Canadian sanctions are a slow and late step in the right direction Opinion

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In a November 25 interview, Haitian Canadian writer Danny Laveriere bemoaned that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chose to impose sanctions — without showing apparent guilt — against several Haitian heads of state, including former President Michel Martelly. According to the writer, the issue of the President of the Republic or the Presidency of the Republic is a symbol that should not be attacked except with the emergence of clear, indisputable justice. Otherwise, he said, “It’s an arrogant act.”

I tend to take the opposite view. For a corrupt country like Haiti, the President of the Republic or Presidency is the primary entity that bears responsibility.

Contradictory to Danny Lafrire

In 2021, Haiti is ranked 164 out of 180 countries on the Corruption Perceptions Index. Among the factors perpetuating extreme poverty in the country, excessive corruption carries significant weight. It forms the gangrene that bedevils the country. It hinders private investment and employment, undermines the production of goods and services, leads to social unrest, insecurity, banditry/kidnapping, and impoverishes the country.

The impact of financial corruption on people’s lives, health and safety has many harmful effects such as acts of violence on a particular group. What is happening before our eyes in Haiti today is a concrete case. Therefore, financial crimes must be punished with the same severity as genocide, starting with senior leaders because they must act with higher moral standards.

This is why such a corrupt presidency must be attacked in the context of impeachment.

“Earthquake” these penalties are not

For her part, Le Nouvelleste described these Canadian sanctions as a political earthquake in Haiti. I’d rather see them as a timid, belated step in the right direction.

Billions of dollars have been squandered, including funds for relief and recovery after the 2010 earthquake and the Petro-Caribbean project. In the latter case alone, evidence of widespread corruption in a mismanaged Petro-Caribbean fund was presented in an investigative report of more than 1,000 pages. People have been demonstrating in the streets for months, demanding justice and the return of this money. In addition, some former and current gang leaders have admitted to working with members of the Haitian government and the so-called Haitian aristocracy. These are all enough evidence to charge the leaders at the time.

Among the factors perpetuating extreme poverty in the country, excessive corruption carries significant weight. It forms the gangrene that bedevils the country.

Despite all this evidence, how can Laferrière say Canada acted in haste with these sanctions?

Given the paralysis of justice in Haiti and the absence of strong international mechanisms to bring the corrupt to justice, Canada’s sanctions can be seen as a form of accusation in the court of public opinion. It is up to these defendants to prove themselves not guilty.

This can be very simple. To start, defendants can file their declaration of property before they come to the authority and after they leave the seat of the authority. Significant differences in wealth (eg, more than $1 million over two or three years) should be made clear, particularly if the position holder’s original wealth was negligible. Should this demonstration fail, these persons shall be duly judged.

That would be the complete change.

Mobilization for justice

The other big step is to file formal indictments of sanctioned actors in the actual courts. But how do we continue?

Transnational entities such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague prosecute heinous crimes such as genocide, while the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna pursues crimes such as drug trafficking, terrorism and corruption. There is also the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCC) which Haiti has signed since 2003 and ratified in 2009. However, this agreement is ineffective and not binding enough.

My proposal from last year to reverse poverty in Haiti consisted of strengthening the United Nations Compensation Commission. It can be given, for example, direct investigative power, with the support of an organized civil society, the national judicial system and a political party with official opposition status. To realize such a proposal, it is necessary to carry out in-depth reforms in the laws and regulations of these institutions. In addition, negotiations must take place. It is certainly a difficult task, but not impossible.

As some readers have pointed out, “It’s no small feat” — and I agree. International institutions will not go into this on their own or unless they are forced to do so. This is why moving in this direction requires a lot of social pressure, strategic cohesion, militancy and pressure.

Former presidents Jovenel Moise and Michel Martelly, pictured during the 2016 election campaign. (Reuters)

Unfortunately, we didn’t see that either. Aside from a video of Dr. Jean Fels-Aimé circulating on social media denouncing Danny Laferrière (too little, in my opinion), I have not heard of demonstrations or mobilizations of the Haitian diaspora to:

Support the Trudeau government for its sanctions. They demanded that these penalties be extended to other corrupt sectors. Condemnation of Danny Laveriere’s statements.

Is it because of the attitude of resignation or the cultural influence of proverbs like “Plimin poul la, pa kitel rele”, “Degajé pa peché”, and “Imbesil ki bay, sot ki pa pran”. In his book The Haiti Dilemma, author Drylen LaGuerre discusses some of our seemingly innocuous proverbs that are actually problematic. For example, the proverb “Degajé pa peché”—which indicates that not calling petty thefts is acceptable—sows the seeds or contributes to the creation of corrupt citizens in the future.

If we set out to change our mindset and mobilize massively around this proposal or something relatively similar like this Facebook group called Fight the corrupts, who knows? And as a final result, in the not too distant future, international institutions such as the International Criminal Court or the United Nations Compensation Commission could move to the stage of financial crime prosecution.

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