NEW YORK – The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) says it is essential that legal proceedings and investigations against individuals associated with former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier (aka, Baby Doc) continue.
Duvalier, aged 63, was reported to have died on Oct. 4 of heart attack.
OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville said in a statement on Tuesday that while all the crimes were “obviously” not committed by Duvalier himself, it was imperative perpetrators of all abuses be brought to trial.
“It is the right of the Haitian people to obtain accountability for past violations of their human rights and the duty of mankind to remember, establish the truth and ensure justice for the victims,’’ Colville said.
“Serious human rights violations, including torture, rape, and extrajudicial killings, dating to the period spanning 1971 to 1986, the years Duvalier was in power have been extensively documented by Haitian and international human rights groups.’’ [eap_ad_2] Earlier this year, Haiti’s Court of Appeals reversed a January 2012 decision that Duvalier could not be charged with crimes against humanity which occurred during his reign because the statute of limitations had expired.
After years of living in exile, Duvalier’s return to Haiti in 2011 was said to have spurred victims and civil society organisations to seek justice for the abuses committed during his 15 years in office.
On Feb. 25, an independent UN human rights expert applauded the decision by a Haitian court to order further investigations into alleged abuses.
“The decision of the Court of Appeals is a significant rectification in the path in which impunity for past human rights violations was so far engaged in Haiti,” said Gustavo Gallón.
Gallon is an independent expert on the human rights situation in the country.
“It unequivocally reverts the incomprehensible ruling taken previously by the lower chamber judge, who threw out the human rights charges against Duvalier and only charged him with the alleged financial crimes,
“ I now encourage the Haitian Government to provide the appointed investigating judge an independent and secure environment to perform his long-awaited and difficult task.’’
He praised the victims and their lawyers for their courage to pursue justice against all odds, and invited the Government to take the necessary measures to protect them.
Independent experts or special rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme.
The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff members, nor are they paid for their work.
Gallón has served in this post since June 2013. (NAN) [eap_ad_3]