Human
Rights Education Program: A Narrative Summary
I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND
OBJECTIVES
Introduction
Creating a fair and responsive
government and an active and informed citizenry
are the twin pillars of RNDDH’s
Institutionalizing Human Rights in Haiti Project.
In order to attain sustainable changes aimed at
creating a popular culture of rights and
establishing the prerequisites for good
governance, RNDDH has identified two (2)
principal domains which will serve as the foci
for its activities: 1) building the capacity of civil
society; and
2) human rights
monitoring of the country’s key state
institutions in respect to their obligations to
protect rights and uphold the law.
The Institutionalizing Human Rights in Haiti
Project will reinforce RNDDH’s existing work
by expanding its collaboration with civil society
organizations in the provision of training and
education on the active promotion and protection
of human rights. Developing educated and informed
citizens will assist in maintaining and extending
RNDDH’s Human Rights Monitoring Network,
thereby increasing the institutional and
political support for the rule of law in Haiti.
Context
The roots of democracy are desperately trying to
take hold in Haiti but cannot because of a flawed
foundation. Here, the fundamental principles and
concepts of Justice are not applied to those with
power and influence, money and eminence. In
Haiti, different socio-economic status means
different status before the law.
With more than half of its population illiterate,
primarily but not exclusively the rural poor,
Haiti finds its citizens continual victims of
blatant and systematic violations of their
fundamental human rights.
Haiti’s primary state institutions are weak,
lacking credibility, objectivity, accountability
and overall professionalism. The result is the
suffocating noose of impunity and corruption,
accompanied by a deliberate disrespect for basic
human rights.
Capacity Building
RNDDH’s investment in building the capacity
of Haitian civil society in respect to democracy
and human rights has taken two principal forms:
(i) the provision of human rights education and
professional development; and (ii) the ongoing
support of efforts at a local and regional level
to monitor the exercise and enjoyment of
fundamental rights.
Aim :
1. create and sustain a popular culture of human
rights in Haiti through increasing popular
participation in Haiti’s democratic
institutions
Objectives :
1.1 Empower Haitian citizens, children and adults
alike, to promote and protect their fundamental
human rights by increasing their knowledge and
understanding of human rights concepts, norms,
laws, democracy and the key institutions
necessary for its effective operation;
1.2 Build the capacity of grassroots
organizations, state institutions, organizational
and community leaders by equipping individuals
with a sophisticated understanding of human
rights concepts, national and international
norms, constitutional and other legal
protections, democracy and its key institutions,
empowering them to provide local and regional
leadership in the defense, protection and
promotion of human rights; and
1.3 Contribute to the development of a network of
human rights animators, capable of training and
communicating fundamental concepts of human
dignity and rights within their communities, and
capable of collecting and analyzing information
on human rights violations on a local and
regional level.
II. PROJECT ACTIVITIES
Human Rights Education Program
Human Rights Education Seminars for Grassroots
Organisations
First-Level Seminar: The focus of the
first-level human rights education seminar is to
introduce participants to the concept of human
rights, providing them with a clear understanding
of basic human rights and the responsibility of
the state to protect those rights, concepts of
democracy and participation. A significant
portion of time is dedicated to studying the
Constitution, discussing gender issues, and
understanding land division within the Haitian
context. Furthermore, participants are provided
with a preliminary set of tools with which to
help them protect and promote human rights in
their own communities.
Second-Level Seminar: At this
level the focus of the seminar is on building the
confidence and expertise of the participants
across all of the areas covered during basic
training. Participants are given the opportunity
to take an in-depth examination of Haiti’s
key state institutions such as the National
Police, the judicial and prison systems. A module
on the fundamental principles of non-violent
conflict resolution is introduced and discussed,
as well as new material on the international
system which protects and promotes human rights
is introduced and participants learn more about
working as human rights monitors which includes
advice on their relationships with law
enforcement officials and the treatment of and
support of victims.
Third-Level Seminar: The focus
of this seminar is on supporting individuals with
a sound theoretical and practical framework,
which will enable them to work for human rights
using a variety of methods and in a highly
professional and ethical manner. Participants
learn about penal and civil procedure, democracy
and citizenry, and structural adjustment programs
and their relationship to human rights
(specifically economic, social and cultural
rights). At this level participants receive
intense training in human rights monitoring.
Emphasis is placed on defining, investigating and
documenting human rights violations while
equipping participants with the tools for writing
a solid report, filing a complaint, and seeing a
case through its completion.
Education Plus: Human Rights
Workshops for School Children
RNDDH is of the belief that human rights
education cannot afford to neglect the future
leaders and generations of the country.
Instilling the concepts of basic human rights
into the minds of children will help build the
foundation of a human rights culture of tolerance
and respect in future generations. RNDDH’s
human rights workshops for school children are
organized in the student-oriented workshops that
are age appropriate, revolving around the
following themes:
• Fundamental Human Rights and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights;
• Children’s Rights and the Convention
Relative to the Rights of Children; and
• Human Rights and the Haitian Constitution
of 1987
Additional Human Rights Education
Activities: specialized Human Rights
Education for Key State Institutions RNDDH is
known in various circles for its human rights
education program, and as such is often contacted
by various sectors of society requesting to take
part. Such sectors include the Haitian National
Police (PNH), la Direction Administrative
Penitentiaire (DAP), and the judiciary. In many
instances it has become apparent that officers of
the National Police force are ignorant of the
basic concepts of human rights, including what
constitutes a human rights violation, their role
in protecting the life and well being of Haitian
citizens, and the various international
instruments protecting peoples’ rights.
Recognizing the importance of a
professional and informed police force, RNDDH has
decided to extend its education program to the
PNH by developing a series of specialized
workshops revolving around a variety of relevant
themes. Such themes will include:
• Concepts of Human Rights and the Violation
of those Rights;
• The Role of the Police in a Democratic
Society;
• International Systems of Human Rights
Protection (e.g. Convention against Torture);
• Code of Ethics of the Haitian National
Police; and
• Non-violent Resolution Alternatives.
In a similar fashion, RNDDH will begin to offer
specialized human rights conference-debates for
members of the Direction Administrative
Penitentiaire (DAP) - Haiti’s prison
administration force, comprised of agents,
inspectors, supervisors, and administrators.
Themes will only vary slightly from those offered
to the PNH, with an additional emphasis placed on
the rights of prisoners.
III. BENEFICIARIES
The direct and indirect beneficiaries of
RNDDH’s Human Rights Education Program
represent a balanced cross-section of society.
Through carefully prepared modules, men and women
between the ages of 25 and 60 from diverse
grassroots organizations are equipped with
valuable information and practical knowledge
regarding the protection and defence of human
rights that automatically transforms them into
agents of change and societal transformation.
Specialized seminars for key state institutions
will have a significant impact on
democratisation, good governance, and the
establishment of a State of Law in Haiti.
Training the National Police force on important
human rights concepts will serve to develop a
professional, independent, and objective policing
institution adequately equipped to fulfil their
mission to serve and protect. Similarly,
workshops for prison administration will
positively impact the functioning of Haiti’s
penal system, leading to more humane treatment of
prisoners and a decrease in human rights abuses
committed against the incarcerated population.
In a culture where children are often relegated
to the same level as animals, human rights
education for children will prove to be crucial
in changing this oppressive culture against
children and in creating a culture in which the
rights of children are protected and defended
with the same fervour as those of adults.
Furthermore, the educated youth of today will
necessarily impact future generations who will
play a crucial role in establishing and
maintaining a State of Law in Haiti.
In the case of all three direct beneficiary
groups, the knowledge that is transmitted
empowers each individual giving them the
opportunity to make a difference in their lives,
in the lives of those in their communities and,
ultimately, in the future of their nation.
Furthermore, RNDDH’s increased focus on
gender issues and women’s rights is
instrumental in creating a culture in which women
recognize their equal value with men and their
innate right to enjoy the same freedoms and
liberties as their male counterparts. Likewise,
educating and enlightening the male population on
questions of women’s rights will serve to
diminish the systemic, destructive views that
discriminate women, as men begin to recognize the
equal status of women and the important place
they possess in society.
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