The Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace (CE-JILAP) commemorated Thursday in Port-au-Prince, the national day against violence. around the theme “Violence and crime in Haiti, what to do in the context of a democratic construction?”

During the Mass given in memory of the disappeared victims in various circumstances from 2002 to 2015, Father John Hansen in his homily called for a non-violent society focused on justice and solidarity, a society where life must always triumph over death “No to death! Yes to life! We want to build a country where there is peace, generosity and justice,” he said.

The day was also an opportunity for the Commission to submit its report on violence recorded in the metropolitan area. In his intervention, Jocelyne Colas Noël, National Director of Justice and Peace has revealed that 445 people were shot dead from a total of 527 violent deaths in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince for the first half of the year 2015 or 2,5 death by bullets on average each day.

“Cité Soleil, Martissant, the Downtown Port-au-Prince no longer have the exclusivity of the name of red zones,” said Jocelyne Colas Noël, who blasted the Haitian authorities who, she says, have done nothing to combat violence and curb insecurity “The rising acts of violence in Haiti clearly shows that the leaders have no real desire to ensure the right to life of the Haitian population. Although at Commission level we have already made recommendations to the government in this regard.”

At the end of the day the CE-JILAP again made various recommendations to the Haitian authorities including: the use of technological and scientific tools in the police work, creating a secure environment in areas of intense commercial activity and communities say lawless areas, setting up fixed police points in many parts of the country, particularly in the metropolitan area and the depoliticization of the Superior Council of the National Police (CSPN).

HL/ HaitiLibre