Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
The Constitution of Haiti stipulates that all religions and beliefs can be freely exercised in the country and that everyone has the right to profess their religion and practise their faith, provided that this right is exercised in such a way that it does not interfere with public order and peace (Article 30).
Article 30 (1) states that no one can be forced to belong to a religious organisation or follow any teaching that is contrary to their beliefs. Article 30 (2) sets the conditions for the recognition and practice of religions and faiths.
Article 35 (4) states that labour unions are essentially considered as non-political, non-profit and non-denominational.
Article 55 (2) states that foreign nationals, as well as religious groups, humanitarian organisations and educational institutions can own property.
As stipulated in Article 135 (1), upon taking the oath of office, the President of the Republic must say: “I swear before God and the Nation”.
In accordance with Article 187, members of the High Court of Justice must also state: “I swear before God and before the Nation to judge with the impartiality and the firmness appropriate to an honest and free man, according to my conscience and my deep-seated conviction.”
As set out in Article 215, centres of African belief are regarded as part of the nation’s heritage and are protected by the state.
A concordat with the Holy See allows the Vatican to choose Haiti’s Catholic bishops with the government’s consent. On this basis, the Haitian government provides economic support to Catholic priests and churches.
Legally, religious organisations must register with the Ministry of Religious Affairs as well as submit an annual activity update. Registration gives religious organisations some tax exemptions. The Ministry of Justice allows members of the clergy of registered religious groups to issue civil documents, such as baptism and marriage certificates.
Voodoo was recognised as a religion in 2003.
For years, Muslim communities have sought official recognition from the Ministry, but so far only the Ahmadiyya community has been acknowledged. Sunnis and Shi‘as are still waiting for a response; for this reason, marriages are not recognised and they must be civilly married; this is also true for the Ahmadiyya since their clergy have not yet been certified.
In Haiti some Christian and Islamic groups operate informally, without official recognition.
Since 1976, Haiti has been a member of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Incidents and developments
During the period under review, Haiti has spiralled into political, economic and social chaos. State structures such as the parliament, the judiciary and public administration have collapsed.
In July 2021, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his private residence. Since that time, the country has since been run by President Ariel Henry with no date yet set for new elections. In a country already beset by poverty and natural disasters, the power vacuum and the lack of effective leadership has plunged the small Caribbean state into chaos with famine, disease, gang violence, drug-related crime, death squads and abductions. According to Ulrika Richardson, Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, “almost 60% of Haiti’s capital is dominated by gangs”. The violence has resulted in “nearly 20,000 people in the capital facing catastrophic famine-like conditions”, compounded by a cholera outbreak with “more than 14,000 suspected cholera cases in eight of the country’s 10 regions”. To date almost 155,000 people have fled their homes especially in the capital. The suffering was further compounded by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in August 2021 which claimed over a thousand lives and plunged the population into further poverty.
Due to the gravity of the situation and the almost daily violations of human rights including religious freedom, the incidents indicated are representative.
Between January and March 2021, in a report published by the National Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, violence and crime increased dramatically in Port-au-Prince. In the metropolitan area alone “there were 131 violent deaths, of which 34 victims could not even be identified” with on average “one or two kidnappings per day, but as many as five or six on certain days”.
On 2 February 2021, in a statement issued to ACN International, the Catholic Bishops of Haiti called attention to the severe political crisis – a conflict between the government and the opposition as to the length of term of President Jovenel Moïse – and appealed for a national dialogue. The Haitian bishops stated: “The country is on the brink of an explosion. The daily lives of the people revolve around death, murder, impunity and uncertainty.” The bishops outlined the position of the Catholic Church, stating: “In the succession of Christ, the Church is always on the side of law, truth, justice and respect for life and human dignity.”
On 5 April, in his Easter Sunday Urbi et Orbi address, Pope Francis remembered the political and security challenges facing the island nation urging Haitians “not to be overwhelmed by difficulties, but to look to the future with confidence and hope.”
On 11 April, Mercy Sunday, five priests, three women religious and three lay people were kidnapped on the way to the inauguration of a pastor. On 13 April, the Haitian Bishops’ Conference condemned the abductions and denounced a “dictatorship of kidnapping”. Calling for the release of the hostages, and as a sign of protest, the Catholic Church rang church bells throughout the country and closed all Catholic institutions such as schools and universities for three days. In the communique the bishops stated: “For several years, the life of Haitians has been a nightmare. The majority of the abducted people are humiliated, raped and tortured. Some of them do not find their way back to normal. When does this Way of the Cross end?”
On 15 April, the Catholic Church held hundreds of masses nationwide called a “Mass for the Freedom of Haiti” – to protest the political crisis and kidnappings of priests. The 400 Mawozo gang, at that time, had abducted 10 Catholic priests. In Port-au-Prince after leaving Mass, members of the congregation began shouting political slogans, demanding the government provide order to the country. Police dispersed the crowd using tear gas.
In an interview on 16 April, the bishop of Hinche, Jean Desinord, noted the ever-present fear among Catholic priests and religious that they could be kidnapped, stating: “We are wondering who will be next? Will it be me or a brother priest? The priests and religious are truly in danger of psychosis. We are living in constant fear.” The Bishop further speculated that, although likely banditry, a possibility exists that the Church is targeted by some politicians for her criticism of the situation: “The Church in Haiti has a prophetic mission. She has to denounce the terrible conditions. And so it is quite possible that she is a thorn in the side of some of these politicians”. Although Bishop Désinord acknowledged doubt, he added: “But everybody knows that our politicians make use of criminal gangs to control certain areas. The boundary between organised crime and politics is quite fluid.”
In June, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship ordered several measures against COVID-19; these included limiting the number of people allowed to attend religious services to no more than 25 percent of a venue’s capacity and wearing mandatory masks.
During the night of 6-7 July, Jovenel Moïse, President of the Republic, was killed at his private residence. The president’s wife, Martine Moïse, was injured. On 7 July, the Episcopal Conference of Haiti issued a statement in which they expressed their shock: “This sad event marks an unfortunate turning point in the history of our people” demonstrated “by the deliberate choice of violence made, for some time, by many sectors of the population as a method of survival and dispute resolution.”
In July, seven bus passengers were kidnapped, including a Catholic priest, Fr Carl-Henry Lucien, pastor at Notre-Dame-du-Perpétuel-Secours in Bodin; he was released the next day.
On 14 August at 08:29 am, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti. As of 26 August, in the diocese of Les Cayes alone, a total of 682 deaths were recorded with 2,175 people injured and almost 11,500 homes damaged. In addition, 135 churches were destroyed and 111 damaged.
In September, a Protestant church in Port-au-Prince was attacked during a religious service; the deacon, Sylner Lafaille, died and his wife was kidnapped.
That same month, a Catholic priest, Fr André Sylvestre, pastor at the Notre-Dame de la Miséricorde parish in Robillard Cap-Haïtien, was killed, apparently in an attempted robbery.
In October, while visiting an orphanage, 17 foreign Christian missionaries were abducted along with their families, including five children. Two hostages were released in November, and the rest in December 2021.
In November, Pastor Stanis Stifinson and his family were shot at while travelling in their vehicle. The youngest son was killed, while the clergyman and another son were wounded.
In November, the annual Voodoo festival was held, and hundreds of people gathered at the main cemetery of Port-au-Prince to pay their respects to the dead.
In December 2021, the Haitian bishops issued a message asking the international community for help and urging the country’s authorities to find a way out of the crisis undermining the country’s stability.
In February 2022, The Bishops’ Conference of Haiti called on political actors and armed gangs to prevent the country from falling into further chaos. In a statement, the bishops appealed both to the government to “do everything to re-establish order, peace, security and respect for life” as well as to the armed gangs who “with complete impunity are sowing violence, fear, death, mourning, desolation and distress”, pleading that they “lay down their arms, renounce violence and kidnapping, and stop shedding the blood of their sisters and brothers”.
On 28 April, armed bandits kidnapped several people including Fr Whatner Aupont, a priest of St Joseph the Worker church on the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince. Bishop Launay Saturné stated that “the socio-political and economic situation of the country is becoming more and more complex. The deterioration of the situation in the country is due to the multiplication of armed gangs, the constant cases of kidnapping, the ubiquitous insecurity, inflation, especially the rise in the prices of essential goods, bloody incidents and a flood of upheavals and acts of cruelty.”
In May, the Haitian Pastors Conference (COPAH) sent a letter to the Core Group countries accusing them of being responsible for Haiti’s problems by imposing leaders on the Haitian people “without prominence or dimension, entirely dedicated to defending the sole interests of their respective countries to the detriment of those of Haiti.”
In May, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community finally completed a long-awaited registration with the Bureau of Worship (BOW) allowing the step of registering its schools with the Ministry of Education (MOE). The larger Sunni and Shia Muslim communities remain unregistered.
In June, Fr Clercius Dorvilus, parish priest Saint Michel Archange de la Plate Nevrac, Bassin-Bleu, and three lay people were kidnapped from the parish compound.
In June, Sister Luisa del Orto, an Italian missionary nun living in Haiti for 20 years, was killed, a victim of a shooting during an assault. Her sister, witnessing about her life in the missions, stated: “She was aware that something could happen, because it is evident, even in her last letter she said so, that the situation was very difficult. But she wanted to stay and give her testimony.” On June 26, Pope Francis drew attention to the death of Sr Luisa stating: “I entrust her soul to God, and I pray for the Haitian people, especially for the least, so they might have a more serene future, without misery and without violence. Sister Luisa made a gift of her life to others even to martyrdom.”
Two weeks later, the Catholic Cathedral in the capital Port-au-Prince was attacked. Sr Marcela Catozza, an Italian missionary in Haiti stated: “They set fire to the cathedral and tried to kill the firefighters who arrived to put out the flames. Afterwards they tried to destroy the walls of the cathedral with a truck”. According to Sr Marcela, the attacks on religious buildings and organisations have not been limited to the capital, stating: “In Port-de-Paix and Les Cayes, and in other cities, they attacked Caritas buildings, taking everything, including all the humanitarian aid, and destroying the staff’s offices.” In September, violence affected a Franciscan Missionary orphanage in one of the slums. Sr Marcela stated: “they set fire to our chapel. Everything was burned. The altar, the pews… There is nothing left. The Blessed Sacrament was saved because I always take it somewhere safe when I leave.”
In July 2022, the United Nations expressed concern over rising gang violence. Between January and June, 934 murders and 680 kidnappings were recorded; in the week of 8-12 July alone, at least 234 people killed or wounded. Violence was driven in great part by rival gang seeking control over strategic neighborhoods.
On 7 October, President Henry and Haiti’s Council of Ministers appealed to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to send an international military force to “tackle Haiti’s violence and alleviate its humanitarian crisis”.
According to the Human Rights Service of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti, in just over a week in mid-October, “more than 71 people were killed, a dozen women were raped, and hundreds of residents were forced to flee their homes, as a result of turf wars between rival gangs in Croix-des-Bouquets” in Port-au-Prince. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stated: “People are being killed by firearms, they are dying because they do not have access to safe drinking water, food, healthcare, women are being gang raped with impunity. The levels of insecurity and the dire humanitarian situation have been devastating for the people of Haiti.”
On 16 December, the last of the 17 Christian missionaries kidnapped on 16 October 2021 were released by the Haitian gang 400 Mawozo. Demanding a ransom USD$1 million per hostage, the armed bandits threatened to kill the hostages if the ultimatums were not met.
On 21 December, a UN Security Council open briefing on Haiti revealed the ongoing tragic and ungovernable situation in the island nation. There were 280 intentional homicides in November – the highest on record; there were 1,200 cases of kidnappings – double the 2021 record – and some 20,000 people face “famine-like conditions”. Cholera cases have reached 15,000.
Prospects for freedom of religion
Haiti is drifting towards becoming a failed state. The last 10 senators in parliament have officially left office “leaving the country without a single democratically elected government official”. According to an October 2022 IPC analysis, “4.7 million people are currently facing acute hunger.” The political and economic crisis fuelled a rise in territorial gang violence, provoking a catastrophic social and humanitarian crisis. In the period under review, abductions for ransom, including that of clergy, and gang-related killings have increased exponentially. The country’s widespread insecurity has affected all fundamental rights including religious freedom. Prospects for the country’s future in general are grim.
Haiti