Loune Viaud (Haiti, 2002)

Rewarded for her innovative human rights based approach to establishing healthcare systems in Haiti, Loune Viaud received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in 2002. She was honored, not only for her groundbreaking work in AIDS treatment, but for advocating that health, access to medicine, and clean water are all fundamental rights, and working with the local government and citizens to build the government’s capacity to respond to those human rights.

In the last year and a half, the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has experienced extreme political, economic, and social turmoil, exacerbated by prolonged political violence. International interventions in Haiti over the last year and half, including a UN Peacekeeping Mission deployed to the country, have failed to impact the human security situation and have arguably worsened it. Loune and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights have been advocating to international interveners to use a human rights-based approach to addressing the root causes of instability in Haiti, violations of the rights to health, education, water—poverty—as a means to ensuring human security and thereby sustainable peace.

RFK Center has been advocating to the UN Member States, agencies and the UN Stabilization Mission to Haiti (MINUSTAH) to concretely contribute to the full spectrum of human rights in Haiti. One avenue to do so is to establish a different funding mechanism for projects in Haiti. RFK Center is encouraging the use of a trust fund as a mechanism for MINUSTAH troops and UN agencies to work with local communities to address there needs and rights priorities by developing community-based projects. Along those lines, RFK Center is also developing legal actions seeking to clarify Member States human rights obligations when participating in UN peacekeeping missions.

RFK Center is also addressing longstanding human rights violations in Haiti which have contributed to instability. Also, in partnership with Zanmi Lasante and Fonkoze, RFK Center and Advocacy Team members are developing a human rights education project to support the empowerment of rural women.

For more information, please contact Monika Kalra Varma (202) 463-7575 x228, monika@rfkmemorial.org

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