Ouanaminthe Declaration

photo: CUPE

The trade unionists affiliated to the ITUC/CSA from Haïti (the CTH and CTSP) as well as the representative trade union movement (ESPM/BO, CATH, CNOHA, FNSH) and from Dominican Republic (CASC, CNTD and CNUS) meeting at Villa CODEVI on 25 and 26 January 2023 and supported by the ITUC, CSA, the trade union organisations of Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Spain, France, Italy, Panama, Dominican Republic and Sweden declare:

That the crisis in Haiti is due to bad governance, international interference, the absence of the rule of law and social justice, and a model of society where the economy is for the benefit of an elite.

1. Any solution to the crisis in Haiti must begin with the recognition of the sovereignty of the country, the state and the people of Haiti. It is up to the people of Haiti to choose their own leaders and form of government. In the current context, any international armed intervention would run counter to the right to self-determination of Haitians.

2. The current context requires the rebuilding of a new Haiti, with the reconstruction of the rule of law and social justice at its heart.

  • This implies the implementation of a decent work agenda based on four pillars: respect for workers’ rights, access to social protection, the establishment of social dialogue and the massive creation of dignified and sustainable jobs.
  • It also requires public policies that ensure access to social services (education, health, housing, etc.), promote national production, fiscal justice and the fight against inequalities.
  • Finally, it requires special attention to the rights of girls and women, who are the most exposed to violence and who are an essential component of the country’s reconstruction.

3. The fight against insecurity and corruption and, beyond that, the resolution of the structural crisis in Haiti call for a transition and a break with the historical cycle of crises, shocks and interference. The representative trade union movement in Haiti is actively participating with other civil society actors in the project of a transition of rupture. This project implies the establishment of a transitional government, based on a broad national consensus of the country’s representative forces, which will eventually ensure the conditions for the organisation of legitimate, transparent and democratic elections.

The Haitian trade union movement is counting on international solidarity, in general, and trade union solidarity, in particular, to support these demands and to accompany the Haitian trade unions and the other actors of civil society in the construction of this new Haiti to which the people aspire.