Historical overview of the RNDDH
The website of the Haitian non-governmental organization (NGO), known as the National Human Rights Defense Network (Réseau national de défense des droits humains, RNDDH), provides the following information regarding its origins.
Known as the National Coalition for Haitian Refugees (NCHR) when it was first established in New York in 1982, the organization was initially engaged in training and lobbying to end the deportation of Haitians who had supposedly fled the Duvalier dictatorship and to help them obtain legal status in the United States. Later, after becoming involved in the nascent democratic movement in Haiti, it established itself there in April 1992. Operating under the title of National Coalition for Haitian Rights - Coalition nationale pour les droits des Haïtiens beginning in 1995, it became "autonomous" in April 2005. Primarily as a result of its expansion to the national and international levels, it changed its name to the National Human Rights Defense Network (Réseau national de défense des droits humains, RNDDH) (RNDDH n.d.).
According to two sources, the RNDDH focuses on two areas, namely the monitoring of human rights and training in that same field (SIPU International June 2009, 10; RNDDH n.d.). The RNDDH reportedly also plays a role in the promotion of democracy, reform of the justice system, and reform of the prison system in Haiti (RNDDH n.d.).
Reputation of the RNDDH
A report published in June 2009 by SIPU International, a Swedish consultancy and training organization specializing in capacity building and institutional development in developing countries (SIPU International n.d.), explains that the RNDDH is one of the oldest organizations for the defense of human rights in Haiti (ibid. June 2009, 10). According to SIPU International, the RNDDH is probably, among like organizations, the "most respected ... and one of the most (pro)active," thanks in large measure to its "palpable" dynamism and the fact that it is established in the country's ten departments (June 2009, 10). SIPU International also cites the Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation (ICCO), a Dutch NGO that supports development in several countries (ICCO n.d.), which, based on its evaluations of the RNDDH carried out in 2002, 2003 and 2008, concluded that it was " well-structured, well-managed and transparent with a good feedback system and willingness to improve, based on regular evaluations." (SIPU International June 2009, 10). The ICCO added that "virtually all respondents [questioned about the RNDDH] attest to the reliability and effectiveness of its actions." (ibid.) Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
Three sources consulted by the Research Directorate cited the RNDDH as a source of information (AI 1 Feb. 2010; Le Devoir 10 Feb. 2007; Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers 2008, 85). An article published on 10 February 2007 by Le Devoir of Montreal, in collaboration with Le Monde of Paris, cites the RNDDH as reportedly denouncing the assassinations of several hundred persons, including police officers and United Nations (UN) peacekeepers, between January and November 2006. In a document published in 2008, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers cited the RNDDH for reportedly writing an open letter to the Director General of the Haitian National Police (Police nationale d'Haïti, PNH) denouncing the inability of police forces to end the explosion of violence in Port-au-Prince. Also, in an article published on 1 February 2009, Amnesty International (AI) referred to an RNDDH report published in November 2008 highlighting the poor detention conditions in some of Haiti's prisons.
RNDDH activities, partnerships and funding
The RNDDH is a member of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme, FIDH) (FIDH 11 Apr. 2010), with which it co-signed an open letter to the members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council in 2009 regarding the evaluation report and the renewal of the mandate of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haiti, MINUSTAH) (FIDH and RNDDH 5 Oct. 2009). According to an article published on 8 May 2006 by the Haitian press agency AlterPresse, the RNDDH organized an international seminar at the beginning of the month in cooperation with the Organization of American States (OAS), the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) and the Swedish NGO Foundation for Human Rights; it was attended by 54 people, including members of the PNH, journalists and human rights advocates from Haiti and various continents. At the conclusion of this seminar, which dealt with UN and inter-American mechanisms for the protection of human rights, a number of participants reportedly expressed their satisfaction with the training provided (AlterPresse 8 May 2006). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
As part of a reform of the Haitian penitentiary system intended to foster respect for prisoners' rights, the Canadian NGO Rights and Democracy funded two studies that were conducted in partnership with the RNDDH; the first was entitled "Traitement humain des personnes détenues en Haïti" [humane treatment of detainees in Haiti], and a second was done on the prison for women in Pétion-Ville (Rights and Democracy n.d.a.). Rights and Democracy was established in 1988 by the Parliament of Canada to promote respect for human rights and democracy throughout the world (ibid. n.d.b). According to a document published by Rights and Democracy in 2010, among the "surest" partners to benefit from Canadian government aid in Haiti were Canadian organizations such as the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), Oxfam Québec, and Haitian civil society organizations, such as the RNDDH (ibid. 2010).
The report published by SIPU International states that, on average, 10 percent of the RNDDH's total budget comes from Sweden, through the MR Fund, which is designated for NGOs involved in the defense of human rights (June 2009, 10). According to a document published by the European Union (EU) on 18 November 2010, the RNDDH and Haiti's National Electoral Observation Council (Conseil national d'observation électorale, CNO) reportedly received approximately US$820,000 from the EU for election monitoring activities.
Criticisms of the RNDDH
In an article published in November 2008, the coordinator of the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) described NCHR-Haiti, now known as the RNDDH, as an "anti-Aristide" group funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) (COAT Nov. 2008). COAT is a national network of individuals and organizations in Canada opposed to the role played by Canada in the international arms trade (COAT n.d.). According to COAT's coordinator, following the fall of the Aristide regime, authorities arranged with NCHR-Haiti to "illegally" arrest pro-Aristide/pro-Lavalas party activitists based on accusations leveled by NCHR-Haiti (ibid.). According to an article published by Inter Press Service (IPS) on 20 August 2009, 16 party members and supporters were reportedly imprisoned on the basis of allegations by the RNDDH. These included notably former prime minister, Yvon Neptune (COAT Nov. 2008). In an article posted on 16 February 2010 on the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) website, an author who has published various articles on the situation in Haiti pointed out that CIDA's funding of NCHR-Haiti [translation] "is especially troubling because it is clear evidence of complicity between the highest levels of the Canadian government and a pro-coup NGO that has been highly discredited in the eyes of Haitians and international observers." (Saint-Vil 16 Feb. 2010). On its website, the CRG describes itself as a source of information that is "an alternative to the news emanating from the 'embedded' journalists (CRG n.d.). According to the author, the imprisonment of former prime minister Yvon Neptune allegedly "discredited" NCHR-Haiti to such a degree that, under pressure from its US head office, it changed its name to RNDDH (Saint-Vil 16 Feb. 2010). Also, according to COAT's coordinator, this name change can be explained by the desire of the head office to distance itself from NCHR-Haiti, which had become a source of embarrassment (COAT Nov. 2008).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
AlterPresse. 8 May 2006. Djems Olivier. "Haïti : des professionnels s'engagent à promouvoir le respect des droits humains." <http://www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article4591> [Accessed 7 Jan. 2011]
Amnesty International (AI). 1 February 2009. Jean-Michel Caroit. "Haïti de crise en crise." <http://www.amnesty.fr/index.php/amnesty/s_informer/la_chronique/fevrier_2009/ haiti_de_crise_en_crise> [Accessed 26 Jan. 2011]
Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). n.d. "Concernant le CRM." <http://www.mondialisation.ca/index.php?context=section§ionName=apropos> [Accessed 28 Jan. 2011]
Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT). November 2008. Richard Sanders. "NCHR-Haiti: A Prime Source of Canadian-funded Lies." Press for Conversion! no. 63. <http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/63/63_12.htm> [Accessed 7 Jan. 2011]
_____. n.d. About COAT. <http://coat.ncf.ca/about_coat/about_coat_main.htm> [Accessed 28 Jan. 2011]
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. 2008. "Haïti." Enfants soldats : extraits du rapport mondial 2008. <http://www.childsoldiersglobalreport.org/ files/french_translations/Haïti_FR.pdf> [Accessed 26 Jan. 2011]
Le Devoir [Montréal] and Le Monde [Paris]. 10 February 2007. Guy Taillefer. "Jusqu'où l'espoir?" <http://www.ledevoir.com/international/amerique-latine/130635/jusqu-ou-l-espoir> [Accessed 26 Jan. 2011]
European Union (EU). 18 November 2010. "L'Union européenne complète son appui au processus électoral haïtien par l'arrivée d'une mission d'experts électoraux." <http://ec.europa.eu/delegations/haiti/press_corner/all_news/news/2010/20101118_fr.ht> [Accessed 7 Jan. 2011]
Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH). 11 April 2010. "Réseau national de défense des droits humains - RNDDH." <http://www.fidh.org/-HAITI-Reseau-National-de-Defense-des-Droits-> [Accessed 31 Dec. 2010]
Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH) and Réseau national de défense des droits humains (RNDDH). 5 October 2009. "Lettre ouverte aux membres du Conseil de sécurité de l'Organisation des Nations Unies Bilan et renouvellement du mandat de la MINUSTAH." <http://www.cpdcngo.org/IMG/pdf/ FIDH_RNDDH_LO_CS_MINUSTAH_fr_.pdf> [Accessed 31 Dec. 2010]
Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation (ICCO). n.d. "About ICCO." <http:www.icco.nl/en/about-icco> [Accessed 12 Jan. 2011]
Inter Press service (IPS). 20 August 2009. Wadner Pierre and Jeb Sprague. "Haïti: Calls Mount to Free Lavalas Activist." <http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48159> [Accessed 26 Jan. 2011]
Réseau national de défense des droits humains (RNDDH). n.d. "The National Human Rights Defense Network." <http://www.rnddh.org/cvisite-eng.php3> [Accessed 31 Dec. 2010]
Rights and Democracy, 2010, "Background and Strategic Directions Prior to the 2010 Earthquake." <http://www.ichrdd.ca/site/_PDF/haiti/Fiche1-Haiti_en.pdf> [Accessed 31 Dec. 2010]
_____. n.d.a. "Where we work" <http://www.dd-rd.ca/site/what_we_do/index.php?id=1882&lang=en&subsection=where_we_work&subsubsection=country_documents> [Accessed 7 Jan. 2011]
_____. n.d.b. "Who we are." <http://www.ichrdd.ca/site/who_we_are/index.php?lang=en> [Accessed 31 Dec. 2010]
Saint-Vil, Jean. 16 February 2010. "Que fait vraiment le Canada en Haïti? L'initiative d'Ottawa sur Haïti : maintien de la paix humaniste ou impérialisme raciste?" (Centre for Research on Globalization CRG) <http://www.mondialisation.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=17652> [Accessed 13 Jan. 2011]
SIPU International. June 2009. Review of Experiences Gained Within Swedish Supported Development Cooperation in Haiti 1998-2009 with a Focus on Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law. <http://www.sida.se/PageFiles/19474/SIPU%20-Review%20of%20Experiences%20Sida%20Haiti%20final%20report.pdf> [Accessed 12 Jan. 2011]
_____. n.d. "About us." <http://www.sipuinternational.se/international/?pageid=241> [Accessed 12 Jan. 2011]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Attempts to contact representatives of Radio Métropole, the Réseau national de défense des droits humains (RNDDH) and the office of Archives nationales in Port-au-Prince were unsuccessful.
Internet sites, including: Amnesty International (AI), Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS), Centre de recherche sur les droits de l'homme et le droit humanitaire (CRDH), Collectif Haïti de France, Education International (EI), InfoSud Belgique (InfoSud), Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), International Crisis Group, Migrants outre-mer (MOM), Minority Rights Group International (MRG), North-South Institute (NSI), Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Organisation internationale de la francophonie (OIF), Radio France internationale (RFI), Réseau des médias francophones (MEDIAF), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United States Department of State.