People with Disabilities in 1999; ratified in 2008. Haiti then adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities in 2009.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) held a meeting in April 2018 that noted legislation and public policy still presented with numerous concerns. Notable concerns include, but are not limited to the following:

• Despite the ratification of public policy put forth by the UNCRPD, discrimination on the basis of disability adopted before and after the ratification is still applicable.
• Offensive and derogatory language remains common in law and in practice.
• There is no legislation prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of disability, including the denial of reasonable accommodation.
• Haiti currently has no national strategy and policy for raising awareness, nor adequate representation of organizations of persons with disabilities, which only furthers the perpetuation of negative stereotypes, taboos, and the ongoing stigma surrounding disability.
• There is a high risk to the right to life for persons with disabilities, in particular women with disabilities. The UNCRPD reported in its April 2018 meeting “three women with a hearing impairment were savagely murdered in 2016 on the grounds that they were evil spirits. It further regrets that, to date, the perpetrators have not been prosecuted and sentenced.”
• The lack of protection for children against abandonment, neglect, and violence within the family, schools, and other care facilities.
• There is no current legislative framework regulation accessibility of built and physical environments, information and communication technologies.
• The absence of laws to protect individuals with disabilities against exploitation, violence and abuse.

In addition to the above mentioned, concerns regarding forced detention of individuals with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, access to justice, equal recognition before the law, insufficient access to social, health-care, education and economic services, segregated education environments, as well as many other .

Education

Photo: Mary Stokes/ World Bank
Sourced: http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2017/04/11/improving-access-to-education-for-the-poor-in-haiti

The education sector in Haiti lacks the quality and access needed to sustain social and economical growth.  General educational challenges include low enrollment, poor literacy rates, lack of government oversight, and a shortage of qualified teachers. 90% of educational institutions in Haiti are non-public and managed by communities and religious organizations.  With 33% of Haiti’s population consisting of children age 14 and younger, the country faces  both supply and demand challenges.

It is uncommon for Haitian school’s to accept children with disabilities, and due to long standing stigma children with disabilities are often met with abuse and discrimination from not only their peers, but also their teachers.  An estimated 5% of children living with disabilities have access to inclusive education.  However, through humanitarian organizations like PAZAPA, can offer specialized medical care and inclusive education to Haiti’s children.

Employment

According to the World Bank, “Haiti remains the poorest country of the Americas: based on the most recent household survey (2012), over 6 million of Haiti’s population of 10.4 million (or 59 percent) live below the national poverty line of US$2.41 per day, and more than 2.5 million (24 percent) fall below the national extreme poverty line (US$1.23 per day).”  Haitians living with disabilities are of extreme risk to living within these poverty lines.  Gerald Oriol Jr, Haiti’s Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities is quoted saying ““The vast majority of people with disabilities in Haiti live in abject poverty, and the situation, obviously, is very tough. Access to education remains a huge challenge. Access to job training programmes is very difficult.” Many Haitians living with disabilities make their livelihood in unconventional ways, such as, braiding palm branches into rope to sell and the selling of other handmade goods.

Works Cited

The World Factbook: Haiti. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html.

Haiti. USAID from the American People. Retrieved from https://www.usaid.gov/haiti/education.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 13 April 2018. United Nations.

Haiti. Humanity & Inclusion. Retrieved from https://www.hi-us.org/haiti.

Nybo, Thomas. At a Glance: Haiti. 31 May 2013. UNICEF. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/sowc/haiti_69431.html