Sec. 5821. Sense of Congress and statement of policy on Haiti
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Congress finds the following: Since 2018, the ruling PHTK has presided over increasing instability, displacement, and poverty in Haiti stemming from, among other reasons— systematic dismantlement of the judicial system; a non-functioning parliamentary system; mass gang violence against civilians and between gangs resulting in large-scale massacres; gang rule of large parts of Haiti; daily kidnappings for ransom; widespread sexual violence against women, girls and marginalized people; grand corruption; state violence against protesters; unsafe conditions for workers; diminished access to water, food, healthcare and education; and unnatural devastation from natural disasters.
Government-supported violence in Haiti has forced large numbers of Haitians to flee the country, including to the United States. Independent human rights organizations and the media have documented PHTK collusion with gang activity through— the participation of PHTK officials in gang attacks; the use of police vehicles in gang activities; and systemic refusals by the police to interfere in gang attacks and the justice system to prosecute gang members and government officials credibly accused of participating in massacres.
In 2021, the United States together with the international community installed PHTK official Ariel Henry as the Prime Minister and thus de facto head of Government of Haiti following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. It is the sense of Congress that the security, freedom, and well-being of Haitians are intertwined with that of the people of the United States, and United States interests are not served by an unstable or unsafe Haiti. It is the policy of the United States— to support a Haitian-led solution to the current crisis; that the people of Haiti must be empowered to choose their leaders and govern Haiti free from foreign interference; and to support the sustainable rebuilding and development of Haiti in a manner that promotes efforts led and supported by the people and Government of Haiti at all levels, so that Haitians lead the course of reconstruction and development of Haiti.