A/HRC/17/42 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 4 April 2011 English Original: French Human Rights Council Seventeenth session Agenda item 10 Technical assistance and capacity-building Report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti, Michel Forst Summary In accordance with the mandate established by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1995/70 and with Presidential Statement PRST/15/1, the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti submits the present report to the Council at its seventeenth session. The Independent Expert starts by describing the human rights situation in Haiti and the threats posed to human rights in the context of an ongoing humanitarian crisis. He draws attention in particular to the plight of women, who are often prey to gender-based violence, children who have been separated from their families, orphans, child domestic servants and persons with disabilities, as well as to the question of forced return. He describes the impact of cholera on mob justice and cases of lynching of voodoo priests. The Independent Expert then reviews the performance of the judicial authorities and the police and, in particular, looks at the need to restart the vetting process for police officers. He describes the prison system and the threats faced by persons deprived of their liberty, together with extended pretrial detention and sanitary conditions in prisons. He underlines the importance of the Office of the Ombudsman and the key role that it will be called upon to play in the future. He also underlines the importance of adopting a rights-based approach to reconstruction of the country. The report concludes with the Independent Expert’s recommendations, which are divided into three sections. The first deals with violations of the rights of vulnerable persons and contains recommendations regarding women, children, people with illnesses or disabilities and displaced persons. In the second section, the Independent Expert makes a series of recommendations on the work of the institutions of the State, such as the justice system, the police, the prison system and the Office of the Ombudsman. In the third section, he recommends that human rights be taken into consideration in the reconstruction of Haiti. GE.11-12426 (E) 120511 160511