Bureau des Avocats Internationaux
Encyclopedia
The Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) is a public interest law office located in Port-au-Prince
, Haiti
, founded in 1995. Its mission is to work with victims of human rights violations to force open the doors of Haiti's justice system for the majority of Haitians who are poor. The BAI helps victims in the prosecution of human rights
cases (such as the Raboteau Massacre case), represents political prisoner
s, trains Haiti
an lawyers, combats Haiti's miserable prison conditions, and speaks out on justice issues in Haiti and abroad. The BAI is one of only a few Haitian legal organizations concentrating on redressing the crimes committed during the coup d'États of 1991 and 2004 during which thousands of Haitians were murdered, illegally incarcerated and many more thousands of women raped.
From 1995 to 2004, the BAI received most of its support from Haiti’s constitutional governments. Since February 2004 it has received most of its support from the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
(IJDH). The BAI currently receives no support from any government or political organization.
The BAI's most prominent case is the prosecution of the April, 1994 Raboteau Massacre case. The original trial in Haiti, in the fall of 2000, led to the conviction of 53 soldiers and paramilitaries for a vicious attack on a pro-democracy neighborhood. The BAI's work on that case is chronicled in the award-winning documentary, Pote Mak Sonje: The Raboteau Trial.
The BAI also represented political prisoners Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste, Ronald Dauphin
, Amanus Maette, Annette Auguste, and Bob Moliere. The BAI provided expert testimony in the case of political prisoner Yvon Neptune
at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
The BAI and its Managing Attorney, Mario Joseph
have received many awards for their work, including the 2005 Human Rights Award from the Haiti Solidarity Network of the Northeast (HSNNE), the 2009 Katherine & George Alexander Law Prize from the University of Santa Clara Law School, and the 2009 Judith Lee Stronach Human Rights Award from the Center for Justice & Accountability.
The BAI is managed by Haitian lawyer Mario Joseph
.. Attorney Joseph has been accepted as an expert on Haitian law and human rights by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
, and United States Courts in Florida and New York. He is a member of the Governing Bureau of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers.
Prominent lawyers who have worked for the BAI include Michael Ratner
, President of the Center for Constitutional Rights
; Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch
; Nicole Lee, Executive Director of TransAfrica Forum
; Matthew Carlson, Legal Officer of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ICTR; and Brian Concannon Jr.
, Director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
. BAI alumni in Haiti are lawyers, judges, prosecutors and high Ministry of Justice officials.
Haiti is up for review by the U.N. Human Rights Council in the 12th round of the Universal Periodic review in October, 2011. To prepare, BAI and its partner organization, IJDH, coordinated the submission of twelve stakeholder reports prepared by a coalition of grassroots Haitian organizations and international NGOs, drawing attention to human rights violations in Haiti. Included are reports of torture, extreme overcrowding, and lack of healthcare and sanitation in prisons; population displacement, water contamination and pollution related to unregulated foreign extractive industries; forced, violent evictions of displaced people from encampments; and human rights abuses committed by MINUSTAH (UN Mission for Stabilization in Haiti), such as acts of sexual violence, and failure to protect displaced people in IDP camps from sexual violence and violent evictions.
The reports call on both the government and the international community to incorporate a human rights agenda into post-earthquake rebuilding work.
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, founded in 1995. Its mission is to work with victims of human rights violations to force open the doors of Haiti's justice system for the majority of Haitians who are poor. The BAI helps victims in the prosecution of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
cases (such as the Raboteau Massacre case), represents political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s, trains Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an lawyers, combats Haiti's miserable prison conditions, and speaks out on justice issues in Haiti and abroad. The BAI is one of only a few Haitian legal organizations concentrating on redressing the crimes committed during the coup d'États of 1991 and 2004 during which thousands of Haitians were murdered, illegally incarcerated and many more thousands of women raped.
From 1995 to 2004, the BAI received most of its support from Haiti’s constitutional governments. Since February 2004 it has received most of its support from the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti is a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA that seeks to accompany the people of Haiti in their non-violent struggle for the consolidation of constitutional democracy, justice and human rights. IJDH distributes information on...
(IJDH). The BAI currently receives no support from any government or political organization.
The BAI's most prominent case is the prosecution of the April, 1994 Raboteau Massacre case. The original trial in Haiti, in the fall of 2000, led to the conviction of 53 soldiers and paramilitaries for a vicious attack on a pro-democracy neighborhood. The BAI's work on that case is chronicled in the award-winning documentary, Pote Mak Sonje: The Raboteau Trial.
The BAI also represented political prisoners Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste, Ronald Dauphin
Ronald Dauphin
Ronald Dauphin is a Haitian grassroots activist, customs worker and political prisoner who has been imprisoned without trial since March 2004. A member of Fanmi Lavalas, he was arrested by armed paramilitary troops on March 1, 2004 - the day after US officials forced Haiti's elected President...
, Amanus Maette, Annette Auguste, and Bob Moliere. The BAI provided expert testimony in the case of political prisoner Yvon Neptune
Yvon Neptune
Yvon Neptune was Prime Minister of Haïti from 2002 until 2004. He was appointed by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and took office on March 15, 2002...
at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
The BAI and its Managing Attorney, Mario Joseph
Mario Joseph
Mario Joseph, Haiti's most prominent human rights lawyer , has led the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux in Port-au-Prince since 1996. Attorney Joseph and the BAI represent political prisoners and victims of political violence, and fight to make Haiti's justice system work for poor people.The BAI...
have received many awards for their work, including the 2005 Human Rights Award from the Haiti Solidarity Network of the Northeast (HSNNE), the 2009 Katherine & George Alexander Law Prize from the University of Santa Clara Law School, and the 2009 Judith Lee Stronach Human Rights Award from the Center for Justice & Accountability.
The BAI is managed by Haitian lawyer Mario Joseph
Mario Joseph
Mario Joseph, Haiti's most prominent human rights lawyer , has led the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux in Port-au-Prince since 1996. Attorney Joseph and the BAI represent political prisoners and victims of political violence, and fight to make Haiti's justice system work for poor people.The BAI...
.. Attorney Joseph has been accepted as an expert on Haitian law and human rights by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution based in the city of San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it makes up the human rights protection system of the Organization of American States , which serves to uphold and...
, and United States Courts in Florida and New York. He is a member of the Governing Bureau of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers.
Prominent lawyers who have worked for the BAI include Michael Ratner
Michael Ratner
Michael Ratner is an attorney, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights , a non-profit human rights litigation organization based in New York, New York and president of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights based in Berlin.Ratner is known for his human rights...
, President of the Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Constitutional Rights
Al Odah v. United States:Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at...
; Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
; Nicole Lee, Executive Director of TransAfrica Forum
TransAfrica Forum
TransAfrica Forum is an advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. that seeks to influence the foreign policy of the United States concerning African countries and the African diaspora.-See also:* Diaspora politics in the United States...
; Matthew Carlson, Legal Officer of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ICTR; and Brian Concannon Jr.
Brian Concannon
Brian Concannon, Jr. is a human rights lawyer who directs the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti . He is also the Coordinator of the Lawyers’ Earthquake Response Network , which coordinates over 300 U.S. lawyers providing legal support for Haiti’s earthquake victims...
, Director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti is a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA that seeks to accompany the people of Haiti in their non-violent struggle for the consolidation of constitutional democracy, justice and human rights. IJDH distributes information on...
. BAI alumni in Haiti are lawyers, judges, prosecutors and high Ministry of Justice officials.
Haiti is up for review by the U.N. Human Rights Council in the 12th round of the Universal Periodic review in October, 2011. To prepare, BAI and its partner organization, IJDH, coordinated the submission of twelve stakeholder reports prepared by a coalition of grassroots Haitian organizations and international NGOs, drawing attention to human rights violations in Haiti. Included are reports of torture, extreme overcrowding, and lack of healthcare and sanitation in prisons; population displacement, water contamination and pollution related to unregulated foreign extractive industries; forced, violent evictions of displaced people from encampments; and human rights abuses committed by MINUSTAH (UN Mission for Stabilization in Haiti), such as acts of sexual violence, and failure to protect displaced people in IDP camps from sexual violence and violent evictions.
The reports call on both the government and the international community to incorporate a human rights agenda into post-earthquake rebuilding work.
External links
- The Bureau des Avocats Internationaux- A Victim-Centered Approach
- Raboteau Massacre trial
- Institute for Justice & Democracy in HaitiInstitute for Justice & Democracy in HaitiThe Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti is a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA that seeks to accompany the people of Haiti in their non-violent struggle for the consolidation of constitutional democracy, justice and human rights. IJDH distributes information on...
(IJDH)