Haiti Development, Accountability, and Institutional Transparency Initiative Act

II Calendar No. 157 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1104 To measure the progress of post-disaster recovery and efforts to address corruption, governance, rule of law, and media freedoms in Haiti. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 13, 2021 Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations OCTOBER 28, 2021 Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To measure the progress of post-disaster recovery and efforts to address corruption, governance, rule of law, and media freedoms in Haiti. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Haiti Development, 4 Accountability, and Institutional Transparency Initiative 5 Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1104.RS S1104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1104 RS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) On January 12, 2010, a massive earth- 3 quake struck near the Haitian capital city of Port- 4 au-Prince, leaving at least 220,000 people dead, in- 5 cluding 103 United States citizens, 101 United Na- 6 tions personnel, and nearly 18 percent of the civil 7 service of Haiti, as well as approximately 300,000 8 injured, 115,000 homes destroyed, and 1,500,000 9 Haitians displaced. 10 (2) The international community, led by the 11 United States and the United Nations, mounted an 12 unprecedented humanitarian response to the earth- 13 quake in Haiti. Through 2018, more than 14 $8,000,000,000 was disbursed by donors. Since the 15 2010 earthquake, the United States Government has 16 disbursed more than $4,000,000,000 in recovery and 17 development funding. 18 (3) On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew 19 struck southwestern Haiti on the Tiburon Peninsula, 20 causing widespread damage and flooding and leaving 21 approximately 1,400,000 people in need of imme- 22 diate assistance. Recovery efforts continue more 23 than 4 years later. 24 (4) Before the 2010 earthquake and 2016 hur- 25 ricane, Haiti registered among the lowest in socio- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1104.RS S1104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1104 RS economic indicators and had the second highest rate 1 of income disparity in the world, conditions that 2 have further complicated disaster recovery and resil- 3 ience efforts. As of November 2020, approximately 4 4,400,000 people are in need of humanitarian assist- 5 ance in Haiti. 6 (5) With assistance from the United States, 7 more than 30,000 jobs have been created since the 8 2010 earthquake, largely in the apparel industry at 9 the Caracol Industrial Park (in partnership with the 10 Inter-American Development Bank, the Government 11 of Haiti, and the private sector) in northern Haiti. 12 (6) Since 2018, tens of thousands of Haitians 13 have participated in popular demonstrations de- 14 manding accountability over government manage- 15 ment of Petrocaribe resources. In early 2019, the 16 superior court of auditors in Haiti released a series 17 of reports implicating high-level government officials 18 in the misappropriation of funds. 19 (7) The United Nations Office of the High 20 Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human 21 Rights Service jointly found a 333-percent increase 22 in human rights violations and abuses against the 23 rights of life and security in Haiti from July 2018 24 through December 2019. There were 131 violations 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1104.RS S1104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1104 RS in 2018 and 567 violations in 2019, including the 1 shooting of at least 1 journalist covering the pro- 2 tests. 3 (8) Leading members of civil society have faced 4 attacks, including Monferrier Dorval, a constitu- 5 tional law expert and president of the Port-au- 6 Prince bar association who was killed on August 28, 7 2020. 8 (9) On November 13, 2018, according to the 9 Haitian National Human Rights Defense Network, 10 at least 71 people were shot and killed and 18 peo- 11 ple were raped in the neighborhood of La Saline in 12 Port-au-Prince. 13 (10) On December 10, 2020, the Office of For- 14 eign Assets Control of the Department of the Treas- 15 ury designated former Haitian National Police offi- 16 cer Jimmy Cherizier, former Director General of the 17 Ministry of the Interior Fednel Monchery, and 18 former Departmental Delegate Joseph Pierre Rich- 19 ard Duplan pursuant to Executive Order 13818 (50 20 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking the property 21 of persons involved in serious human rights abuse or 22 corruption) for being foreign persons responsible for 23 or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly en- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1104.RS S1104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1104 RS gaged in, serious human rights abuse for their con- 1 nection to the massacre in La Saline. 2 (11) Following the massacre in La Saline, simi- 3 lar attacks have occurred in other Port-au-Prince 4 neighborhoods, including the November 2019 and 5 August 2020 attacks in Bel Air, in which 24 people 6 were killed and hundreds of families were displaced. 7 (12) Parliamentary elections scheduled for Oc- 8 tober 2019 did not take place, and since January 9 13, 2020, President Jovenel Moı¨se has ruled by de- 10 cree. At least 5 decrees have been cited as increas- 11 ingly authoritarian by Haitian civic and political 12 leaders and the international community, includ- 13 ing— 14 (A) the October 30, 2020, decision to con- 15 stitute a 5-member group to draft a new con- 16 stitution; 17 (B) the November 6, 2020, decision to re- 18 duce the control of anticorruption entities such 19 as the Superior Court of Accounts and Admin- 20 istrative Litigation; 21 (C) the November 26, 2020, antiterrorism 22 decree that establishes sanctions applicable to 23 Haitian police officers not stopping demonstra- 24 tions; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1104.RS S1104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1104 RS (D) the November 26, 2020, creation of 1 the National Intelligence Agency; and 2 (E) the February 11, 2021, appointment 3 of 3 new judges to the Supreme Court of Haiti 4 outside of constitutional procedures. 5 (13) Although there has been no parliament in 6 place since January 2020, the Government of Haiti 7 approved a budget on September 30, 2020, but the 8 delay prevented the International Monetary Fund 9 and other multilateral organizations from disbursing 10 millions in international assistance. 11 (14) In September 2020, President Moı¨se by- 12 passed the Supreme Court of Haiti to appoint a 13 Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) by executive de- 14 cree. Several civil society groups that traditionally 15 participate in the electoral councils of Haiti criti- 16 cized the decision and have declined to be rep- 17 resented in the CEP. 18 (15) On February 7, 2021, President Moı¨se al- 19 leged that a coup had been attempted against him, 20 leading to 23 subsequent arrests, including of Judge 21 Yviquel Dabre´sil of the Supreme Court of Haiti. The 22 Department of State noted that ‘‘the situation re- 23 mains murky and we await the results of the police 24 investigation’’. On February 9, 2021, President 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1104.RS S1104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1104 RS Moı¨se forced the retirement of 3 Supreme Court 1 judges, who were named as possible transitional 2 presidents by political opponents, and replaced them 3 with individuals he unilaterally selected. 4 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 5 It is the policy of the United States to support the 6 sustainable rebuilding and development of Haiti in a man- 7 ner that— 8 (1) recognizes Haitian independence, self-reli- 9 ance, sovereignty, democratic governance, and effi- 10 ciency; 11 (2) promotes efforts that are led by and sup- 12 port the people and Government of Haiti at all levels 13 so that Haitians lead the course of reconstruction 14 and development of Haiti; 15 (3) builds the long-term capacity of the Govern- 16 ment of Haiti, civil society in Haiti, and the private 17 sector to foster economic opportunities in Haiti; 18 (4) fosters collaboration between the Haitian di- 19 aspora in the United States, including dual citizens 20 of Haiti and the United States, with the Govern- 21 ment of Haiti and the business community in Haiti; 22 (5) supports anticorruption efforts and address- 23 es human rights concerns; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1104.RS S1104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1104 RS (6) respects and helps restore the natural re- 1 sources of Haiti and strengthens community-level re- 2 silience to environmental and weather-related im- 3 pacts; 4 (7) promotes the holding of free, fair, and time- 5 ly elections in accordance with democratic principles 6 and the Constitution of Haiti; 7 (8) provides timely and comprehensive reporting 8 on the goals and progress of the Government of 9 Haiti and the United States Government, and trans- 10 parent post-program evaluations and contracting 11 data; and 12 (9) promotes the participation of Haitian 13 women and youth in governmental and nongovern- 14 mental institutions and in economic development and 15 governance assistance programs funded by the 16 United States. 17 SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL 18 COMMITTEES. 19 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 20 mittees’’ means— 21 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 22 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1104.RS S1104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1104 RS (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 1 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep- 2 resentatives. 3 SEC. 5. STRENGTHENING HUMAN RIGHTS AND 4 ANTICORRUPTION EFFORTS IN HAITI AND 5 HOLDING PERPETRATORS OF THE LA SALINE 6 MASSACRE ACCOUNTABLE. 7 (a) PRIORITIZATION BY SECRETARY OF STATE.—The 8 Secretary of State shall prioritize the protection of human 9 rights and anticorruption efforts in Haiti through the fol- 10 lowing methods: 11 (1) Fostering strong relationships with inde- 12 pendent civil society groups focused on monitoring 13 corruption and human rights abuses and promoting 14 democracy in Haiti. 15 (2) Supporting the efforts of the Government of 16 Haiti to identify persons involved in human rights 17 violations and significant acts of corruption in Haiti, 18 including public and private sector actors, and hold 19 them accountable for their actions. 20 (3) Addressing concerns of impunity for the al- 21 leged perpetrators of, as well as the individuals who 22 organized and planned, the massacre in La Saline 23 that took place on November 13, 2018. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1104.RS S1104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1104 RS (4) Urging authorities to continue to investigate 1 attacks in the neighborhoods of La Saline and Bel 2 Air in 2018 and 2019 that left dozens dead in order 3 to bring the perpetrators to justice. 4 (b) BRIEFING.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 7 retary shall brief the appropriate congressional com- 8 mittees on the events that took place on November 9 13, 2018, in the neighborhood of La Saline, in Port- 10 au-Prince, Haiti, and the aftermath of those events. 11 (2) ELEMENTS.—The briefing required by 12 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 13 (A) An examination of any links between 14 the massacre in La Saline and mass protests 15 that occurred concurrently in Haiti. 16 (B) An analysis of the reports on the mas- 17 sacre in La Saline authored by the United Na- 18 tions, the European Union, and the Govern- 19 ment of Haiti. 20 (C) A detailed description of all known 21 perpetrators of, as well as the individuals who 22 organized and planned, the massacre. 23 (D) An overview of efforts taken by the 24 Government of Haiti to bring the perpetrators 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1104.RS S1104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1104 RS of, as well as the individuals who organized and 1 planned, the massacre in La Saline to justice 2 and to prevent other similar attacks. 3 (E) An assessment of the ensuing treat- 4 ment and displacement of the survivors of the 5 massacre in La Saline. 6 (3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out para- 7 graph (1), the Secretary shall consult with non- 8 governmental organizations in Haiti and the United 9 States. 10 SEC. 6. METHODS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 11 AND ASSEMBLY IN HAITI. 12 The Secretary of State shall prioritize the promotion 13 of freedom of the press and freedom of assembly, as well 14 as the protection of journalists in Haiti through the fol- 15 lowing methods: 16 (1) Advocating to Haitian authorities for in- 17 creased protection for journalists and the press and 18 for the freedom to peacefully assemble or protest in 19 Haiti. 20 (2) Collaborating with officials of the Govern- 21 ment of Haiti and representatives of civil society to 22 increase legal protections for journalists in Haiti. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1104.RS S1104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1104 RS (3) Supporting efforts to strengthen trans- 1 parency in the public and private sectors in Haiti 2 and access to information in Haiti. 3 (4) Using United States foreign assistance for 4 programs to strengthen capacity for independent 5 journalists and increase support for investigative 6 journalism in Haiti. 7 SEC. 7. METHODS TO SUPPORT POST-EARTHQUAKE, POST- 8 HURRICANE, AND POST-COVID–19 RECOVERY 9 AND DEVELOPMENT IN HAITI. 10 The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Ad- 11 ministrator of the United States Agency for International 12 Development, shall prioritize post-earthquake, post-hurri- 13 cane, and post-COVID–19 recovery and development ef- 14 forts in Haiti through the following methods: 15 (1) Collaborating with the Government of Ha [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]