The National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) is sounding the alarm over detention conditions at the Rehabilitation Center for Minors in Conflict with the Law (CERMICOL). In a report released on March 9, 2026, the organization denounced “cruel, inhuman, and degrading” treatment of detainees and urged Haitian authorities to take urgent action to end a situation it deems contrary to national and international standards.
Originally designed to hold about 100 minors, CERMICOL has been progressively transformed into a prison complex since 2023. This change followed several armed attacks and jailbreaks at other facilities, including the Port-au-Prince, Croix-des-Bouquets, and Cabaret civil prisons.
Today, according to RNDDH, the center holds 719 people—more than seven times its original capacity. The population includes 475 men, 142 women, 87 underage boys, and 15 underage girls. Only 23 detainees have been convicted (barely 3%), meaning the vast majority are in prolonged pretrial detention, sometimes for several years.
The report highlights the dangerous cohabitation between minors and adults. Boys live in constant proximity to adult inmates, while women and girls are confined to a narrow space separated only by a simple barrier. Material conditions are dire: with no functional toilets, detainees must use bags and buckets. Only three showers are available for all men and boys, and the women’s bathing area lacks a roof and doors.
Sanitary conditions are alarming, with cases of malnutrition, tuberculosis, and contagious skin diseases. Furthermore, the dispensary has been converted into a cell housing over thirty women, including an infant under three months old. Some detainees have been waiting for trial for 7 to 16 years; some were arrested as minors and reached adulthood behind bars without ever seeing a judge.
RNDDH calls on the government to take immediate measures to end overcrowding, ensure the separation of detainee categories, improve medical care, and accelerate judicial proceedings to clear the backlog of cases.
