Human Rights
Mining threatens the human rights of Haitian people. All companies have a responsibility to respect the human rights of Haitians, and must recognize the limitations of the Haitian government in protecting and fulfilling the human rights of its people. The experience of Haitian communities in areas where mining exploration has taken place demonstrates that human rights are not being adequately respected, protected, and fulfilled. The fragile state of human rights in Haiti places at significant risk the ability of mining companies to comply with their responsibility to respect the human rights of Haitians.
We discuss mining’s impacts on only a select few of the number of human rights that mining threatens: the right to water, the right to land, the right to health, the right to access to information, and the right to self-determination.
“People have the way they live, how they relate to the land, how they grow things, how they build their community together. The people who come who want to mine do not share the same vision of the world or the vision of the community—they would disrupt this.”
– Sabine Lamour, Sociologist and coordinator of feminist organization, Solidarite Fanm Ayisyèn (SOFA)
At the Center of Resistance to Mining: The Right to Self-Determination
The prospect of mining threatens Haitian peoples' right to self-determination. Activists and scholars have identified the development of mining in Haiti as another event in a long history of foreign imposition, interference, and exploitation starting with the colonization of the island. Mining exploration has already taken place without the consent of communities living on the land and the focus on mining has inhibited community-led initiatives for Haiti’s economic development . Haitians opposing mining are continuing a centuries-long lineage of resistance against colonialism and extractivism on the island, fighting for their right to self-determination - to govern their own lives, to sustain their culture, and to live within their communities and on their lands.
Foreign mining companies primarily from the United States and Canada have entered Haitian land to begin exploratory activity, often without the permission of the communities that live and farm there. Haitian government officials and Global North actors–mining companies, international financial institutions, and foreign governments–continue to assert that metals should be mined in Haiti, against the wishes and demands of communities they would displace. In 2011, the Government of Haiti launched “Haiti is Open for Business,” an economic plan that included mining as essential to the future of Haiti’s economy. As of 2022, the same political party continues to focus on the alleged benefits of mining, which have been exaggerated and misunderstood, has diverted attention from the community-led proposals for Haiti’s economy and future - namely infrastructure and innovation to support farming and the protection of Haitian culture, environment, and ways of life.
See below to learn more about the impacts of mining on the right to water, the right to land, the right to health, and the right to access to information.
Water
Gold mining poses serious risks to the quality and quantity of Haiti’s water. Experience shows that mining depletes the water supply and carries with it a serious and deadly risk of water contamination. Less than 50 percent of Haitians in rural communities have access to safe drinking water. Many Haitians rely on surface and/or groundwater which are at heightened risk of contamination. Mining is too great a risk to water in Haiti, an already limited resource.
Land
Most people in northern Haiti, where there are more than 50 mining permits, live in subsistence farming communities. Land has been stolen from farmers and families in Haiti for centuries, to the benefit of foreign governments and companies and of the Haitian business elite. Mining uses a large amount of land, which is especially concerning given the insufficient amount of farmland in Haiti. In October 2021, Samuel Nesner explained in a hearing on the impact of extractive industries on human rights and climate change in the Caribbean before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, that in Haiti, the mining industry “brutally evicts peasants from their farmlands and causes serious damage to the already degraded environment.”
“The spirits are in the water, in the trees. To extract is to destroy our spirit.”
– Sabine Lamour, Sociologist and coordinator of feminist organization Solidarite Fanm Ayisyèn (SOFA)
Health
Gold mining negatively affects the underlying determinants of health, including by contaminating water and air and diminishing the food supply. The risks to health are made more severe in Haiti, where the healthcare system is significantly under-resourced and many Haitians have limited or no access to healthcare. Mining relies on the heavy use of chemicals, which can contribute to the production of unmanageable amounts of solid waste, deforestation, landslides, soil erosion, and water contamination, threatening Haitians’ food and livelihood as well as increasing the risks of fatal climate disasters. The danger of mining to health is particularly concerning given that many Haitians are unable to access healthcare, with increasing costs of treatment and under-funded healthcare facilities. Recent political instability, insecurity, climate disasters like the August 2021 earthquake, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have placed additional strains on Haiti’s healthcare system.
Access to Information
Too often, Haitian people do not have the opportunity to participate in decisions about their future, and the future of their communities. People often refer to an information "blackout." The communities affected by mining activity in Northern Haiti cannot meaningfully participate in the activities of their government, due to a lack of access to information and the failure of the government to create accessible mechanisms for citizen input. Major decisions are often made behind closed doors in Port-au-Prince, in French rather than in Creole (the language spoken by all Haitians), and far removed from the homes and daily realities of the majority of the rural population marginalized by deep inequalities in income, wealth, and power. This level of social, economic, and political exclusion makes residents in areas affected by mining in Haiti extremely vulnerable to ongoing and repeat rights violations, including violations of their right to information.