Communication Respecting the Violations of Human Rights of Haitian Women before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

This communication begins by documenting the systematic use of rape by Haitian state authorities as an instrument to terrorize female opposition activists and women related to male opposition activists. It presents an elaborate case for the recognition of rape as torture under the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights, by reviewing recent developments in international law and the applicability of the Torture Convention. The social and cultural dynamics that render rape so psychologically harmful to women are also detailed. The legal significance of the recognition of rape as torture lies in its establishment of a foundation for universal jurisdiction both under customary international law and treaty law. The communication also presents arguments for rape, as perpetrated in Haiti, constituting violations of 14 other provisions of the American Convention on Human Rights; these include provisions guarantying the rights to life, humane treatment, personal liberty and security, a fair trial, property, privacy, participation in government, equal protection, and judicial protection, freedom of thought and expression, freedom of association, rights of the family, rights of the child, freedom of movement and residence.