Me Amoce Auguste, the Protection Director of the Office of Citizen Protection (OPC), participated via video-conference at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Bourdon, to the 19th Session of the Committee on Human Rights disabilities in the context of the review of Haiti's initial report held on February 15 in Geneva.

As part of this interactive dialogue, the statement of the Protector of the Citizen Me Renan Hedouville was presented by Me Auguste who reviewed the progress made in the fight for the respect of the rights of disabled people in Haiti, notably the ratification of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the creation of the Secretary of State for Persons with Disabilities, the establishment of the Interministerial Committee for Human Rights and strengthening of the legal framework of the OPC among others...

He also mentioned the publication of the law on the integration of people with disabilities emphasizing "the adoption of this law strengthens the body of law aiming to ensure the protection of all persons living with any disabilities."

However, he acknowledged that, despite the efforts of the Secretariat of State for the Integration of Disabled Persons and Civil Society Organizations operating in this field, the conditions for real and effective implementation of the Convention have not yet been created, deploring the dysfunction of the National Council for the Rehabilitation of Disabled People, created in 2003.

In view of the vulnerability of persons with disabilities, he recommends that the Executive make every effort to create conditions so that people with disabilities have access to all social services without any form of discrimination.

HL/ HaitiLibre