Honoring Haitian Women Challenging Injustice and Ushering in Change in Haiti and Beyond

Dec 6, 2024 | Shayane Dalencourt-Simon
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In the middle of the 16 days of activism against gender violence, we honor the defense done by women in Haiti and their pivotal role as the diaspora. Amid persistent crisis and colonial legacy in the country, and anti-blackness and anti-Haitian racism abroad, they keep fighting systemic corruption, impunity, AIDS, HIV, and gender discrimination while defending women, girls, and migrants’ rights, the right to citizenship, and economic security for themselves and their families.

The spiral of violence in Haiti during the last years has led to the deployment of a Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM), which has provided limited information about its procedures, structure, and accountability mechanisms for human rights violations. Considering the troubling history of abuses and impunity associated with past multinational or foreign interventions in Haiti, including the United Nations Stabilization Mission, Amnesty International urges human rights safeguards, transparency and effective participation from civil society and human right defenders on every step of the deployment and afterwards.