Haiti: Civil Registry System in Crisis Threatens Citizens' Fundamental Rights

A report published on March 16, 2026, by the Organization of Citizens for a New Haiti (OCNH) reveals that the Haitian civil registry system is undergoing a major crisis. Nearly 85% of active officers were appointed in 1995, and many are now unfit due to age or visual impairments.

According to OCNH, this situation compromises the reliability of citizen identification, the management of demographic data, and the effectiveness of public policies, posing a critical challenge for governance and national security.

OCNH's field investigations show that several civil registry offices operate irregularly or are completely closed.

In the Northeast, the Mombin-Crochu office, in Bois-de-Laurence, has been managed by an unpaid clerk since the officer's death in December 2022, depriving the population of any official documents. In Fort-Liberté, in Acul-Samedi, the justice of the peace handles the signing of documents, but significant delays have occurred since the officer's death in 2020.

Also in the West, the Léogâne office, in Trouin, has been closed since November 2021, leading to the non-declaration of many births.

In Artibonite, the Hatte-Chevreaux office, in Marchand-Dessalines, has been abandoned since 2019, depriving citizens of access to basic administrative services, while the Desdunes office has been closed since January 2026, resulting in a complete lack of official documents.

In Pestel, in Grand'Anse, the office has been irregular since August 2025, with the sick officer's brother receiving declarations in his place, causing a backlog of files. The Terre-Neuve office, in Artibonite, has been closed since July 2024, and in Cité Soleil, in the West, the office has been inactive since June 2021, forcing citizens to travel to Delmas to obtain their documents, thus blocking essential services.

This weakening of the system has direct repercussions on citizens' fundamental rights. Children and schoolchildren cannot register for official exams, young voters are excluded from electoral lists, and the difficulty in proving parentage or legal identity complicates access to justice. Access to social assistance programs and health services is also blocked for many vulnerable families, while passport issuance is paralyzed, hindering citizens' migratory plans.

Faced with this worrying situation, OCNH calls on the Ministry of Justice and Public Security to undertake a deep structural reform of the civil registry system. The organization recommends the implementation of a national mapping of offices and human resources, the renewal and professionalization of officers through transparent recruitment and continuous training programs, technological modernization through the digitization of registers and the interconnection of databases, as well as the strengthening of the legal and institutional framework to ensure the transparency and sustainability of the system.