Human Rights Developments

Defending Human Rights

The Role of the International Community

The Haitian government did not systematically target human rights monitors, but the polarized political environment complicated the task of defending human rights. At an April 7 demonstration to protest Jean Dominique's assassination, for example, some 300 women belonging to a coalition of seven leading women's organizations were harassed by male supporters of Fanmi Lavalas, apparently because they did not accuse opposition political leaders of responsibility for the journalist's death.

No progress was made in the investigation into the March 1999 shooting of Pierre Espérance, Haiti director of the National Coalition for Haitian Rights.

In a welcome development that attested to the maturity of the Haitian human rights movement, a number of groups participated in well-organized election monitoring efforts, producing credible reports documenting fraud and other irregularities.