The Fight Against Corruption in Haiti: The ONLCC Enters the Ring

As corruption continues to plague public institutions and weaken citizen trust, a new player enters the scene. The brand-new National Observatory for the Fight Against Corruption (ONLCC) promises much, aiming to restore order and rigor to a fight too often politicized. In a context where the fight against corruption in Haiti struggles to produce concrete results, the Executive Committee of the National Observatory for the Fight Against Corruption (ONLCC) has officially announced the creation of this new citizen-led structure. The initiative, spearheaded by professionals from various sectors of national life, aims to offer a more technical, ethical, and independent approach to this struggle which, according to its initiators, has become « too often undermined by political interests ». According to the statement published on October 17, 2025, the ONLCC's mission is to conduct technical, scientific, and citizen-led work against corruption, formulating concrete proposals to strengthen the effectiveness and transparency of public institutions. The Observatory notably plans to: Investigate corrupt practices and institutional dysfunctions; Analyze the root causes and impacts of corruption on the country's development; Propose sustainable solutions to build stronger and truly independent institutions. ONLCC officials affirm their desire to restore the anti-corruption fight to its true citizen-led and ethical dimension. « Too many institutions meant to combat corruption are themselves undermined by questionable practices », laments the executive committee, which promises to start with internal exemplary conduct: « Caesar's wife must not be suspected », the text recalls. The ONLCC's leadership consists of Ricardo Fleuridor (Executive Director), Gilles Bernard (Deputy Executive Director and Head of Research), Fabie Mentor (Organization Coordinator), Anelson Pierre (Treasurer), Esther Monfort (Secretary), Oméga Mervilus (Organization Coordinator), and Célimond Célusme (Head of Social Media). With this new structure, Haitian civil society seems eager to regain control in a fight long monopolized by state institutions, which are often discredited. The ONLCC promises to make transparency and rigor its main weapons in this essential struggle for the rebuilding of the country. However, this structure emerges at a time when Haiti has recently been very poorly ranked in the table of highly corrupt countries, thus in the red zone according to Transparency International. Haiti is ranked 161st out of 180 countries, with a score of 16 on a scale of 100, indicating it as a highly corrupt country. What solution should it bring? The ONLCC intends to restore its reputation. The Editorial Team