Rep. Waters letter to Amb. Sison 10-05-20 FINAL

20520 Dear Ambassador Sison: I write to urge you to use your considerable diplomatic experience and influence with the government of Haiti to promote respect for the rule of law and basic human rights and to oppose the organization of elections in Haiti until such time as the widespread politically motivated attacks against government critics in Haiti have ceased; the perpetrators have been held a. [...] Members of the previous CEP resigned in August and called on the executive branch to initiate a process of dialogue to obtain broad agreement before moving forward with elections.1 Since then, each of these sectors has refused to designate a representative to a new CEP, expressing concerns about the credibility of any elections carried out under President Jovenel Moïse. [...] While they watched, civilians accompanying them took photographs and videos of some of the 300 employees and sensitive documents that are part of the agency’s ongoing corruption probe of the government’s alleged misuse of $2 billion in aid from Venezuela under the “PetroCaribe” program.5 A well-respected Haitian lawyer, constitutional scholar, and head of the Port-au-Prince bar association, Monfer. [...] During these violent attacks, members of the Haitian National Police allied with Cherizier reportedly stood by as houses were burned and people were killed.7 The government failed to bring Cherizier to justice, and he subsequently unified several gangs under the “G9” organization and launched a reign of terror against neighborhoods unwilling to submit to the gang federation’s will. [...] Police vehicles have been used in the G9 attacks, and there has been no reported police intervention to protect the victims of the attacks, many of whom are women and children.8 According to a National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) investigation of armed attacks in the impoverished Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Cité Soleil, during the period from June 1 through July 28, 2020, at least 111.