Haiti

Haiti has started recruiting for its newly reestablished army. The Defense Minister Herve Denis said they plan to recruit 500 soldiers as part of the first recruitment drive, but they might need to reduce this number due to budgetary problems. He said the duties of the soldiers will be rebuilding after natural disasters and monitoring borders for smuggled contraband.

On the other hand, critics questioned the need for such a force in the country, which has long been suffering from the impacts of poverty, as well as having a history of military coups.

Please join the War Resisters League in calling for a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawl in Haiti, an end to the militarization of aid, and a focus on the self-determination of the Haitian people.

"It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail." -Abraham Maslow

30/04/1998 1 Conscription

conscription does not exist

There is no conscription as the armed forces were disbanded in 1994, following the fall of the military regime which had ruled Haiti since 1991. At present, the only armed forces in Haiti are paramilitary and police forces.

Conscription is, however, enshrined in art. 268 of the 1987 Constitution, according to which all men aged over 18 are liable for military service.

recruitment

Recruitment into the Haitian National Police Force is voluntary.

Violence against women in Haiti has increased since the 1991 coup, when the military took power. This violence includes the violence of poverty, which has forced many women into prostitution. There are reports of girls as young as 9 years old being kidnapped and sold to Dominican-run prostitution rings. Rape is also on the increase, with many of the rapes being committed by the Haitian military and the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH). A victim who has been twice gang-raped said, “The crime is that those who should be protecting us don’t.