IACHR Grants Precautionary Measures in Favor of Lovely Lamour, Who Is Deprived of Liberty in Haiti

September 1, 2023

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 49/2023 on August 29, 2023, to grant precautionary measures in favor of Lovely Lamour in Haiti, in the belief she faces a serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to her rights.

According to the request for these precautionary measures, Lovely Lamour is deprived of liberty at the Port-au-Prince police station, where she gave birth to a baby without appropriate medical care either before, during, or after childbirth. Her son reportedly died when he was one month old, apart from his mother. The party who requested these precautionary measures alleged that these events had had a serious impact on Lamour's mental health and that she had received no psychological care. The State failed to respond to the IACHR's request for information.

After assessing the legal and factual allegations made by the party who requested these precautionary measures, the IACHR found that Lovely Lamour was at risk, considering her conditions of detention since 2022, and that her situation might still get worse. Consequently, in keeping with Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure, the IACHR asked the State of Haiti to take the following action:

1. Adopt any measures necessary to protect the rights to life, personal integrity, and health of Lovely Lamour, with a gender perspective, in compliance with the applicable international obligations and standards (in particular, ensuring that she has access to medical treatment as prescribed by the relevant doctors and ordering a medical examination to assess the beneficiary's current health status, with the resulting report)
2. Adopt any measures necessary to ensure that the beneficiary's conditions of detention reflect the applicable international standards
3. Come to an agreement with the beneficiary and her representatives concerning any measures that need to be taken
4. Report on any actions adopted to investigate the alleged events that gave rise to the adoption of these precautionary measures, in order to prevent such events from happening again in the future

The fact that these precautionary measures have been granted and their adoption by the State do not entail a prejudgment on a potential petition that may be filed before the inter-American system to allege violations of rights protected by the American Convention on Human Rights and other applicable instruments.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 209/23

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