a. Freedom of Speech and Press

The constitution guarantees freedom of expression and press. Government officials and private actors sometimes restricted this freedom.

Press and Media Freedom: There were isolated incidents of actions against journalists by national and local government officials. As a result, some independent media believed they were unable to criticize the government freely.

On March 14, Vladjimir Legagneur, an independent journalist, went missing after entering Grand-Ravine, a gang-controlled area of Port-au-Prince, to pursue a story about gang activities. Following his disappearance, journalists organized marches and called for a full investigation. On April 5, police announced two arrests in the case while waiting for results from forensic testing on “fresh” human remains found in the area where Legagneur was last seen. The results of the forensic exam were still pending as of October. As of September 15, the HNP had arrested four persons, including a schoolteacher in the area where Legagneur disappeared, in connection with the case.

Violence and Harassment: Some journalists were subjected to threats, harassment, and physical assault allegedly due to their reporting. In some instances government authorities participated in these acts.

On August 20, government officials alleged parliament had been attacked by persons with small arms fire and a grenade. Within a few days, however, various media establishments questioned the official narrative, since a preliminary investigation concluded the shots had likely come from inside the building. During the investigation tensions flared between police investigators and parliamentary security personnel, and the latter attempted to bar journalists from covering those exchanges by grabbing and blocking their cameras to prevent them from filming the incident. In the melee security agent Ernst Lee Raphael allegedly assaulted journalist Frantz Cineus of Television Pacific and damaged a camera. The presidents of both chambers of parliament publicly apologized after the initial events, and Raphael was fired. Following the incident, several journalists noted what they described as constant threats from security agents at the parliament who blamed journalists for the public’s negative perception of parliament.

Censorship or Content Restrictions: There were few allegations of censorship by the government. In March the National Telecommunications Board closed 10 radio stations accused of operating without a license. One such station, Radio Planete, alleged the decision was politically motivated, since one of their journalists hosted a show critical of the government handling of Petro Caribe financing (see section 4). The telecommunications board’s president denied the accusations and reiterated his determination to combat “pirate” stations.

INTERNET FREEDOM

The government did not restrict or disrupt access to the internet or censor online content, and there were no credible reports that the government monitored private online communications without appropriate legal authorization. Socioeconomic and infrastructure hurdles contributed to the dominance of radio and, to a lesser extent, television, over the internet.

According to the International Telecommunication Union, approximately 12 percent of citizens used the internet in 2017.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND CULTURAL EVENTS

In May an NGO focused on rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons said it was barred from hosting a panel discussion on LGBTI issues at the Cap-Haitian State University campus, a government university, even though payment had been accepted for the event.

The constitution provides for freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights.

FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY

The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, and the government generally respected this right. There were several instances when police used force to impose order during demonstrations. Citizens must apply for a permit to hold legal demonstrations. Although impromptu political demonstrations in some instances provoked aggressive law enforcement responses, police generally responded to these protests in a professional and effective manner.

Following the July 6-7 protests against the government’s decision to increase fuel prices, Port-au-Prince prosecutor Dameus ordered the arrest of 64 individuals accused of looting. These individuals included three who were living on property owned by opposition senator Antonio Cheramy. Some members of the opposition called the arrests politically motivated and illegal because a prosecutor can arrest only individuals caught in the process committing a crime. Dameus denied the allegations of “political persecution” and stated the persons arrested were caught carrying numerous items that had been looted from various stores. The detainees were subsequently released.

See the Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/religiousfreedomreport/.

The law provides for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights. The government cooperated with international and humanitarian organizations, as well as other countries, in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, or other persons of concern.

INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDPS)

Of all the IDP camps created following the 2010 earthquake, 3 percent remained. Nearly all IDPs were in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, although several hundred persons also remained displaced by Hurricane Matthew’s destruction of the country’s South Department in 2016. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that more than 37,500 individuals (more than 9,000 households) still resided in IDP camps as of September.

Although the IOM reported progress in the relocation of nearly all Hurricane Matthew IDPs, the rate of camp closures and relocation remained slow. According to a May estimate, 90 percent of those residing in the camps had limited or no access to basic hygiene and health services. IOM statistics showed that the overall post-2010 earthquake IDP population had decreased more than 97 percent from its peak in 2010.

MINUJUSTH’s police force presence in the country did not include a mobile team for IDP camp security patrols, which left the HNP to administer security in the remaining IDP camps. The IOM reported the HNP did not patrol IDP camps, but instead responded only in cases of emergency. Overall, there had not been a stable security force presence in the IDP camps since the departure of MINUSTAH forces in late 2017, although IDP camp residents formed committees to monitor their communities at night and to address cases of gender-based violence. The IOM reported that IDPs liaised directly with the HNP during emergencies.

PROTECTION OF REFUGEES

Access to Asylum: The law provides for the granting of refugee status or asylum through Haitian missions or consulates abroad. Third-country nationals can also petition for asylum through the local office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). According to the UNHCR representative, there were fewer than 20 such cases in process.

STATELESS PERSONS

A lack of coordination between the various ministries that administer the dysfunctional civil registry system and weak consular capacity made obtaining documentation difficult for individuals living inside or outside the country. Due to these systemic deficiencies, many Haitians living abroad without other citizenship or permanent residency were effectively stateless or at risk of statelessness in their country of residence. Undocumented persons of Haitian descent continued to face difficulties in establishing their legal residency or citizenship in countries such as the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, which occasionally resulted in the deportation or spontaneous return of individuals with a claim to non-Haitian citizenship. Despite improved passport delivery domestically, obtaining nationality documents from the Haitian government remained particularly challenging for Haitian migrants living in the Dominican Republic (DR) seeking to participate in the DR’s migrant regularization plan.

Women

Rape and Domestic Violence: While the law prohibits rape of men or women, it does not recognize spousal rape as a crime. The penalty for rape is a minimum of 10 years of forced labor. In the case of gang rape, the maximum penalty is lifelong forced labor. Actual sentences were often less rigorous. The criminal code excuses a husband who kills his wife or her partner found engaging in an act of adultery in his home, but a wife who kills her husband under similar circumstances is subject to prosecution.

The law does not classify domestic violence against adults as a distinct crime. Women’s rights groups and human rights organizations reported domestic violence against women remained commonplace. Judges often released suspects arrested for domestic violence and rape.

In February the OPC reported that the First Instance Court of Jeremie, the largest city and capital of Grand’Anse Department, released 16 of 29 individuals accused of rape. The prosecutor for Jeremie, Bergemane Sylvain, allegedly dropped charges against the accused with the justification that the victims had signed statements withdrawing their claims. The OPC criticized Sylvain’s decision, saying that the law does not allow for compromise in criminal matters and that the victim’s retraction cannot stop a prosecution. The accused remained free at year’s end.

Victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence faced major obstacles in seeking legal justice, as well as in accessing protective services, such as women’s shelters. Civil society organizations reported that while women were more likely to report cases of sexual and domestic violence than in the past, many victims failed to report such cases due to a lack of financial resources. Additionally, due to familial responsibilities, victims were usually unable to dedicate the time necessary to follow through with legal proceedings. According to some civil society organizations, many local nonprofit organizations that provided shelter, medical and psychological services, and legal assistance to victims had to reduce services due to a lack of funding.

On September 6, MINUJUSTH reported an increase in the number of sexual and gender-based violence cases investigated. They reported that between January and August, 149 cases were investigated, compared with 181 investigations in all of 2017. Nonetheless, there were reports that in rural areas, criminal cases, including cases of sexual violence, were settled out of court. According to MINUJUSTH, prosecutors often encouraged such settlements.

Sexual Harassment: The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment, although the labor code states that men and women have the same rights and obligations. Observers indicated sexual harassment occurred frequently.

Coercion in Population Control: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization.

Discrimination: The law does not provide for the same legal status and rights for women as for men. Women did not enjoy the same social and economic status as men, despite the constitutional amendments recognizing the principle of at least 30 percent women’s participation in national life and notably in public service.

By law men and women have equal protections for economic participation. In practice, however, women faced barriers to accessing economic inputs and securing collateral for credit, information on lending programs and resources.

Children

Birth Registration: Citizenship is derived through an individual’s parents; only one parent of either sex is necessary to transmit citizenship. Citizenship can also be acquired through a formal request to the Ministry of the Interior. The government did not register all births immediately. Birth registry is free until the age of two years. Approximately 30 percent of children between the ages of one and five lacked birth certificates or any other official documentation. Children born in rural communities were less likely to be documented than those in urban areas.

Education: Constitutional provisions require the government to provide free and compulsory education for all children up to grade nine (when students are approximately age 16); however, the government did not effectively enforce these provisions. Eight of 10 children who attended school did so at private, often religious institutions. The quality of those institutions varied widely because the government lacked the means to inspect them.

Child Abuse: The law prohibits domestic violence against minors. The government continued to lack sufficient resources and an adequate legal framework to support or enforce existing mechanisms to promote children’s rights and welfare fully, but it made some progress in institutionalizing protections for children.

The most recent study launched by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, published in 2015, estimated there were 286,000 children working in indentured domestic servitude (referred to as restaveks), a form of trafficking in persons. Furthermore, restaveks were often victims of psychological, physical, and sexual abuse. The National Child Welfare Institute (IBESR), along with the HNP’s specialized Child Protection Bureau (BPM), were tasked with protecting the welfare of children. Their efforts were limited, however, by small budgets and inadequate personnel.

For more information, see the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/ and the Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/findings/ .

Early and Forced Marriage: The legal age of marriage is 18 years. No data was available regarding early and forced marriage, but childhood and forced marriage was not a widespread custom.

Sexual Exploitation of Children: The minimum age for consensual sex is 18 years, and the law has special provisions for rapes of persons who are 16 years or younger. The law prohibits the corruption of youth under 21, including prostitution, with penalties ranging from six months to three years of imprisonment for offenders. The law prescribes prison sentences of seven to 15 years of imprisonment and a fine ranging from 200,000 to 1.5 million Haitian Gourdes (HTG) ($2,900 to $21,600). The penalty for human trafficking with aggravating circumstances, which includes cases involving the exploitation of children, is up to life imprisonment.

According to a September 6 MINUJUSTH report, the majority of reported victims of sexual violence were underage girls. There were some reported instances of boys being raped. Several civil society groups reported children living in impoverished conditions were often subjected to sexual exploitation and abuse. According to these groups, children were often forced into prostitution or lured into transactional sex to fund basic needs such as school related expenses. Recruitment of children for sexual exploitation and pornography is illegal, but the United Nations reported criminal gangs recruited children as young as 10 years of age.

On June 13, the government announced it had permanently banned international NGO Oxfam from operating in the country following allegations that Oxfam employees had engaged in sexual misconduct and abuse during the 2010 earthquake response. There were allegations that some of the victims may have been minor children.

Institutionalized Children: The IBESR has official responsibility for monitoring and accrediting the country’s orphanages and residential care centers. According to international NGO Lumos, an estimated 25,000 children lived in the more than 750 orphanages in the country. An estimated 80 percent of those children had at least one known parent who was alive. In October the IBESR announced that only 35 of the more than 750 orphanages it inspected were compliant with the minimum standards for child care. The IBESR attempted to close the most egregious orphanages but could only do so as quickly as they could find placement for the children. In 2017 government officials closed four abusive orphanages that housed 116 children and potentially involved trafficking and placed 51 children from those orphanages into foster care; the remainder were returned to their families. The government accredited 96 families for its newly developed foster care program to make children less vulnerable to trafficking or being revictimized. Local and international antitrafficking organizations noted, however, that the government had not provided appropriate resources to develop enough transitional centers or other temporary housing and care facilities.

There are different provisions for juvenile offenders. Children under 13 are not held responsible for their actions, and until age 16, they cannot be held in adult prisons or share their cells. Instead, juvenile offenders were placed in re-education centers with the objective of successful societal reinsertion. There were two rehabilitation centers, both in Port-au-Prince, called CERMICOL. As of August approximately 200 minors were in CERMICOL.

International Child Abductions: The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction. See the Department of State’s Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data.html.

Anti-Semitism

The Jewish community numbered fewer than 100 persons, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

Trafficking in Persons

See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/.

Persons with Disabilities

The constitution stipulates that persons with disabilities should have the means to provide for their autonomy, education, and independence. The law prohibits discrimination in employment practices against persons with disabilities, requires the government to integrate such persons into the state’s public services, and imposes a 2 percent quota for persons with disabilities in the workforces of private-sector companies. This quota was not met, as the government did not enforce these legal protections.

Local disabilities rights advocates stated that persons with disabilities faced significant obstacles to vote, as they had difficulty obtaining a national identification card, a requirement to vote, because the National Identification Office was inaccessible to persons with disabilities.

Individuals with disabilities faced significant social stigma because of their disability. Persons with mental or developmental disabilities were marginalized, neglected, and abused in society. The Office of the Secretary of State for the Integration of Handicapped Persons (BSEIPH), which falls under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, is the lead government agency responsible for providing assistance to persons with disabilities and ensuring their civil, political, and social inclusion.

The BSEIPH had several departmental offices outside the capital, and it effectively lobbied the government to pass legislation to benefit persons with disabilities. Nonetheless, its efforts were constrained by a limited budget, and there was little progress to create of a strategic development plan to guide the institutions efforts. The BSEIPH provided persons with disabilities with legal advice and job counseling services. It regularly convened meetings with disabilities rights groups in all of its regional offices.

Some disabilities rights activists called the social services available to persons with disabilities inadequate, adding that access to quality medical care posed a significant challenge for persons with disabilities. Hospitals and clinics in Port-au-Prince did not have sufficient space, human resources, or public funds to treat such individuals.

Acts of Violence, Discrimination, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

No laws criminalize sexual orientation or consensual same-sex conduct between adults. There are no antidiscrimination laws to protect LGBTI persons from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

There were no reports of police officers actively perpetrating or condoning violence against LGBTI individuals. Some LGBTI groups reported the HNP and judicial authorities were inconsistent in their willingness to document or investigate LGBTI persons’ claims of abuse. HNP academy instructors taught police officers to respect the rights of all civilians without exception. The curriculum specifically trained new officers on crimes commonly committed against the LGBTI community. As a result, some civil society leaders noticed a marked improvement in the efforts of the HNP’s Gender and Community Police Units to address the needs of the LGBTI community.

In August the office of an LGBTI rights organization was attacked by an individual shouting anti-LGBTI slogans. According to the organization, the attacker came to request financial assistance and when the organization refused, he attacked the office. The assailant returned the next day with other armed individuals to set fire to the office. The organization stated local police officers were slow to offer assistance and that at one point, an officer asserted there was no evidence of the alleged attack. The organization’s coordinator said he went to file a complaint with the local justice of the peace, who made anti-LGBTI remarks before referring him to the court clerk, who requested a bribe to begin the investigation.

Local attitudes remained hostile toward LGBTI individuals who were public and visible about their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression, particularly in Port-au-Prince. Some politicians, societal leaders, and organizations actively opposed the social integration of LGBTI persons and discussion of their rights. LGBTI advocacy groups in Port-au-Prince reported a greater sense of insecurity and less trust of government authorities than did groups in rural areas.

HIV and AIDS Social Stigma

According to a 2017 Center for Disease Control-sponsored stigma index, 57 percent of women and 54 percent of men said they would deny HIV-positive children entrance to schools with HIV-negative children, and 65 percent of women and 64 percent of men said they would not buy vegetables from persons with HIV.

Other Societal Violence or Discrimination

MINUJUSTH and numerous civil society organizations reported gang violence continued to increase, particularly in impoverished areas of Port-au-Prince such as Martissant and Grand-Ravine. MINUJUSTH reported that, between June and August, there were seven gang-related incidents reported, compared with three from the same period in 2017.

Labor relations are established and regulated by a special provision of the 1961 labor code as revised in 1984. The code provides for the right of some workers, excluding public-sector employees, to form and join unions of their choice and strike, with restrictions. The code allows for collective bargaining and requires employers to conclude a collective contract with a union if that union represents two-thirds of the workers and requests a contract. Strikes are legal provided they are approved by at least one-third of a company’s workers. The code prohibits firing workers based on union activities, and employers are subject to a monetary fine for each individual violation. The code does not, however, require employers to reinstate workers illegally fired for union activity, although illegally fired workers have the right to recoup any compensation to which they are entitled.

The code places several restrictions on workers’ rights. It requires that any union obtain prior authorization from the government to be recognized. The code limits legal strikes to four types: striking while remaining at post, striking without abandoning the institution, walking out and abandoning the institution, and striking in solidarity with another strike. Public utility service workers and public-sector enterprise workers may not strike. The code defines public utility service employees as essential workers who “cannot suspend their activities without causing serious harm to public health and security.” A 48-hour notice period is compulsory for all strikes, and strikes may not exceed one day. Some groups were able to strike despite these restrictions by being present at their workplace but refusing to work. Furthermore, the law allows for compulsory arbitration at the request of only one party to halt a strike. The code does not cover freelance workers or workers in the informal economy.

The government made efforts to enforce labor laws, although its efforts were not fully effective. Government officials, unions, and factory-level affiliates also continued to expand their dialogue. Labor courts, which function under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, are responsible for adjudicating private-sector workplace conflicts. There is one labor court in Port-au-Prince. Outside of Port-au-Prince, plaintiffs have the legal option to use municipal courts for labor disputes. The code requires ministry mediation before filing cases with the labor court. In the case of a labor dispute, the ministry conducts an investigation to determine the nature and causes of the matter and facilitate a resolution. In the absence of a mutually agreed-upon resolution, the matter is referred to court.

During the year the labor ombudsperson for the apparel sector and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor provided mediation services to workers and employers in Port-au-Prince, Caracol Industrial Park, and Ouanaminthe. Due to limited capacity and procedural delays in forwarding cases from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor to the courts, the mediation services of the apparel sector’s labor ombudsperson and the conciliation services of the ministry were often the only official recourse for workers’ grievances regarding better pay and working conditions. The labor ombudsperson intervened to improve relationships between employers, workers, and trade union organizations, either upon formal request by workers, unions, or employers’ representatives, or based on observations by the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Better Work Haiti (BWH) program. The Office of the Ombudsperson used different methods, including telephone conversations, exchange meetings, factory visits and meetings, and advisory support.

The penalty under the code for interference with union activities is 1,000 to 3,000 HTG ($14.40 to $43.20). The fines were not sufficient to deter violations, and authorities did not impose or collect them. During the year the government required some factories to remedy labor violations, including violations related to freedom of association.

Antiunion discrimination persisted, although to a lesser extent than in previous years. Workers continued to report acts of suspension, termination, and other retaliation by employers on the grounds of legitimate trade union activities, membership, collective action, and other associational activity.

There were strikes and other work stoppages in the apparel sector during the year, including disruptions in several facilities in Port-au-Prince and the North and Northeast departments as workers launched demonstrations prior to and following the announcement of the new minimum wage in October.

The ILO and International Finance Corporation’s BWH program noted incidents of employer interference in union activity.

b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The law prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor; however, the government did not effectively enforce the law in all sectors of the economy. The labor ombudsperson, however, did not record any instances of intimidation or employer abuse. Penalties for violations of forced labor laws range from 1,000 to 3,000 HTG ($14.40 to $43.20) but were insufficient to deter violations.

There were reports that forced or compulsory labor occurred, specifically, instances of forced labor among child domestics, or restaveks (see section 7.c.). Children in the following situations were vulnerable to forced labor: private and NGO-sponsored residential care centers; workers in construction, agriculture, fisheries, domestic work, and street vending; IDPs, including those displaced by Hurricane Matthew and the 2010 earthquake; members of female-headed, single-parent, or large families; and LGBTI youth often left homeless and stigmatized by their families and society (see section 7.c.).

Also see the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/.

The minimum age for employment in industrial, agricultural, or commercial companies is 15 years. The minimum age for work outside of these three sectors is 14, although children 12 and older may work for up to three hours per day outside of school hours in family enterprises, under supervision from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. The law allows children age 14 to be contracted apprentices; children 14 to 16 may not work as apprentices more than 25 hours a week. A September 2017 amendment to the labor code stated that it is illegal to employ children under the age of 16; however, it was unclear whether this provision would supersede the older statues that create the sectoral exceptions mentioned above.

The law prohibits young persons and children from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous; interferes with their education; or is harmful to their physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social health and development, including the use of children in criminal activities. The law also prohibits minors from working under dangerous or hazardous conditions, such as mining, construction, or sanitation services, and it prohibits night work in industrial enterprises for minors under 18. The September 2017 amendment doubles penalties for employing underage children at night. Prohibitions related to hazardous work, however, omit major economic sectors, including agriculture. No apparel factories were reported noncompliant with respect to child labor during the year. A report by the ILO’s BWH for the period of October 2017 to October 2018, however, found two cases of noncompliance for child labor because two factories failed to request proper identification for some workers during the hiring process.

There are no legal penalties for employing children in domestic labor. The law requires employers to pay domestic workers over age 15, thereby allowing employers of domestic workers to use “food and shelter” as a means of unregulated compensation for those under 15.

Persons between the ages of 15 and 18 seeking employment must obtain a work authorization from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor unless they are employed in domestic service. The labor code provides for penalties for failure to follow procedures, such as obtaining work authorization to employ minors between 15 and 18 legally, but it does not provide penalties for the employment of underage children. The limited penalties of between 3,000 and 5,000 HTG ($43 to $72) were not sufficient deterrents to protect children against labor exploitation.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, through the IBESR, is responsible for enforcing child labor laws. While enduring resource constraints hindered the IBESR’s ability to conduct effective child labor investigations, the IBESR and the BPM responded to reports of abuse in homes and orphanages where children worked. The government does not report on investigations into child labor law violations or the penalties imposed. Although the government and international donors allocated supplemental funds for the IBESR to acquire a new administrative space and hire more staff, the IBESR continued to lack sufficient social protection programs and effective legislation to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.

New members were appointed to the National Tripartite Committee against Child Labor, which included civil society actors, unions, and employers to address the issue of child labor and discuss the challenges associated with implementing new laws on child labor. As of September the committee had failed to meet due to lack of cohesion among labor union representatives.

The BPM is responsible for investigating crimes against children and referred exploited and abused children to the IBESR and partner NGOs for social services. Although the BPM has the authority to respond to allegations of abuse and apprehend persons reported as exploiters of child domestic workers, the BPM did not pursue restavek cases for investigation because there are no legal penalties it could impose on those who exploited children in these cases. A law with specific protections for child trafficking victims does not exist.

Children under age 15 commonly worked in the informal sector to supplement family income. Activities and sectors in which children worked included domestic work, subsistence agriculture, and street trades, such as selling goods, washing cars, serving as porters in public markets and bus stations, and begging. Children also worked with parents on small family farms, although the high unemployment rate among adults kept significant numbers of children from employment on commercial farms.

The worst forms of child labor, including forced child labor, continued to be problematic and endemic–particularly in domestic service. Exploitation of restaveks typically included families forcing them to work excessive hours on physically demanding tasks without commensurate pay or adequate food, refusing to provide an education, and subjecting them to physical or sexual abuse. Girls were often placed in domestic servitude in private urban homes by parents who were unable to provide for them, while boys more frequently were exploited for labor on farms. Restaveks who did not run away from families usually remained with them until the age of 14. Many families forced restaveks to leave before age 15 to avoid paying them wages as required by law. Others ignored the law, often with impunity.

Working on the streets exposed children to a variety of hazards, including severe weather, vehicle accidents, and crime. Abandoned and runaway restaveks constituted a significant proportion of the population of children living on the street, many of whom criminal gangs exploited in prostitution or street crime, while others became street vendors or beggars.

Also see the Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/findings/ .

The constitution provides for freedom of work for all citizens and prohibits discrimination based on sex, origin, religion, opinion, or marital status. For public-sector employment, the constitution sets a minimum quota of 30 percent for women. The labor code does not define employment discrimination, although it sets out specific provisions with respect to the rights and obligations of foreigners and women such as the conditions to obtain a work permit, foreign worker quotas, and provisions related to maternity leave. The law does not prohibit discrimination based on disability, language, sexual orientation or gender identity, social status, or HIV-positive status.

The government took some steps to enforce the laws through administrative methods, such as through the Ministry of Women’s Conditions and the BSEIPH. In the private sector, several work areas, which had been predominantly male oriented, began employing female workers at the same pay scale, including the public transportation and construction industries. Despite these improvements, discrimination related to gender remained a major concern, although there was no governmental assessment or report of work abuses. During the BWH’s most recent assessment of 28 factories between October 2017 and October, one case of noncompliance related to gender discrimination was identified. The factory where the case occurred took immediate action following the assessment to terminate the harassers. The BWH reported improvement in addressing sexual harassment, although this remained an issue of concern in the industry.

The law provides for a national minimum wage. The Superior Wage Council published new minimum wage levels on October 8. The current daily minimum wage for all sectors ranges from 215 HTG ($3.00) per day for domestic workers to 500 HTG ($7.20) per day in certain professions, including finance, telecommunications, and private educational institutions. In the apparel export sector, the minimum daily wage was set at 420 HTG ($6.00). At 215 HTG, the national minimum wage for domestic workers was slightly above the official poverty income level.

In September 2017 the parliament passed a new law that organizes and regulates work over a 24-hour period divided into three 8-hour shifts known as the (3*8 law). This law set the standard workday at eight hours and the workweek at 48 hours for industrial, commercial, agricultural, and tourist establishments as well as for public and private utilities. The 3*8 law repealed numerous provisions of the labor code, including those that covered working time, overtime payment, weekly rest day, and certain paid annual holidays. According to the ombudsman for industrial affairs, the 3*8 law did not cause any major shift in the labor market and needed additional government circulars to guarantee its implementation.

The law establishes minimum health and safety regulations and requires certain provisions in regards to workers’ health and safety, including quotas for onsite nurses per factory, permanent medical services, and annual medical checks. The law allows workers to notify the employer of any defect or situation that may endanger their health or safety and to call on the ministry or police if the employer fails to make the necessary ameliorations. Occupational safety and health standards are appropriate for the main industries, but these standards were not always enforced.

Although the law charges the ministry with enforcement of a range of labor-related issues, legislation on wage and hour requirements, standard workweek, premium pay for overtime, and occupational safety and health was not effectively enforced. Penalties were not sufficient to deter violations, and authorities often did not impose them. The penalty for not applying the occupational safety and health provisions of the labor code is 200 to 2,000 HTG ($2.90 to $29) or up to three months in prison. The penalty for violating the minimum wage or hours of work provisions of the labor code ranges from 1,000 to 3,000 HTG ($14.40 to $43.20). There were no prosecutions for the individuals accused of violating the minimum wage or hours of work.

The ministry’s capacity to enforce the labor provisions in national and international law was limited by human resource and other constraints. Labor inspections in the capital and elsewhere faced challenges that included a lack of funding, questionable professionalism, and lack of support from law enforcement.

There were some reports of noncompliance with overtime provisions in apparel factories.

Most citizens worked in the informal sector and subsistence agriculture, for which minimum wage legislation does not apply. There continued to be reports of noncompliance regarding compensation, paid leave, social security and other benefits, contracts, health services and first aid, and worker protection in the industrial and assembly sectors.

Noncompliance with safety and health standards remained a major concern. The ILO BWH program continued to report nearly all factories failed to provide the legally required number of medical facilities and staff. Other noncompliance issues included unsafe storage of chemical and hazardous materials, lack of adequate training regarding handling of chemical and hazardous materials, and lack of protective equipment or safety warning signs.

The ILO BWH program also reported cases where several workers exposed to work-related hazards failed to receive free annual exams. By law the exams are the responsibility of the Office of Labor Insurance, Maternity, and Accident (OFATMA). While some factories began conducting medical checks-up independently, OFATMA continued efforts to increase its capacities and continued performing medical checks at a number of factories. The ILO Better Work Haiti program continued to work with factories, and OFATMA to improve compliance with this requirement.

No group collected formal data, but unions alleged job-related injuries occurred frequently in the construction and public-works sectors.