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HAITIAN-AMERICAN
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL, INC. (HALEC)
POSITION STATEMENT
ON THE CURRENT CRISIS IN HAITI
MARCH
2, 2004
HALEC is an independent,
non-profit organization whose main goal is to
assimilate the Haitian-American vote under one
leadership.
HALEC is committed to:
- Respect and promote
diversity of opinion throughout the United
States among Haitian-American and newly arrived
immigrants from Haiti,
- Support and encourage the
application of the rule of law both in the
United States and in Haiti,
- Work to build a structure
by which Haitian-American can exercise their
civic responsibilities while strengthening the
roots of the next generation of emerging
leaders,
- Be a voice to the
voiceless,
- Defend the rights of
Haitian immigrants as needed, and
- Get every Haitian-American
voter involved in the political process in the
United States through voter education programs.
In implementing these
commitments:
We affirm that the rule of law
must prevail over the use of force, since democracy
requires tolerance, compromise, and respect of
individual opinions.
Therefore:
- We support the application
of the Haitian constitution as the blue-print
for settling political conflicts.
- We support public policies
and actions in the United States which further
the stability and economic growth of Haiti.
- We support strategies and
goals that effectively deal with the population
growth of Haiti.
- We support and promote
peaceful resolution to the current conflicts.
- We recognize the rights of
all political minority groups in Haiti as well
as the rights of political majority group.
- We support the restoration
of democratic principles in Haiti and the
abolition of the use of force to settle internal
or external conflicts.
- We affirm that all
Haitians have the rights to government
protection and equal appropriate and fair
treatment by the laws of the United States with
regard to immigration policies.
- We support equal
protection of all Haitian nationals in Haiti
regardless of political opinion.
We advocate and respect the
contribution and the non-violent approach of the
CARICOM participants in the resolution of the
current crisis in Haiti.
Therefore:
- We denounce any attempt by
the United States to downplay the non-aggressive
approach of the CARICOM countries to resolve the
conflict between the LAVALAS groups and the
opposition groups.
- We advocate the
co-existence of political ideologies and
denounce the suppression of divergence of ideas.
We affirm the right of Haitian
refugees trying to escape political persecution to
have access to the same process as the Cuban
refugees applying for political asylum. More
specifically, political refugees should not be sent
back under the regulations implementing U.S.
obligations under the United Nations Convention
against Torture.
This includes the United States
Obligations to:
- Protect Haitian refugees
under Article 3 of the Convention against
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment of punishment.
- Prevent the removal of
Haitian refugees who have touched the shores of
the United States if such refugees are fleeing
Haiti due to their fear of being tortured for
their political opinion or membership.
HAITIAN-AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
COUNCIL, INC. (HALEC)
P.O. BOX 64506
WASHINGTON DC 20029-64506 |
