Order of the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
of September 21, 2009
Provisional Measures regarding Haiti
Matter of A.J. et al.
HAVING SEEN:
1.
The brief dated August 14, 2009 submitted by the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights (hereinafter “the Commission” or “the Inter-American Commission”),
pursuant to Article 63(2) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter ““the
American Convention” or “the Convention”), to Article 26 of the Rules of Procedure of the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Rules of Procedure”) and Article 74
of the Regulations of the Commission, to the Court, seeking that the Republic of Haiti
(hereinafter “the State” or “Haiti”), protect the lives and the personal integrity of A. J., of
her mother, J. L. and of Sterlin Joudain, Michelet Laguerre, Pierre Luc Sael, and André
Junior Laurore, these four latter persons being members of the organization Action
Citoyenne pour le Respect des Droits Humains [Citizen Action for the Respect of Human
Rights](hereinafter “ACREDH”).
2.
The alleged facts on which the request for provisional measures filed by the
Commission is grounded are, to wit:
a)
On April 17, 2009 the Inter-American Commission granted precautionary
measures (MC 5/09) in favor of the aforementioned persons, based on the
information about their having been subjected to various acts of harassment and
persecution by police officials after having reported the rape by one of such officials,
A. J. allegedly suffered. The Commission requested the State to adopt the measures
necessary to protect the life and personal integrity of the beneficiaries, to arrange
with them the implementation thereof and to report on the action taken in order to
investigate the facts that gave rise to the adoption of the precautionary measures,
within a time limit of twenty days. However, the State did not respond to such
request. On June 30, 2009 the Commission once more required precautionary
measures to be adopted and the State did not answer this new brief any more than it
had the previous one. During the period when the precautionary measures were in
effect, the beneficiaries allegedly continued to receive threats against their life and
personal integrity (infra Having Seen Clause Number 2. d);
b)
as background information, the Commission pointed out that B. J., father to
A. J., was apparently arrested in unspecified circumstances of time, place and
manner as the outcome of a dispute with a neighbor over the boundaries of his
property. His daughter A. J., who was seventeen years old at the time, visited him