Mario Joseph, Defender of Cholera Victims, Has Died
By La Rédaction · Port-au-Prince
· 2 min read · Updated 24 April 2026
Translated from French — AI-assisted and reviewed by the editorial team. The French version is authoritative. Read the original · About our translation policy
We learned of the death, this Monday, March 31, 2025, of the well-known lawyer Me Mario Joseph, head of the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI). According to AHP, Me Joseph had a terrible road accident last Saturday, the circumstances of which are not yet known. As head of the BAI in 2011, Mario Joseph led a fierce fight on behalf of cholera victims.
Mario Joseph, recognized as an influential Haitian human rights lawyer, has led the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, since 1996.
In twenty years of human rights activism, Mario Joseph worked on various cases, such as: the Raboteau massacre in 2000, considered one of the most important human rights cases in the Western Hemisphere; and former Prime Minister, Yvon Neptune, the first Haitian case handled by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Following the Raboteau trial, the BAI's cooperation with American immigration authorities led to the deportation of three former Haitian generals, including the most senior military official ever deported by the United States for human rights reasons.
In November 2011, the BAI filed a complaint with the United Nations on behalf of 5,000 victims following the cholera epidemic brought to Haiti by United Nations peacekeeping forces.
The BAI also represented about ten victims of former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. More recently, Mario and his colleagues represented rape victims in trials they won.
Mario Joseph continued his fight for justice despite the risks he faced. Threats against his physical integrity emanating from the Haitian Government led the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to issue provisional protective measures in his favor in 2012.
As part of his work in Haiti, he collaborated closely with various groups, providing them with organizational and legal support. He also collaborated with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on other cases, such as the Duvalier trial. The BAI's legal program trains motivated and highly qualified young human rights lawyers. Former BAI students now work as judges, prosecutors, and human rights lawyers in Haiti. Others work for NGOs, universities, public services, or international courts abroad.
