Journalism

Israel, Haiti Top List of Countries Where Journalist Murders Go Unpunished

  • Posted on: 31 October 2024
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

 

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that globally no one is held to account in 80 percent of cases where journalists are targeted.  Haiti was included due to the aggression of criminal gangs who have destabilised already weak administrative and judicial institutions,  However, the targeted killing of journalists is not new in Haiti.  Jean Dominique, immortalised in a documentary entitled "The Agronomist", was murdered in 2000.  Israel was included for the at least 128 journalists and media workers killed amongst over 40,000 civilian casualties.  Journalists in Haiti, Gaza, and other conflict- affected countries around the world are heroes who deserve both respect and protection. The full Al Jazeera article is linked and below. 

Radio in Haiti is the Heartbeat of Communities

  • Posted on: 25 April 2016
  • By: Bryan Schaaf
Finding a television in rural Haiti is not easy. Finding something worth watching is even harder.  Yet even the most rural village has radio coverage.  Radio is critical for staying connected - to the news, happenings in Port au Prince, to political dialogue, and to the outcomes of soccer games when favored teams are playing. Miami Herald writer Carmen Cuesta Roca notes below that legislation has been drafted to recognize and legalize community radio stations.  This would create a more welcoming environment for community radio although the challenge of financial sustainability remains. 

U.S State Department Releases 2015 Human Rights Report for Haiti

  • Posted on: 20 April 2016
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) is mandated to release annual country-specific human rights reports that address individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 2015 report for Haiti is linked and copied below. There have been some modest improvements from last year - for example in improving oversight of the police.  However, there is a long way to go in reforming the justice system, corrections, and protecting the rights of women, children, and the disabled. Post your thoughts about human rights in Haiti below.