Haiti Shadow Reports Delivered to UN Human Rights Council

You.Me.We. and its coalition partners in the US and Haiti submitted 13 shadow reports on Haiti’s human rights record to the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva as part of Haiti’s Universal Periodic Review.  The reports draw attention to a range of concerns, including inadequate housing conditions, gender-based violence and environmental degradation, and make 147 concrete recommendations for improving these conditions.  The government will formally respond to the reports at a hearing before the Human Rights Council in October, and indicate publicly which recommendations it agrees to implement.    

The UPR provides a unique opportunity for civil society engagement, and You.Me.We. has been working alongside

grassroots organizations in Haiti to ensure that their voices are heard in the process.  We have provided training on civil society advocacy related to the UPR, and will continue to advocate for a rights-based approach to earthquake reconstruction in the run-up to the review in October.   

For more on the UPR and links to the shadow reports, visit http://ijdh.org/archives/17982, or contact Kathleen Bergin, at kbergin@ymwglobal.org.