Prèske 60 òganizasyon konfesyonèl di administrasyon Biden nan, “Ikrèn se pa sèl nasyon ki bezwen konpasyon” | Etazini gen yon « devwa moral » pou asire pwoteksyon demokrasi konstitisyonèl Ayiti
Cambridge, MA — Pandan ke defansè dwamoun ak aktivis obsève fidelite Lèzetazini anvè Premye Minis ayisyen an, Ariel Henry, yon gwoup prèske 60 òganizasyon konfesyonèl reyini ansanm pou mande gouvènman Etazini an repran angajman pou yon demokrasi solid ann Ayiti.
Sa ki pi enpòtan, òganizasyon sa yo ap mande pou Etazini sipòte Akò Montana nan, yon akò ki baze sou kolaborasyon ant òganizasyon nan sosyete sivil ayisyen an epi ki tabli yon chemen klè ak ekitab anvè yon lidèchip konstitisyonèl ann Ayiti.
Peyi dayiti ap sibi yon kriz politik ki chaje ak vyolans, koripsyon, ak deplasman plizyè milye moun. Nan kad asasina ansyen Prezidan Jovenel Moïse an Jiyè 2021 an ak yon tranblemanntè ki te fè anpil dega nan mwa dawou a, kominote moun ki kwayan, ki gen lafwa ak konsyans ap mande gouvènman ameriken an pou ede retabli estabilite Ayiti ak respè pou demokrasi konstitisyonèl li an.
Premye Minis Ariel Henry—ki swadizan enplike nan asasina Jovnèl Moïse la—pase uit mwaki sot pase yo ap eseye kenbe pouvwa a, li menm inyore revandikasyon ke li demisyone dènye jou manda l la ki te 7 fevriye a epi refize demann ke li pèmèt yon gouvènman transzisyon dirije nasyon an jiskaske eleksyon ka fèt.
Henry ap vin de pli zan pli despotik pandan l ap eseye kenbe tèt li sou pouvwa a, Etazini sipòte lidèchip li ak antouzyasm epi li menm ta sanble ap pre andose yon jwèt pouvwa enkonstitisyonèl. An repons, Komite Sèvis Inite Inivèsèl (UUSC) la te ekri epi pataje yon lèt pwisan bay manm kle Depatman Deta Ameriken an ak Konsèy Sekirite Nasyonal la pou rekonèt, respekte ak sipòte Akò Montana-PEN nan. Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, Ofisye Egzekitif prensipal ak Prezidan UUSC a, te pibliye deklarasyon sa a:
“Akò Montana-PEN a se yon solisyon ‘debaz’ ki devlope pa Komisyon pou yon solisyon ayisyen pou kriz la, yon gwoup pwisan de òganizasyon sosyete sivil ayisyen an, ki ofri yon plan pou nasyon an, ki reflete ak respekte volonte pèp Ayisyen an. Kounye a se pa moman pou politik devan dèyè oswa pawòl san fon.
Etazini gen kòm devwa pou li sipòte yon pwosesis ki anrasinen nan konstitisyon Ayisyen an olye de ajanda yon politisyen de karyè k ap eseye kenbe pouvwa a. Pandan monn nan ap voye konpasyon li, lapriyè, ak bon swè bay Ikrèn, nou pa ka bliye ke 10 mil kilomèt lòt bò lanmè Atlantik la gen yon nasyon ki fè fas a menm jan de vyolans, ensètitid, ak enstabilite a.
“UUSC fyè pou l sipòte Komisyon an ansanm ak lòt òganizasyon ak lidè relijye pou l mande administrasyon Biden nan pou l koute moun k ap goumen pou nasyon yo ak pou demokrasi.”
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Komite Sèvis Inite Inivèsèl (UUSC) la se yon òganizasyon dwa moun ak solidarite ki te fonde kòm yon misyon sekou an 1940 pandan Olokòs la. Li baze nan Cambridge, Massachusetts, epi gen plis pase 35,000 manm ak anpil sipòtè atravè peyi Etazini, pwogram UUSC yo konsantre sou pwoblèm klimatik ak jistis nan sitiyasyon dezas, jistis pou migran, ak jistis entènasyonal ak responsabilize moun ki koupab de enjistis.
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Mike Givens | Director of Strategic Communications | Bio
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
689 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 | Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett) Territory
Phone: 857-540-0617 (c)
Email: mgivens@uusc.org
Website: uusc.org
Facebook: facebook.com/uusc4all | Twitter: @UUSC
Challenging injustice, advancing human rights
Honorable Antony J. Blinken Honorable Brian Nichols U.S. Secretary of State Assistant Secretary of State for U.S. State Department Western Hemisphere Affairs
Bureau of Western Hemisphere U.S. State Department
Mr. Juan Gonzalez
Senior Advisor and Special Assistant
to the President of the United States
Senior Director, Western Hemisphere,
National Security Council
Faith Organization Letter In Support of Haiti’s Process for Free & Fair Elections
As 56 faith-based organizations from a variety of religious and spiritual traditions, we call on the U.S. government to support Haitian citizens’ right to shape their own solutions to their nation’s crises. Our organizations address a wide range of issues, from immigration to foreign policy to broad faith-based social justice. We see deep connections between the treatment of Haitians seeking asylum at our borders and our government’s history and current practices in our relationship to Haiti. Therefore, we call on you to stop propping up Ariel Henry, and instead work to support the inclusive pathway towards restoring democracy laid out in the Montana-PEN Accord by a diverse cross-section of Haitian civil society and political leaders. We also call on the Biden administration to immediately cease mass deportations to Haiti, which only contribute to the current suffering and instability in a country vastly unprepared to receive and re-integrate thousands of people.
Haiti’s democracy of 31 years is in crisis. The U.S. government has doubled down on their support for Prime Minister Ariel Henry, both politically and financially, despite the fact that his power violates the Haitian Constitution. We are watching a repeat of the U.S. government’s past errors, including most recently the U.S.’s public support for former President Jovenel Moïse despite his refusal to hold elections, suspension of the legislature, and his increasingly authoritarian actions, such as drafting a new constitution to consolidate presidential powers and impunity. Under President Moïse, corruption ran rampant in both public and private sectors and Haiti’s economy spiraled into crisis, sparking violence and public protest. Furthermore, Prime Minister Henry is under investigation for a possible role in planning President Moïse’s assassination and has impeded the investigation by firing the prosecutor who initially called him in for questioning and recommended he be indicted.
Henry was appointed as prime minister by Moïse shortly before Moïse’s assassination in July 2021. Since that time, chaos in the form of violence, kidnapping, rapes and murders through uncontrolled gang activity has risen across the nation. The dangers facing everyday Haitians has led to a massive flow of migration out of the country in search of safety and survival.
As faith-based organizations, we recognize the inherent worth and equality of all peoples, including their right to self-determination. The Commission for a Haitian Solution to the Crisis, which unifies a historically diverse range of Haitian society, has laid out a careful proposal for restoring free and fair elections, the Montana-PEN Accord, that offers a path to a new government that is representative of the people.
Over a two-year period, the Accord seeks to:
● Restore functional government bodies and reorganize state finances to ensure better living conditions for the Haitian people;
● Reform and strengthen Haiti’s security sector to combat organized crime and gang violence;
● Reorganize the justice system to combat corruption, address massacres and financial crimes;
● Organize a national conference with the aim of amending the 1987 constitution; and
● Reform the electoral system and institutions to create the conditions for free and fair elections.
Since Ariel Henry took over as Prime Minister of Haiti, the international community and the U.S. government have highly favored his leadership. In the interest of equity, we call on the U.S. government to:
● Respect the fundamental rights of the Haitian people to shape solutions and incorporate this approach in any further U.S. government response;
● Start working to support a transition to a more stable and democratic Haiti by holding high-level, regular consultations with the Commission for a Haitian Solution to the Crisis and the PEN alliance to discuss the feasibility of their plans and path forward;
● Stop propping up the Ariel Henry government with political and financial support and pressure the Henry government to engage with the Montana-PEN Accord;
● Provide direct aid to civil society organizations to support COVID-19 vaccinations and response efforts in Haiti that address food and water insecurity, protection for women and girls, internally displaced/returnees/migrant populations in Haiti and human rights groups that are working to advocate for and protect Haiti’s political rights and democracy; and
● Urge international allies, particularly Canada, France and other European countries, to also follow the above recommendations.
Additionally, we call on you to halt deportations to Haiti and allow those that arrive at the border the opportunity to meaningfully apply for asylum, which requires ending the misuse of Title 42. Daniel Foote, U.S. Special Envoy to Haiti, resigned in protest over these mass expulsions, arguing in his resignation letter that, “Surging migration to our borders will only grow as we add to Haiti’s unacceptable misery.”
We believe that this moment provides the Biden administration with an opportunity to correct the historical wrongs in the U.S.’s approach to Haiti. Please take these steps to join us in honoring the determination, dignity, and resilience of Haitians both in Haiti and at our border.
Sincerely,
56 Faith-Based Organizations:
| NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (29) |
| American Jewish World Service |
| Disciples Immigration Legal Counsel |
| Faith in Action International |
| Faith in Public Life |
| Faiths for Safe Water |
| Framingham Haitian Community Resources Center |
| Franciscan Action Network |
| Franciscans for Justice |
| Friends Committee on National Legislation |
| Friends of Latin America |
| Haiti Education Foundation, Inc. |
| Jesuit Refugee Service/USA |
| Leadership Conference of Women Religious |
| Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns |
| Mount Tsiyon Evangelical Ministries |
| National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd |
| Pax Christi USA |
| Presbyterian Church USA |
| Provincial Council Clerics of St. Viator |
| Quixote Center |
| Religious of the Sacred Heart |
| Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia |
| Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team |
| Sisters of the Holy Cross |
| Society of Helpers |
| Unitarian Universalist Association |
| Unitarian Universalist Refugee & Immigrant Services & Education |
| Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community |
| Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice |
| STATE ORGANIZATIONS (15) |
| Association de Pasteurs Evangeliques Haitiens de la Nouvelle Angleterre – APEHNA (New England) |
| Episcopal Church of the Holy Family (NC) |
| Faith in New Jersey (NJ) |
| Framingham Haitian Community Resource Center (MA) |
| Haiti H2O: Hope to Opportunity (PA) |
| Massachusetts Communities Action Network (MA) |
| Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance (MN) |
| Healing Our Roots LLC (NY) |
| Sisters, Home Visitors of Mary (MI) |
| The Freedom BLOC (OH) |
| Total Health Christian Ministries (MA) |
| True Alliance Center, INC (MA) |
| UU Action NH (NH) |
| Westchester Jewish Coalition for Immigration (NY) |
| Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice (WI) |
| INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (4) |
| Dominican Leadership Conference |
| Faith in Action International |
| Grace UCC |
| Unitarian Universalist Service Committee |
| LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS (8) |
| Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Summit, NJ |
| Church of the Holy Family, Chapel Hill, NC |
| Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Washington DC |
| First Parish in Brookline, Brookline, MA |
| JAMAAT – Jews and Muslims and Allies Acting Together, MD/VA/DC |
| Minnesota Valley UU Fellowship, MN, Bloomington, MN |
| Robbinsdale Parkway United Church of Christ, Robbinsdale, MN |
| St Lukes Episcopal Church, North Park, San Diego, CA |
CC: House Haiti Caucus:
Congresswoman Ayana Pressley (MA-07)
Congresswoman Val Demmings (FL-10)
Congressman Andy Levin (MI-09)
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (NY-13)
CC: U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations:
Chairman: Senator Bob Menendez (NJ)
Ranking Member: Senator James. E. Risch (ID)
CC: U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee:
Chairman: Congressman Gregory Meeks (NY-05)
Ranking Member: Congressman Michael McCaul (TX-10)
