KJM Press Note: Rejection of Prime Minister Jean Henry Céant’s Comments (2018)

Haiti, Wednesday September 18, 2018

It is with revolt and indignation that the Kolektif Jistis Min (Justice Mining Collective or KJM) hears Jean Henry Céant say before Parliament that the draft mining law is supported by broad consensus of all sectors of the country. KJM, with all its force, denounces the statement of the Prime Minister, made before the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, that “everyone agrees with” the draft mining law. The law is “horse’s medicine,” drafted by the World Bank and the Haitian government.

In truth, history is as follows: on February 21st, 2013, the Senate Commission on Public Work, Transportation, and Communication called the former director of the Office of Mines and Energy, Ludner Remarais, to testify about the exploitation permits his office had granted behind closed doors. On February 22nd, 2013, the Senate passed a resolution that called to halt the issuance of mining permits and to stop all mining work in communities. Following the logic of the popular slogan that Haiti is open for business, the Martelly-Lamothe government invited the World Bank to draft a law to replace the Mining Decree of 1976. The main goal of the new mining law was to remove the oversight control of Parliament to liquidate the country’s resources.

KJM and many other sectors in the country denounced, with all their force, mining exploitation. Mining poses serious dangers to the life of Haitian people. The draft law is a trap, horse’s medicine manufactured by the Haitian government and the World Bank who, at the same time redrafted the mining law and made an equity investment in a mining company operating in Haiti.

Jean Henry Céant’s claim that the mining law is supported by broad consensus is false; in fact, the law has been rejected due to the lack of transparency and the rights of affected communities to access information and to participate in decisions, as outlined in Article 40 of Haiti’s Constitution. As a coalition of Haitian organizations working to address mining, KJM has already sent many letters to the Senate and to the Office of Mines and Energy to request a draft of the mining law. Through today, we have never received a response. Meanwhile, companies that hold illegitimate permits have accessed the draft law.

Ceant’s policy statement on the mining law shows not only that he is untruthful, but that he is not considering the positions of social movement organizations, those of affected communities, or the rest of the population that have already demonstrated our position. We have made our perspective known through: open letters, sit-ins, press conferences, press statements, demonstrations to reject mining and the draft mining law, etc.

The policy statement of Prime Minister Céant, which includes false statements about the mining law, is silent about how our country will address climate change. It seems Céant is a pion of the international community, installed to continue the pillaging of Haitian resources, destroy the environment, destroy small scale agriculture, poison the water and the air we breathe, deforest the country even further, pillage the land that produces food to give to multinational corporations and leave the people in worse conditions.

The policy statement also made us see, clearly, that Céant provides no response to the questions of the people, including insecurity, unemployment, infrastructure and support for farmers to produce food and corruption, most importantly, the case of PetroCaribe.

KJM reminds all of the Haitian people, including communities affected by mining, of the draft mining law that the corrupt Haitian government wants Parliament to vote—a law that was drafted under the table, without transparency, without information, without consultation and without the participation of Haitian people, particularly the affected communities. The law that neither respects nor protects the environment, it fails to fight corruption, it does not respect communities’ rights to participation and self-determination or the rights of the Haitian people to participate and to give their opinion about all decisions concerning the nation.

In this sense, KJM again warns Haitian Parliament not to vote the mining law, a draft law that would invite death by opening the nation’s door to foreign companies that come to pillage, exploit and carry away the few resources of this small country and further degrade the environment. KJM calls the attention of all people, all affected communities, farmers’ organizations that believe in their rights to access the land for agriculture to nourish the children of this nation, who are the future. These progressive organizations could direct the nation away from the debt of food production and end the colonial, capitalist, logic of extractivism. Human rights organizations believe in living in harmony with the environment, living in good health, accessing food, water—fundamental human rights. These organizations, together with ecological and environmental groups, must put our hands together to respond to Céant and the World Bank about the death project that they want to implement in the country.

Yes to life, NO to mining exploitation!!

Signatory Organizations:

BATAY OUVRIYE
CE /JILAP
GARR
MODEP
TET KOLE TI PEYIZAN AYISYEN
PAPDA
POHDH

Authenticated : Franndy LESPERANCE
Technical Coordinator

Peterson DEROLUS
Technical Coordinator