Haitian Culture

Haiti – Justice : «The United States must not return anyone to Haiti» dixit William O’Neill, UN expert

July 6, 2025

Haiti – Justice : «The United States must not return anyone to Haiti» dixit William O’Neill, UN expert
05/07/2025 10:40:13

Following the official announcement on June 27, 2025, of the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti (TPS) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-45217-haiti-flash-end-of-tps-for-more-than-500-000-haitians-official.html concerning more than 500,000 Haitians who ultimately risk deportation from the United States, William O’Neill, the United Nations expert on human rights in Haiti since April 2023 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39291-haiti-justice-william-o-neill-new-independent-human-rights-expert-in-haiti.html , reacted strongly.

Reaction of William O’Neill (July 4th, 2025) :

“The human rights situation in Haiti is catastrophic by any measure. In my 30 years working in, and on, the country, I have never seen this level of sustained violence and fear.

There is currently no possibility for a safe, dignified and sustainable return of Haitians who are abroad. If anything, their country is much more dangerous than the one they fled.

Kidnappings, killings, sexual violence and other gross human rights violations and abuses have reached dramatic levels.

Violence has forced at least 1.3 million Haitians to flee their homes; half of them are children. The number of people displaced has increased by 25 per cent since last December.

More than half the population suffers from acute food insecurity and barely half of the country’s healthcare facilities are open. Only 13 per cent of them are fully operational.

According to the UN Human Rights Office, children are routinely recruited to join gangs. Sexual violence has increased significantly with gang rape being used to exploit, humiliate and project power. Services for survivors are limited and impunity for sexual crimes prevails.

Gang violence has spread beyond the capital Port-au-Prince all the way to the north of the country. The major urban centers and roads in the Central Plateau area, a key lifeline to Haiti’s north, is also dominated by gangs. And the Artibonite Valley, the country’s breadbasket, is now largely under gang control.

In short, nowhere is safe in Haiti right now.

Under international human rights law, the principle of non-refoulement entails an obligation on States not to return any person from their territory or under their jurisdiction to a place where there are substantial grounds for believing that the individual would be at risk of being subjected to persecution, torture, ill-treatment, enforced disappearance or other irreparable harm.

I reiterate the calls by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to all States not to forcibly return anyone to Haiti, including those who have had their asylum protection claims rejected or who have otherwise been found not to be in need of international protection, and to consider legal stay arrangements with appropriate safeguards.”

HL/ HaitiLibre

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