Haitian Authorities' Resolve in the Fight against Impunity Put to the Test
According to Haiti's Office of the Ombudsperson, the return of Emmanuel Constant, linked to the death and disappearance of hundreds of Haitian citizens in the 1990s, is an opportunity to test the willingness of Haitian authorities in the struggle against impunity and violence in the country.
The return of Emmanuel Constant, known as "Toto Constant" in Haiti, is an opportunity for Haitian authorities to demonstrate their willingness to combat impunity and violence in the country. As had been announced in the press, Emmanuel Constant, former head of the paramilitary group Front pour l’Avancement et le Progrès d’Haïti (FRAPH), was deported to Haiti on June 23, 2020 following a decision by U.S. authorities. Questioned that same day by officials of the Central Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ), the strongman of the death-squad group from 1991 to 1994 was taken to Gonaives to face the charges against him. It should be recalled that Toto Constant is considered one of the main perpetrators of massive human rights violations committed in Port-au-Prince and in Gonaives, Raboteau, after September 30, 1991. Cases of killings, extrajudicial executions, rape, disappearances, and torture followed by imprisonment, considered crimes against humanity, were committed in full view and with full public knowledge by criminals led by Emmanuel Constant, with the support of military personnel of that time, during one of the darkest episodes of Haiti's post-Duvalier history, from 1991 to 1994.
Press note, Office of the Ombudsperson, Haiti, June 2020.