[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},"mediaId",6078043,"mediaKeyId","2962491-72b6a74aa4d3002bdf7a2029e661188f","parentId",2962491,"title","Civil-society experts urge funding for Haitian-led transitional justice and digital public infrastructure","audioSeconds",261,"startMs",1342000,"endMs",1603000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2962491-72b6a74aa4d3002bdf7a2029e661188f&start=1342&end=1603","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2962491-72b6a74aa4d3002bdf7a2029e661188f/thumbnail_1342000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6078043/Civil-society-experts-urge-funding-for-Haitian-led-transitional-justice-and-digital-public-infrastructure","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6078043-2af9a39beda8f7d14f2e33c73227d55d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771038170&Signature=N2U98tScqVME2LE1LdCpxYsTMnAbVg349e-glPuxoMA8Ma9bRdx4MgZdH8SePpCGAYpEZojbCxRMZlWyXnMpQjIdp6H-e3B6NQL726BsnzUCf4DSKdmnVXi9ARS81xj-sGE1ArZXqzUVUuZAHXn5zXmBhu7iFbV~RZyIoIbQo-fWf~~D17qK55t2A-RC790uKuWdRP7MdTrLmKuqXVvfzRngrUUyRSMfZ5wobRXq9A-TvzVylHIMKRsMIVbVC0GRZdLa4jERy2dHu19gRpPv-Cx65WjQ319HyDjOwajd2oXY6zedhZzSjBKhnGYohFe7eP-tUP~CuuVovL-Us-tXjg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission","date","2025-04-11T13:45:54Z","article","Isabelle Clerier, a Haitian anthropologist and transitional justice expert, told the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission briefing that resourcing Haitian civil society and strengthening digital public infrastructure are immediate, scalable steps to address impunity and mismanagement.

\"Haitian civil society needs the time and resources to design and implement transitional and restorative justice mechanisms,\" Clerier said, recommending community-led truth initiatives, commemorative activities and locally adapted restorative forums. She argued these approaches can begin now and offer more sustainable, lower-cost pathways to reconciliation than mass prosecutions in the current institutional context.

Clerier also illustrated how weak paper-based public records enable fraud. She described being issued an ID where handwritten cursive led to a near-name change: the official misread a cursive capital I as a Y, she said. \"Digital infrastructure is not only timely, it is in line with already proposed G7 goals,\" she said, urging donor support for secure public accounting, identification, and record-keeping systems.

Why it matters: speakers said Haiti lacks sufficient judicial capacity to prosecute every participant in large-scale violence, so complementary transitional justice and restorative models can help guarantee non-repetition and community healing. Panelists emphasized Haitian leadership in designing these mechanisms and warned that externally imposed models risk repeating past harms.

Panel recommendations included funding community-based truth collection and restorative mechanisms, piloting specialized courts where feasible for mass and financial crimes (noting a decree for creation of specialized courts was mentioned in the briefing), and investing in digital systems for identification, payroll, and elections to reduce ghost employees, duplicate IDs and opportunities for corruption.

Panelists stressed practical, immediate steps: facilitating local dialogues, supporting mental-health and trauma interventions for youth, and providing technical assistance for digital public systems that enable audit trails and transparency rather than depending only on donor reporting procedures.

Ending: Panelists framed these measures as empowering Haitian actors and lowering the risk that external funds are captured by elites. \"We can start changing the course of this crisis today,\" Clerier said, urging donors and policymakers to prioritize Haitian-designed transitional processes and robust, auditable digital public infrastructure.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Haiti: Options for Improving Human Rights and Security","oneSentenceSummary","At a congressional briefing, panelists called for investment in Haitian-led truth and restorative justice processes and for digital public systems that would reduce corruption and improve identity, voting and public accounting.","taxTitle","Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission: House Commission, Commissions and Caucuses - House and Senate, Congressional Hearings Compilation, Legislative, Federal","taxId",1969,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6078048,"Experts say U.S. aid suspension risks worsening Haiti’s humanitarian crisis",2067,1044000,3111000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2962491-72b6a74aa4d3002bdf7a2029e661188f&start=1044&end=3111","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2962491-72b6a74aa4d3002bdf7a2029e661188f/thumbnail_1044000.jpg","/articles/6078048/Experts-say-US-aid-suspension-risks-worsening-Haitis-humanitarian-crisis","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6078048-66f551ff91bc48c8f27d2d9a78a799be/orig.mp4?Expires=1771038170&Signature=GIQwUiZkjyu0UFfI~73afTbX1dFXrXOzfDohXA8iWBlKsShVjmEVqtRXQUQAj5ZE7ypmOw1ZO78L9WnsnQwgvweU9d4ZdKf04jxsZs0uQiked~vIrzBoNedZ54FMiMvzlbPGPO-CUikqKbYaWengmn0~pR5qfgY-6nLuwPAastxBhsQyobXHqNzHEgti-eeAVPIZJZyWGveGaKKXGjdCGu~RuDMxYf~DaQuyqfk~YMpkYps-Y6APY5PGRg47E~LIEbqLYiSHI9mZWTtrm19182RAfOLyX2UkCaXL~lRaOtFpzjN9WjJV8yu4BzKYO2inv9XfCCPMDE~lO6NmSt0vmg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Corinne Paul, senior policy adviser for civil and political rights at the American Jewish World Service, told the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission briefing that an abrupt U.S. cut in aid risks costing lives in Haiti and complicating an already severe humanitarian emergency.

\"The U.S.'s abrupt aid stoppage will cost lives,\" Paul said, urging the U.S. to consider the consequences of halting programs that sustain health, food and shelter services. Paul and other panelists said more than 1,000,000 people are internally displaced and that displacement approaches levels seen after the 2010 earthquake.

Why it matters: panelists said suspension or redirection of aid can immediately reduce food distributions, health services, and protections in overcrowded displacement sites, raising risks of disease and hunger. Paul cited deportations from the Dominican Republic last year — \"more than 276,000 people were deported\" — and warned that changes in U.S. migration policy and the end of humanitarian parole or temporary protected status could force more people into an unstable environment.

Panelists described practical consequences inside Haiti: schools have closed or lost many students, and hospital and clinic operations have been disrupted by violence and funding gaps. Melina Alicia Cholier / Velina Shawille described hospitals and health centers attacked by armed groups and said \"Patients have the right to live free from hunger and fear, and they have a right to health, which has been threatened by gang attacks on hospitals and health centers.\"

How aid could change: witnesses urged donors to redesign assistance to be context-specific, locally led, and accountable to Haitian communities. Isabelle Clerier suggested the international community should shift from a \"needs assessment\" model to one that maps community assets and strengthens local capacity. She gave a concrete example of how handwritten civil records produce errors: an official misread a cursive capital I as a Y when issuing an ID, nearly changing a person's legal name — a problem she said digital systems could help fix.

Panelists also criticized past assistance channels that routed funds through the same elites who have been accused of corruption. They urged stronger accountability linked to Haitian community oversight rather than only satisfying donor paperwork requirements.

Migration and deportations were tied directly to humanitarian concerns. \"No matter how many people are going to be sent back into Haiti, they will go right back because this is hell,\" Melina/Velina said, characterizing the conditions that drive migration.

Ending: Panelists recommended pausing deportations when returns cannot be safely facilitated, using aid to reinforce local food and health production, and shifting funding modalities to support Haitian civil society and community-led programming rather than large, centralized contracts that panelists said have in the past empowered corrupt intermediaries.","Panelists at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission warned that abrupt cuts to U.S. assistance and restrictive migration policies could deepen displacement, hunger and disease in Haiti and advised redesigning support around Haitian-led priorities.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6078053,"Panel urges U.S. action to curb weapons flow and investigate political ties between gangs and elites in Haiti",2714,184000,2898000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2962491-72b6a74aa4d3002bdf7a2029e661188f&start=184&end=2898","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2962491-72b6a74aa4d3002bdf7a2029e661188f/thumbnail_184000.jpg","/articles/6078053/Panel-urges-US-action-to-curb-weapons-flow-and-investigate-political-ties-between-gangs-and-elites-in-Haiti","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6078053-8885f57fcc34efe1d8afe0b5140a8db4/orig.mp4?Expires=1771038170&Signature=hQb2z6AkMCQ3WVqPwmRlDWH3OzEJQ4rxrPOnTZBmm6NgPjCjq0ePlcf~ya5gZFInHy~AR-nj4-n0L-D7wZYlXga~qY~1hUdGEcJgTEjhTdnevKR6Qh5rIhAEm2EieT2AixGQsQcTACSLCR-Z4NdBjJAJT5pMC~Zie3XeNBZi9LdfUtpnz~LWDlOX4kLqxC761dQXSm-RX4PYBj4OzVEnEkW8p~GIDHERwuBmlm8AXQoovC1Rk9HcXO~vt53NmyVLvZ5xjEVlVT7rKsmyk-PuvbH0vaYCNuhOX~r~FE4z-w4tQUnfr6gqOMP7OhS9hcZ3WKOEtKADl8Xv5BdvMhJXrg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Congressman Jim McGovern, chairing the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission briefing on Haiti, and three panelists warned that illicit weapons and political collusion are central to the country’s escalating violence and urged concrete international measures to disrupt the supply and finances that sustain gangs.

The panel said the scale of gang firepower and the degree of political protection mean military suppression alone will not resolve the crisis. \"We know that most of these weapons originate in The United States,\" McGovern said, summarizing evidence cited in the briefing. Melina Alicia Cholier (introduced in the program) / Velina Shawille (self-identified as a member of a Haitian civil society organization) told commissioners, \"They are armed with US made weapons and ammunition that are trafficked to ports, the Dominican Republic border, and other places in the region.\"

Why it matters: speakers said gangs now control large parts of Port-au-Prince and other areas, and their firepower exceeds that of Haiti’s police. Panelists argued that weapon flows, finance derived from extortion and illicit markets, and collusion with political and business elites combine to entrench gang power and sustain a coercive parallel authority.

Panelists described the problem as transnational. \"This is not solely a Haitian issue. It's a transnational issue that requires urgent action,\" Melina/Velina said, urging U.S. and regional steps to curb arms trafficking and target networks that profit from violence. She listed extortion, kidnapping, drug and arms trafficking and said gangs have used forced recruitment of minors.

Corinne Paul, senior policy adviser for civil and political rights at the American Jewish World Service, said the multinational security support mission (MSS) has been under-resourced and that a fuller strategy would combine security steps with accountability measures targeting financiers and collaborators. \"A more holistic strategy would have included stronger accountability against those who fund the gangs and greater support to local police forces,\" Paul said.

Panelists pressed that sanctions without prosecution provide limited deterrence. Melina/Velina cited U.S. sanctions and asked why some sanctioned figures had not faced criminal charges abroad. \"If The US was able to have that much proof ... why not press charges?\" she asked, noting that sanctions alone have not brought trials or convictions.

What the panel recommended: targeted measures to stop illegal arms and ammunition shipments in the hemisphere; judicial and investigative assistance to identify and prosecute financiers and public officials who collude with armed groups; and better resourcing of Haitian security and investigative capacities to reduce dependence on short-term multinational deployments.

The briefing did not record any formal votes or binding actions by Congress. Panelists framed their recommendations as options for Congressional follow-up, including legislative or executive steps to strengthen interdiction, sanctions enforcement, and transnational investigations.

Ending: Commissioners and panelists repeatedly emphasized that breaking the arms-and-finance nexus will require coordinated regional actions and credible prosecutions of actors who enable armed groups. \"When the population gets in the streets ... it's because we are tired of them. We want them to disappear,\" Melina/Velina said, urging accountability as a core part of any sustainable response.","Witnesses at a Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission briefing said U.S.-made weapons and political collusion are fueling gang control in Haiti and urged targeted measures to break the networks financing and arming armed groups.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Civil-society experts urge funding for Haitian-led transitional justice and digital public infrastructure

Experts say U.S. aid suspension risks worsening Haiti’s humanitarian crisis

Panel urges U.S. action to curb weapons flow and investigate political ties between gangs and elites in Haiti