Haiti Support Group

Haiti Support Group
Name	Haiti Support Group
Founded	1978
Founder	Raymond Brousseau
Type	Non-governmental organization
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Region served	Haiti, Caribbean, United Kingdom
Leader title	Director
Leader name	Jenny Pearson

Haiti Support Group is a London-based non-governmental organization established in 1978 to advocate for human rights, democratic reform, and development in Haiti. The organization has worked on issues ranging from political exile and asylum to disaster relief and policy campaigning, engaging with international institutions, diasporic communities, and grassroots movements. Over four decades it has intersected with actors in the United Kingdom, the United States, the United Nations, the Caribbean Community, and Haitian civil society.

History

The group was founded in 1978 by activists responding to the repression of the Duvalier regime during the late 20th century, collaborating with exiles, journalists, and parliamentarians in Westminster and human rights advocates linked to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. During the 1980s it lobbied the European Economic Community and members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on issues related to political prisoners and the right of asylum for Haitian refugees arriving in the United States and the Bahamas. In the 1990s the organization campaigned during the return of Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the international interventions involving Operation Uphold Democracy and later engagements by the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti. Following the 2010 2010 Haiti earthquake it shifted significant focus toward humanitarian coordination alongside actors such as Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières, and faith-based organizations from the United Kingdom and the United States.

Mission and Activities

Its stated mission emphasizes solidarity with Haitian social movements, promotion of human rights, and advocacy for reparatory and development policies. The group conducts research and produces briefing papers used by members of the House of Commons and by advocates at the United Nations Human Rights Council, and it organizes public events with academics from SOAS University of London and journalists from outlets like the Guardian and the New York Times. It facilitates delegations that meet with representatives of Haitian trade unions, peasant organizations such as the Peasant Movement of Papaye, and community leaders engaged in reconstruction after natural disasters like Hurricane Matthew (2016). The organization also campaigns on migration policy with partners in Refugee Council and other civil society networks.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

Structured as a small charity and membership organization, its governance includes a board of trustees, an executive director, and volunteer coordinators who manage research, campaigning, and logistical support for delegations. Leadership over time has included prominent activists and former diplomats who have worked on Caribbean policy in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and on human rights in institutions like Amnesty International and International Crisis Group. The group maintains regional liaisons in Haitian diaspora hubs such as Miami, Montreal, and Paris, and collaborates with Haitian NGOs, grassroots collectives, and religious institutions including the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti and Catholic relief networks.

Funding and Partnerships

Funding has historically combined private donations, membership fees, grants from charitable foundations in the United Kingdom and Europe, and occasional project grants from municipal and faith-based funders. The group has partnered with academic research centres at King's College London and University College London, with humanitarian agencies such as Oxfam and Caritas Internationalis, and with advocacy networks including ActionAid and Jubilee 2000 style coalitions focused on debt relief. For specific campaigns it has received in-kind support from media partners like the BBC and parliamentary allies from the Labour Party and cross-party groups in the House of Lords.

Impact and Criticism

Supporters credit the organization with contributing to policy shifts on asylum cases, raising awareness in British and international media about human rights abuses under successive Haitian regimes, and mobilizing resources after the 2010 earthquake and subsequent cholera outbreaks linked to the United Nations peacekeeping presence. Critics have argued the group’s small scale limited its capacity to implement long-term development projects compared with larger agencies such as USAID and the Inter-American Development Bank, and some Haitian activists have contested the effectiveness of diaspora-led advocacy, pointing to tensions between external actors and local community priorities in areas such as land rights and electoral reform. Debates also emerged around the coordination of international aid after major disasters, involving actors like USAID and the World Food Programme.

Notable Campaigns and Events

Key campaigns include sustained advocacy for Haitian refugees during the 1980s and 1990s, coordinated briefings during the 1994 international intervention, mobilization following the 2010 earthquake that included fundraising concerts and parliamentary events with MPs from Parliament of the United Kingdom, and public inquiries into the role of international forces following cholera outbreaks traced to peacekeepers associated with the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti. The group organized delegations that met with former heads of state and with leaders of unions and peasant movements, produced influential reports cited in parliamentary questions and debates, and participated in coalitions that lobbied for debt relief and reconstruction finance during meetings involving the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Category:Non-governmental organizations based in London Category:Organizations established in 1978 Category:Haiti–United Kingdom relations