Urge the Senate to Pass the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act

When Catherine McAuley founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831, the challenges in her native Ireland would have seemed, to many, insurmountable: rampant poverty, lack of access to education and clean water, frequent outbreaks of cholera and typhus. Instead of allowing herself to be overwhelmed, Catherine, along with the first Sisters of Mercy, responded to the challenges of their time, offering education, care for the sick and unsheltered, and opportunities to learn new skills to help lift people out of abject poverty.

Inspired by Catherine’s example, Mercy Focus on Haiti remains committed to working with the people of Gros Morne, seeking ways to improve lives and foster opportunity. The people of Haiti, though faced with great burdens and uncertainty, display unceasing strength, resilience and faith, and it is a privilege to stand with them in solidarity.

—from Mercy Focus on Haiti 2024-25 Annual Report

Urge the Senate to Pass the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act

In September, the House passed HR 2643, the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act, which imposes new sanctions on the political and economic elites who benefit from the continued violence in Haiti.

The companion bill, S 1854, also passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month and is expected to pass with strong bipartisan support if it is brought to the floor for a vote. We have been told by legislators and Senate Committee staff that this bill has had some of the strongest civil society engagement they have seen, reflecting the tremendous amount of work from our Arms Trafficking to Haiti coalition and partners. Happily, this work also resulted in an amendment to the Senate version of the bill that includes a new arms trafficking clause as cause for sanctions.

Urge your senators to cosponsor and pass this legislation to work towards ending the crisis in Haiti.

Background

The people of Haiti continue to suffer under the terrors of violence and desperate poverty due to the complete destabilization of the country’s government and infrastructure. Gangs are able to control communities with firearms and ammunition largely imported from the United States, undermining any attempts at peacekeeping or reform.

The Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act is one of a series of bills that would address the way our country is exporting our gun violence crisis to Haiti and other parts of the region. Although this bill does not address weapons specifically, it does mandate reporting by the Secretary of State to Congress on ties between the criminal gangs in Haiti and those in Haiti with political and economic power who perpetuate the violence and benefit at the expense of the Haitian people. Because the bill is a bipartisan effort and has already passed the House, it has a strong likelihood of becoming law and is an important step to bringing peace and stability back to Haiti. You can read more about the bill, courtesy of the Quixote Center, in this brief summary document.