Transitional justice and the diaspora: Examining the impact of the Haitian diaspora on the Haitian truth commission

ABSTRACT

Truth commissions are a specialized form of commission of inquiry, established to confront the legacies of past human rights abuses and atrocities. While it is recognized that a number of different actors are responsible for the creation of truth commissions and other mechanisms of transitional justice, little is understood about the role of the diaspora. This paper details the influence of the Haitian diaspora in Montreal, Canada, in the creation of a truth commission in Haiti in 1995, the Commission Nationale de Vérité et de Justice. It demonstrates the need to better understand the importance of the diaspora in truth commissions and other forms of transitional justice.

KEYWORDS:

• Transitional justice
• truth commissions
• Haiti
• diaspora

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 United Nations Secretary-General (2010).

2 Stanton (2010), p 9.

3 Stanton (2010), p iii.

4 United Nations Security Council (2004).

5 Weinstein and Stover (2004), p 11.

6 Weinstein and Stover (2004), p 11.

7 Weinstein and Stover (2004), p 4. Another emerging strand of scholarship concerns the use of ‘transitional justice’ and its tools in established democracies like Australia and Canada. See, for example, Balint Evans and McMillan (2014) and Nagy (2013).

8 Clark (2008), p 333.

9 See, for example, McEvoy and McGregor (2008), Lundy and McGovern (2008), Robins (2010), Rowen (2017), and Kochanski (2020).

10 Shaw and Waldorf (2010), p 1. See also Hoogenboom (2014).

11 Okello (2010), p 279. See also Nagy (2013)

12 See, for example, Weinstein, Fletcher, Vinck, and Pham (2010), pp 27–48; and Shaw (2005).

13 Shaw and Waldorf (2010), p 4.

14 Wiebelhaus-Brahm (2010), p 6.

15 See, for example, recent work by Koinova and Karabegović (2020), Koinova (2018), and Koinova and Karabegović (2017).

16 Van Hear (2009), p 183.

17 See, for example, Shain and Barth (2003), Ragazzi (2017), Kunz (2012), Varadarajan (2010).

18 Levitt (1998), p 927.

19 Vertovec (2005).

20 Baser and Swain (2008), p 8.

21 Shain and Barth (2003), p 452.

22 Bercovitch (2007), p 19.

23 Mohamoud (2006), p 7.

24 Smith (2007), p 5.

25 Smith (2007).

26 See, for example Koinova and Karabegović (2019), Koinova and Karabegović (2017), Baser (2017), Wiebelhaus-Brahm (2016), pp 23–36, Haider (2014).

27 Young and Park (2009), p 324.

28 Baser and Swain (2008), pp 9–10.

29 Baser and Swain (2008), p 10.

30 Cochrane (2007), p 21.

31 Van Hear (2009), p 181.

32 Miller (2008), p 290.

33 Aristide (1996), p 14.

34 Arthur (1995), p 23, Dupuy (1997), p 139.

35 American Forensic Anthropology Team (2000), pp 50–55.

36 ‘Vérité et Justice’ (1997), pp 22–40.

37 Catholic Institute for International Relations (1996), p 3.

38 CIA (2002).

39 Haitian Diaspora http://haitiandiaspora.com/about/

40 Yohn (2013), p 24.

41 Jean-Pierre (1994), pp 41–45.

42 Laguerre (1997), pp 174–175.

43 Gay (1999), p 656.

44 Laguerre (1997), p 170.

45 Laguerre (1997), pp 172–173.

46 Elysée (2001) interview.

47 Laguerre (1997), p 181.

48 It must be noted that the United States vigorously pursued its own agenda, at the cost of what some have called the obstruction of justice in Haiti, pushing for amnesty for the coup leadership, allowing top criminals to leave, and withholding key documents. See Brody (1999) and Human Rights Watch (1996).

49 Quinn (2009), p 267. See also CIIR (1996) 17.

50 Ballard (1998), p 48.

51 United Nations (1993).

52 Quinn (2009), p 268.

53 Gay (1999), p 655.

54 Broadbent (2002) interview.

55 ICHRDD is now known as Rights and Democracy. At the time of its involvement with the Haitian diaspora community leading to the creation of the Commission Nationale de Vérité et de Justice, however, it was known as ICHRDD, and so it is referred to as such throughout this paper.

56 Government of Canada (1985) art. 4.1.

57 Rights and Democracy, http://www.dd-rd.ca/site/who_we_are/index.php?lang=en. ICHRDD came to be known as Rights and Democracy, although it was still ICHRDD at the time of its engagement around the CNVJ. The agency was closed down in 2012 after a series of controversies and its functions were transferred to the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

58 Government of Canada (1985) art. 5.1.a.

59 Mohamoud (2006), p 7.

60 A large and important literature around the hybridity of local/global ideas and even the idea of globalization cannot adequately be addressed in this article. With specific reference to the debate in transitional justice and peacebuilding scholarship about these ideas, see, for example, Richmond and Mitchell (2012), Paffenholz (2015), Ejdus and Juncos (2018), and Mac Ginty (2010).

61 Broadbent (2002) interview.

62 Almeida (2002) interview.

63 Broadbent (2002) interview.

64 Almeida (2002) interview.

65 Almeida (2002) interview.

66 Almeida (2002) interview.

67 Broadbent (2002) interview.

68 International Centre (1994).

69 International Centre.

70 Broadbent (2002) interview.

71 Almeida (2002) interview.

72 The Republic of Haiti (1995) annèxe I, pp 355–357.

73 The Republic of Haiti (1995) chapitre 2, art. 2. See also Quinn (2010) and Quinn (2009).

74 Amnesty International (1998), p 8.

75 The Republic of Haiti (1995) annèxe III, p 1–456.

76 Broadbent (2002) interview.

77 Broadbent (2002) interview.

78 We think here, for example, of Kingdon’s ‘policy window’, an opening which may occur only rarely and especially unpredictably. See Kingdon (1984), p 171–198.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David A. Hoogenboom

David A. Hoogenboom holds a Ph.D. in Political Science. He is a critical transitional justice scholar and has written about its use by the diaspora and in places including Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Joanna R. Quinn

Joanna R. Quinn is Director of the Centre for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction and professor of Political Science at The University of Western Ontario.