Haiti: Wet seals on official documents, including those that are issued by police stations, courts, universities and the Maternity, Illness and Work-Related Accident Insurance Office (Office d'assurance accidents du travail, maladie et maternité, OFATMA); whether it is common for the text to be printed over the institution’s wet seal (2017-March 2020)
1. Seals on Official Documents
In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an assistant professor of social work at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), who lived in Haiti and taught social work there, indicated that seals are generally used in Haiti to authenticate documents:
The seals that are most often seen include wet seals (stamps), raised seals (using crimping with no ink), or, in the case of school certificates and diplomas, foil seals with or without stamps. Occasionally, a holographic or plastic wafer (sticker) seal will be used on a educational certificate. The official certificates from the Ministry of Education for professional development and vocational courses that don't have independent accreditation are a combination of raised seals and ink.
Police and court records most commonly have wet seals - often in dark purple (indigo) or blue ink, though this can vary. OFATMA receipts and medical records have a wet seal. (Assistant Professor 17 Feb. 2020)
Corroborating information or samples of seals could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
2. Wet Seals
According to the Assistant Professor, "[w]et seals are always applied after the text is on the page and after the signature has been added … a wet seal would not be pre-stamped on a blank document" (Assistant Professor 17 Feb. 2020). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a judge who worked for 20 years in the Haitian public service, but who left the country in 2007, described the authentication process of an administrative document as follows: [translation] “The document is printed. The ministerial or administrative officer signs the document, and lastly a seal is added. This is the common practice for authenticating a document” (Judge 18 Feb. 2020). A program assistant of the National Human Rights Defense Network (Réseau national de défense des droits humains, RNDDH) [1] similarly stated, in correspondence to the Research Directorate that [translation] "[t]he wet seal is, in practice, added after the signature" and "the stamp is the last thing added to a document" (RNDDH 6 March 2020).
For further information on seals on peace court records, see Response to Information Request HTI106267 of June 2019.
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.
Note
[1] The National Human Rights Defense Network (Réseau national de défense des droits humains, RNDDH) is a Haitian NGO that works in the area of human rights education and heads a monitoring program of [RNDDH English version] “key state institutions in respect to their obligations to protect rights” (RNDDH n.d.).
References
Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). 17 February 2020. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
Judge. 18 February 2020. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
Réseau national de défense des droits humains (RNDDH). 6 March 2020. Correspondence sent to the Research Directorate by a program assistant.
Réseau national de défense des droits humains (RNDDH). N.d. "Vision & Mission." [Accessed 16 Mar. 2020]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Avocats sans frontières; Haiti – Consulat général de la République d'Haïti à Montréal, Office d'assurance accidents du travail, maladie et maternité, Office de la protection du citoyen, Police nationale d'Haïti; Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti.
Internet sites, including : ecoi.net; Factiva; Haiti – Conseil supérieur du pouvoir judiciaire, Consulat général de la République d'Haïti à Montréal, Ministère de la Justice et de la Sécurité publique; UN – Refworld; US – Department of State.