Haiti: Some 5.5 million people — that’s nearly half of the country’s population — need humanitarian assistance

The Rapidly Deteriorating Security Situation in Haiti and its Impact on Haitian Civilians

From UN Briefing on Haiti

5 March, 2024

Turning to Haiti, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the escalation of violence in several neighbourhoods in the capital, Port-au-Prince, has led to some [15,000; corrected below] people being forced to flee their homes.  Most of these people had already been displaced previously.

Despite the security constraints, our humanitarian partners on the ground have begun to respond to these new displacements by providing food; hygiene and health kits; mattresses, blankets and sheets; as well as lamps.

The World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners have delivered some 5,500 hot meals to some 3,000 people living in the three new displacement sites, while the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has started distributing emergency shelter material to more than 300 families.

The humanitarian community in Haiti calls on all sides to put an immediate stop to the violence; to allow safe access to the people in need; and respect human rights and humanitarian norms and standards.

As a reminder, some 5.5 million people — that’s nearly half of the country’s population — need humanitarian assistance.

This year’s $674 million Humanitarian appeal for Haiti is just 2.5 per cent funded; that means it had received only $17 million.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Security Council is scheduled to hold a private meeting on the situation in Haiti.  The head of our mission there — Maria Isabel Salvador — is expected to brief on the United Nations’ behalf; that will be done virtually.

I also want to reiterate that the Secretary-General is of course deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Haiti and its impact on Haitian civilians.

He calls for urgent action, particularly in providing financial support for the Multinational Security Support mission, which is — as a reminder — is not a UN peacekeeping force.  This force will need to address the pressing security requirements of the Haitian people and prevent the country from plunging into further chaos.

He also calls on the Government of Haiti and other political actors to swiftly agree to the necessary steps to advance the political process towards the restoration of democratic institutions through the holding of elections.

Source

Amnesty International Says: The Biden administration must grant Haitians access to asylum in US territory

Haitians fleeing their country amidst a humanitarian and human rights crisis should be welcomed and have the right to seek safety in the USA without discrimination
Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International 

In response to unconfirmed reports that the Biden administration is considering holding Haitian asylum seekers in a third country or expanding capacity at an existing facility at the US detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International said:

“Haitians fleeing their country amidst a humanitarian and human rights crisis should be welcomed and have the right to seek safety in the USA without discrimination. They must not be held in a third country or a US navy base infamous for unlawful and indefinite arbitrary detention and torture.”

“Amnesty International has demonstrated that successive US governments have tried to deter Haitian people from claiming asylum in the United States through the application of policies designed to intercept, detain, and remove them, starting in the 1970s and continuing with Title 42.  Their tactics have included unlawful pushbacks at sea, mass detention, torture or other ill-treatment, and expedited removal proceedings with deficiencies in individualized screenings.  In the 1990s, for instance, US authorities shamefully detained Haitian asylum seekers living with HIV in camps in Guantánamo Bay.  Similarly, between September 2021 and May 2022 alone, the USA expelled more than 25,000 Haitians, many under Title 42.  The Biden administration has only reinforced harmful historical tendencies which have stereotyped Haitians as bearers of disease, standing to further stigmatize and discriminate Haitians based on their race and nationality.”

“It is time for the United States to put a stop once and for all to this discriminatory treatment and make sure that Haitian asylum seekers have access to US territory and due process without discrimination to exercise their rights to seek asylum, including individualized assessments of their international protection claims.  The ongoing operations at the Guantánamo Bay naval base are already marred with horrendous human rights violations, and Amnesty International has long called for the detention facility to be shuttered for good.  The United States must refrain from using this site to commit more abuses.”

Source

The UN demands an immediate cessation of violence, criminal activities, and human rights abuses which undermine the peace, stability and security of Haiti and the region

Security Council Establishes Sanctions Regime on Haiti, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2653 (2022)

 

Highlighting the crisis facing Haiti

In support of Haiti in its fight to establish peaceful coexistence and democratic governance

The Security Council today established a sanctions regime on Haiti, imposing a targeted arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze upon individuals and entities designated for such measures, who are responsible for or complicit in actions that threaten the peace, security or stability of the country.

Unanimously adopting resolution 2653 (2022), (to be issued as document S/RES/2653), the Council decided to establish a Committee of the Security Council consisting of all the members of the 15-member organ, to undertake, among other tasks, the monitoring of the implementations of travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo measures imposed upon individuals and entities designated by the Committee; to seek and review information regarding them; and to designate individuals and entities to be subject to the aforementioned measures.

It also requested the Secretary-General to create for an initial period of 13 months, in consultation with the Committee, a group of four experts (“Panel of Experts”) to assist it in carrying out its mandate, and to make the necessary financial and security arrangements to support the work of the Panel.

Further, the Council affirmed that it would keep the situation in Haiti under continuous review and that it shall be prepared to review the appropriateness of the measures contained in the resolution, including the strengthening, modification, suspension or lifting of the measures.  It went on to request, in this regard, the Secretary-General, in close coordination with the Panel of Experts, to conduct, no later than 15 September 2023, an assessment of progress achieved.

By other terms, the Council demanded an immediate cessation of violence, criminal activities, and human rights abuses which undermine the peace, stability and security of Haiti and the region, including kidnappings, sexual and gender-based violence, trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants, and homicides, extrajudicial killings and recruitment of children by armed groups and criminal networks.  It also urged all political actors to constructively engage in meaningful negotiations to overcome the current political stalemate to allow the holding of inclusive, free and fair legislative and presidential elections, as soon as the local security situation permits.

Speaking after the vote, Linda Thomas-Greenfield (United States) said that the adopted text that her country and Mexico put before the Council, constitutes an important step forward to help Haiti’s people.  The text is robust and incorporated the views of all Council members despite the accelerated time frame.  The adopted resolution is an initial answer to the calls for help from the Haitian people, she continued, noting that it targets the criminal actors, gangs and their financiers who are causing suffering and expanding poverty in the country.  It sanctioned one of their most notorious gang leaders, whose actions directly contribute to the humanitarian crisis and cause so much pain and suffering, she said, adding:  “It sends a clear message to the bad actors holding Haiti hostage:  we won’t stand idly by as you wreak havoc.”

She went on to note that the adopted text fulfils two objectives:  it targets bad actors and allows humanitarian aid to reach the civilian population.  It is therefore a “great foundation for future action” to be taken against criminal actors and financiers, she said, adding:  “There is much more work to do.”  Pointing to another immediate challenge, to restore security and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, she said that her country and Mexico are working on another text, which pertains to “a non-United Nations international assistance mission”, which will enable the flow of desperately needed humanitarian aid.  “We must keep doing everything we can to help the Haitian nation in their time of need,” she stressed.

Juan Ramon de la Fuente Ramirez (Mexico) said the Council’s unanimous adoption of the resolution reflects its unity on a complex situation.  Highlighting the crisis facing Haiti, he said the Council has given a clear signal that violence must stop and cannot go unpunished.  It is important to establish an embargo on any arms transfer to non-State actors who, in addition to terrorizing the civilian population, are destabilizing the country.  Trafficking in arms is a scourge for many countries and must be fought firmly, he added.  The resolution sends a clear signal that “the Security Council will not remain with its arms crossed” and will act not only against those creating violence in the streets but against those who support, finance and encourage them.  The United States and Mexico, with the text, are trying to support Haiti in its fight to establish peaceful coexistence and democratic governance, he said, calling on Council members to continue to work on subsequent steps needed to achieve that goal.

Geng Shuang (China), noting that while his country had always called for caution against using threats of sanctions irrespective of the circumstances, stressed that considering the urgency of the current situation in Haiti, Beijing has been the first within the Council to propose targeted sanctions on criminal gangs.  Expressing hope that the adopted resolution will send a clear signal to criminal gangs in Haiti, he urged them to stop harming the Haitian people and stop chipping away at the country’s economic, social and security foundation.  He further called on the political parties in the country to immediately stop their collusion with criminal actors and reach a consensus on the nation’s political structure as well as a transitional arrangement without delay.  Underscoring that the country is at the brink of a collapse and is in dire need of international help, he also showed hope that in the next stage of the discussion on this issue, the Council will uphold the spirit of consultation and unity, while adhering to the principle of reaching a result-oriented and a practical solution.

Mona Juul (Norway), noting her country’s vote for the resolution, underscored that the Haiti’s people deserve the international community’s full attention, assistance and dedication.  In response, the Council today is establishing its first sanctions regime since 2017 — an important steppingstone for reducing the abilities of criminal actors and gangs to continue their violence and illegal activities which paralyse Haiti.  She highlighted the important inclusion of the robust humanitarian carve-out in the sanctions regime, as well as the Council’s recognition of the need for fair and clear procedures and its intent to authorize the Ombudsperson to remedy that issue.  Observing due process is instrumental to maintain the efficiency and legitimacy of any sanctions regime, she stressed, noting that Norway has advocated for stronger safeguards of due process for years.  It is significant that the Council has now made clear its intent to authorize the Ombudsperson to ensure due process beyond the 1267 regime, she added, stressing that the organ must keep up its intentions and continue its engagement in due process.

Dmitry Polyanskiy (Russian Federation) said that, while his delegation supported the resolution, reaching agreement on the text “was not easy”.  However, he noted that its sponsors “changed their initial, not-very-constructive approach”, and addressed Council members’ concerns regarding the resolution’s excessive haste and artificially short deadlines.  The consensus achieved shows that, “even in today’s circumstances”, the Council can achieve good results if a responsible approach is taken, he said.  Despite that, he said that his country is not convinced that international restrictive measures are the appropriate response to the raft of problems in Haiti.  Long-term solutions must be found in the political process, socioeconomic development and national institutions, strengthened without external dictates.  He also pointed out that illegal arms flows and organized crime in the Caribbean are not just focused on Port-au-Prince.  Restrictive measures should not lead to Haiti’s isolation or prevent it from making progress on the political track, he stressed, adding that such measures are not a punitive instrument; rather, they are a way for the Council to respond to threats.  Further, their propriety must be regularly analysed, and they must be mitigated or lifted as necessary.

Fergal Mythen (Ireland) welcomed the adoption, adding that the destructive gangs who are making life a hell for the people of Haiti must no longer go unchecked.  Today, for the first time in five years, the Security Council has adopted a new sanctions regime, he noted, welcoming the inclusion of sexual and gender-based violence as a stand-alone designation criterion.  Also noting the specific reference to the Ombudsperson in preambular paragraph 20, he looked forward to concrete progress on extending the mandate of the Office of the Ombudsperson to Haiti and all other sanctions regimes.  It is vital to ensure that the Organization’s sanctions respect international due process standards, he stressed, calling on the Council to address that concern.

Martin Kimani (Kenya) said his country voted in favour of the resolution after making an effort, alongside Ghana and Gabon, to ensure it incorporates a review mechanism and targets those who compromise Haiti’s peace.  Thanking the penholders and others for welcoming his views, he pointed out that the text constitutes the most tangible measures taken by the Council recently.  “It is the first step towards building a lasting solution to the Haitian crisis, and [his country] stands with the Haitian people against gangs and their sponsors,” he said.

He went on to welcome the benchmarks for review which will permit the progressive adjustment of measures as the situation on the ground improves.  The implementation of sanctions will rely on the support and coordination of the international community, in particular, regional States.  He expressed confidence that despite divergent views, Haiti’s political leaders will find the will to build consensus and chart a viable way forward.

Lana Nusseibeh (United Arab Emirates), said her country’s vote in favour of the resolution, as establishing a sanctions regime on armed gangs in Haiti through the resolution is an important step to address the violence and terror imposed by armed gangs on the people of Haiti.  The resolution incorporates her country’s proposal for a humanitarian carve-out to minimize the impact of sanction measures on humanitarian assistance to Haiti, she pointed out, noting that the organ’s constructive approach to that critical issue and unanimous adoption of the resolution is a much-needed sign of the possibility of Council unity.  She also welcomed the inclusion in the resolution of her country’s proposal to give increased recognition to the important role regional countries and organizations, including the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), to support Haiti in its path to peace and stability.  Her delegation looks forward to future discussions to establish clear, well-defined and achievable benchmarks for the eventual lifting of sanctions when the time is right, she said, calling urgently on all stakeholders in the country to work towards an inter-Haitian political settlement.

Ronaldo Costa Filho (Brazil), pointing out that sanctions may lead to unintended consequences, welcomed that a humanitarian carve-out was added in the resolution, allowing humanitarian actors to assist civilians in need.  While recognizing the specificity of each sanctions regime, he expressed hope that the carve-out will be replicated to other situations in a horizontal manner.  Highlighting the ongoing need to ensure minimum standards of due process in line with international human rights law, he expressed regret that the Council missed the opportunity to address this challenge.  Noting that the reference to the Office of the Ombudsperson was incorporated as its preambular paragraph, he hoped to further advance due process both in this regime as well as in others.  Underscoring that setting up a new sanctions regime in the Council after five years is a huge responsibility, he emphasized that his country would have welcomed a more transparent and interactive process of negotiations to fully address all outstanding issues.

Carolyn Oppong-Ntiri (Ghana) welcomed efforts by Mexico and the United States to accommodate various delegations’ input and, ultimately, forge consensus on this resolution.  Gangs continue to perpetrate kidnappings and sexual violence on, and destroy the lives and livelihoods of, ordinary Haitians, and she expressed hope that the resolution will both address these challenges and signal to criminal actors perpetrating heinous crimes in Haiti that they will be held accountable.  The Council owes Haitians a response to the humanitarian and security crises in their country, but this resolution is only one step.  She therefore welcomed the text’s benchmarks that will enable the Council to assess the effectiveness and propriety of the measures therein.  Such measures also aim to ensure that no adverse humanitarian consequences result from their imposition, which is important given the history of previous, similar measures.  She called on neighbouring countries and others in the region to support the Council in implementing the resolution.

Nathalie Broadhurst Estival (France), expressing concern over the situation on ground, welcomed the unanimous adoption of the text that sanctions the inadmissible violent acts of gangs in Haiti.  She welcomed the constructive spirit in which discussions were held, and hoped such a spirit will continue onto the process of taking the next steps in mobilization for the country’s peace and security.

Michel Xavier Biang (Gabon), Council President for October, speaking in his national capacity, said that his country voted in favour of the resolution because the text aims to neutralize the gangs that are sowing terror in the country; dry up their financing; protect the civilian population, particularly women and children; and provide the conditions for a response to cholera.  He hoped that the text is immediately implemented in letter and spirit, underscoring the Council’s strong message of solidarity with Haiti’s people and its respect for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

For his part, Antonio Rodrigue (Haiti), in welcoming the unanimous adoption of the resolution, stated that the new restrictive measures, including travel bans and asset freezes, will contribute to bringing an end to the violent and deadly activities of the armed groups in his country.  “It demonstrates the desire of the international community to play its role in settling this serious multidimensional crisis and to show the people that Haiti is not alone and its cries for help have been heard,” he added.  Pointing out that sanctions alone cannot eradicate the high level of violence ravaging his country, he reiterated that the national police does not have the capacity commensurate with the threat posed by the armed groups, further requesting for robust support in the form of a specialized force.  Highlighting that his country is in “a race against time”, he noted that it continues to plunge further into violence and insecurity each day.

Source

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has serious concerns about the continuing deterioration of the security situation and the social circumstances in the Republic of Haiti

The continued breakdown of law and order in Haiti and its miserable impact on the Haitian people

The Haitian unrest is having a negative impact on the already weak economy of Haiti - leading to even more mass demonstrations.  Especially the worsening social conditions and the limited availability of food require urgent and immediate attention from the international community

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is gravely concerned by the continuing deterioration of the security situation and the social circumstances in the Republic of Haiti.

The continued breakdown in law and order, and its distressing effect on the people of Haiti, is intensifying.  The fraught situation is exacerbated by the inability of the Haitian security forces to address the ongoing violence.

The unrest is having a negative impact on the already weak economy leading to even more mass demonstrations.  Especially the worsening social conditions and the limited availability of food require urgent and immediate attention from the international community.

This persistently distressing situation is untenable, and CARICOM calls for all stakeholders to engage meaningfully with the aim to find a way forward and to put country first and address the situation urgently.

CARICOM, following discussions in the past weeks, remains available to assist and work with international partners to mobilize financial and technical resources to facilitate a process towards normalization and ultimately the holding of free, fair and credible general elections.

Georgetown, Guyana

19 September 2022

Source

Haiti is a failed State and a weak and vulnerable society which must be resolved by Haitians

Bringing peace to Haiti demands an absolutely critical step: there must be justice for the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse 

Democracy and Security in Haiti

Statement of the OAS General Secretariat on Haiti

  August 8, 2022

Democracy and Security

The institutional crisis that Haiti is experiencing right now is a direct result of the actions taken by the country's endogenous forces and by the international community.

The last 20 years of the international community's presence in Haiti has amounted to one of the worst and clearest failures implemented and executed within the framework of any international cooperation.

This is not to blame the individuals who, with a vocation for service and altruism, worked as cooperators and made their best efforts—in some cases giving their lives—for Haiti.  These persons deserve our greatest respect and remembrance.

Instead, this failure has to do with 20 years of erratic political strategy by an international community that was not capable of facilitating the construction of a single institution with the capacity to address the problems facing Haitians.  After 20 years, not a single institution is stronger than it was before.

It was under this umbrella provided by the international community that the criminal gangs that today lay siege to the country fermented and germinated, even as the process of deinstitutionalization and political crisis that we see today grew and took shape.

Then, seeing its failure, the international community left Haiti, leaving chaos, destruction, and violence behind.

Right now, it is absurd to think that in this context of destruction, the Haitians—left completely alone, polarized, and with very few resources—would be able to rebuild or build the kind of security, deinstitutionalization, and development project that could enable its 12 million inhabitants to once again live in peaceful coexistence: Without resources, in a climate of violence, without technological capabilities, without financial accumulation, without any of that today, they want us to believe a completely endogenous Haitian solution could prosper.  This is not so.

Without the basic conditions of democracy and security, the country today is suffering from the international community’s lack of ideas and real capacity, as well as from its own structural problems.  This is the international community that never knew if it should leave the MINUSTAH in place or remove it, an international community that thought that contributing money was the same as having ideas, an international community that thought that paying its own consultants would solve Haitians’ problems.  Obviously none of that was possible and none of this is possible.

Democracy

Building democracy requires citizens, strong institutions that must be constantly strengthened, and a political system with the capacity for dialogue, as well as honesty.  Essentially, it requires the branches of State government to be in place and with the independent capacity to act.  It requires the exercise of and full respect for liberties and fundamental guarantees (and for the State to ensure it) in the framework of the fullest possible exercise of economic and social rights, along with an electoral process that is trustworthy, fair, and transparent.

The exercise of power in keeping with the rule of law and administrative and institutional efficiency in providing solutions to Haitians’ problems are basic conditions for the functioning of the State that were never guaranteed by the international community in Haiti, that were never built by the international community in Haiti, and that Haiti fundamentally does not have.  We should be clear that what we are facing is, more or less, a failed State and a weak and vulnerable society.  The worst of all worlds: a weak State and a weak civil society.

This must be resolved by Haitians, there is no question about that.  But the international community has a role to play.

Haitian society is very vulnerable and polarized.  Its institutions are weak, its organizations are weak, and the path must be struck toward building them from zero, or even less than zero.

Without reducing polarization, without building capacities and bridges between Haitians, this will not be possible.  Without dialogue, it is impossible.

Building Haitian democracy means encouraging capacity for dialogue, which includes building mutual trust among the various social and political actors in Haiti.  Today, there is no system of checks and balances, neither politically nor socially.  On the contrary, violence is prevalent, as is the abuse of force internally, actions with criminal intent, failed institutions, and a lack of civil society capacity.

Bringing peace to the country demands an absolutely critical step: there must be justice for the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.  Without shedding light on the truth and without justice, no progress can ever be made towards reconciliation and harmony.

To begin to address these issues, the following processes must be built up:

• An institutionalized and inclusive process of dialogue that includes all the political forces that can possibly be brought together for it.  Within that process, the international community can contribute resources and build bridges between the stakeholders to strengthen all of them and place them on a path towards building organizational and institutional capacities.
• A trustworthy, fair, transparent electoral process.
• An institutional security process for the country.

These processes require the cooperation of the international community, obviously in everything with regard to the necessary resources, whether financial, human, or material.

We would be fooling ourselves to think that any of this could be built without the support of the international community, that none of these processes are needed to ensure the country can find its way out of the crisis facing it and that still impacts the country’s political and socioeconomic outlook. This will not be possible without the international community paying the bill.  Not many members of the international community have the capacity to do so.  Therefore, the responsibility for paying this bill falls to only a few who must not and cannot delay in taking up their responsibility, as time is running out for Haiti, with everything that is happening simply worsening the situation.

Obviously, we should expect internal Haitian forces to oppose these three processes, to oppose the institutionalized dialogue because that process can have the advantage of bringing political stability to the country, which would seriously impact a number of interests that today prevail in Haiti.  Obviously, those forces will also oppose a trustworthy, fair, and transparent electoral process because the current ways and means of taking power have been completely different.  There will also certainly be opposition to developing an institutional security process for the country with a strong commitment of the international community because doing so would dismantle the current situation in which violence perpetrated by armed gangs and organized crime predominates.

When we look at Haiti’s current situation, we understand why there were internal forces—with external complicity—that wanted MINUSTAH withdrawn.  Doing so simply paved the way for a situation like the one we have today.

It is absolutely necessary to reverse the process of violence by implementing other institutional conditions and securing a different international commitment to bring the violence under control and disarm the armed gangs.  It is crucial to reign in the territorial operations of organized criminal groups.  But more of the human, financial, and material resources for this must come from the international community.  Haiti does not have the prepared and trained human resources.  It does not have the financial capacity, nor does it have the technical capacity to address the current security situation.  Taking another path would therefore be a complete distortion of reality.

Similar capacities must be developed to implement a process of dialogue leading to a free and fair electoral process.  We believe that the entire international community has a role to play, but it is crucial to concentrate all of the resources for these processes into a single institutionalized and centralized mechanism, not overlapping and ineffective volunteer efforts.

These processes are absolutely necessary, and it is crucial to launch them as soon as possible, with the dialogue process being the first one.  It should be assumed that the other two processes will be based on the first, not on completely external extemporaneous decisions not aligned with what the country’s social and political culture are capable of receiving and doing.  However, it is obvious that Haiti does not have the resources and that the resources have to be provided to Haiti through an institutionalized process by the international community with a strong monitoring component and capacity to combat corruption to prevent the resources from being diverted and misused.

Bringing peace to the country demands an absolutely critical step: there must be justice for the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.  Without the truth being brought to light and without justice, no progress can ever be made towards reconciliation and harmony.

Based on the work done under these three processes, a new Constitution will have to be drafted that fixes the grave deficiencies and problems of the current Constitution.

• An autonomous, strong, and responsible Central Bank
• A strong, efficient, and independent justice system
• An educational system capable of providing real solutions to the needs of Haitian youth and children
• An incremental investment process toward providing work and jobs to Haitian men and women

Ignoring this need would mean completely ignoring reality.  Taking the approach of waiting for Haiti to develop its own capacities without international assistance would take years.  The country does not today, nor will it in the near future, have the conditions for accomplishing this alone.

Attempting to resolve the crisis and Haiti's serious problems without any of these elements would mean we are in the final phase of self-deception, which would not be so bad except for the fact that we are also deceiving the Haitian people into believing that we have a real solution for them.

As we continue to wait for the situation in Haiti to improve, the problems worsen.  According to UNICEF, many schools have been closed for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Attempts to reopen them have been frustrated by the criminal violence affecting communities throughout the country and the extortion to which school authorities are subjected.

The international community, international financial institutions, the multilateral system, and the international financial community of donor countries must make a decision: whether they want to industrialize Haiti sufficiently to ensure work for nine million Haitians, or whether it is economically more profitable to continue absorbing Haitian migrants and let host countries accommodate them as and how they can and in such economic conditions as they can offer.  This is a critical decision because on it depends whether the Haitian situation continues in a state of permanent crisis with increasingly tragic dimensions, or whether we can move toward a process of transformation in which we ensure sufficient investments on sustainable terms and, therefore, the social stability of the country.  It is necessary to ensure a strategy that includes the “what comes after?” aspect.  That includes the importance of the educational model and job security conditions.

Furthermore, Haiti's future prosperity depends on the development of its youth. Chronic malnutrition in children is irreversible, reducing their cognitive capacity by 40%. To build a sustainable future in Haiti, its human capital must be highly trained and able to compete in local and international job markets.  The current deficiencies in food security, caused by the low investment in agriculture and the difficulties of transporting food due to blockades imposed by criminal groups and poor infrastructure will only move the country further from its goal of eliminating extreme poverty.

In order to stop the academic backsliding and the malnutrition suffered by Haiti’s children as quickly as possible, the internal war must be ended.  We publicly reiterate our request for an end to armed violence in the country.

It is urgent to continue working to increase security and begin the democratization process.

Source

Assembly of the Peoples of the Caribbean Calls for Caribbean Solidarity

The Caribbean Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba denounces the intensification of the blockade and the destabilizing actions of the United States against Cuba, as well as the ratification that the island has not been and is not alone in its struggle of more than 60 years

Cuba will never fail his brother peoples

Caribbean voices demanded the elimination of the U.S. blockade against the island

By Eduardo Palomares Calderón | palomares@granma.cu

Santiago de Cuba– The denunciation of the intensification of the blockade and the destabilizing actions of the United States against Cuba, as well as the ratification that the island has not been and is not alone in its struggle of more than 60 years, stand out in the final declaration of the Caribbean Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba, in the framework of the 9th Assembly of the Peoples of the Caribbean, which was held in this city.

The text proposes the formation of an anti-imperialist united front to respond quickly and forcefully to any action against Cuba or other peoples of the continent.

It also calls for a Caribbean solidarity event next year in Santiago de Cuba, in salute to the 70th anniversary of the Moncada heroic deed and the 50th anniversary of the constitution of Caricom.  It conveys its solidarity support to the Haitian people in the solution of its internal problems, and to the struggle of Puerto Rico for its full independence.

Danniel Sanó, in his message on behalf of Haiti, called for the development of concrete actions to prevent the imperium's attempts to asphyxiate the Island and assured that raising that flag for the Cuban Revolution is to raise, at the same time, the flag of hope of the oppressed peoples to be truly free, like Fidel's Cuba.

The Hero of the Republic of Cuba and president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, Fernando Gonzalez Llort, thanked the support for the strengthening of the network of solidarity with Cuba, and affirmed that this island will never fail its brother peoples of the region.

Also present at the Salón de los Vitrales, in the Plaza Mayor General Antonio Maceo, was Ángel Arzuaga Reyes, vice chief and coordinator of the Department of International Relations of the Central Committee of the Party.

Source

The Haitian Revolution was the worse nightmare of colonial powers with possessions in the Caribbean - the ghost of Saint-Domingue disturbed the sleep of slave holders for years

Cuba, Haiti, the Helms-Burton and the crime of insubordination

Empires never forgive rebels; an insubordinate rebel plants a seed that can sprout many generations later

By Raúl Antonio Capote

The Haitian Revolution was a breeding ground of revolutions

Haiti was the first free nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, the first nation in the modern world emerging from a slave revolt, and the second most long-standing republic in the Western Hemisphere.  The Haitian people overthrew the French colonialists in 1804, abolished slavery, and declared independence.

Their revolution was worse nightmare of colonial powers with possessions in the Caribbean - the ghost of Saint-Domingue disturbed the sleep of slave holders for years.

The imperial powers imposed a rigorous cultural, economic and political blockade on the new Haiti, to prevent the extension of its example.

Two decades after independence was proclaimed, in 1825, French warships returned, blockaded the young nation and issued an ultimatum: pay compensation or prepare for war.

An emissary from King Charles X delivered the message.  France demanded payment for properties confiscated by the Haitian Revolution: 150 million gold francs, some 21 billion dollars today, payable in five installments.

According to the colonial empire, the young nation was obliged to compensate French planters for the property and slaves they had lost.

On April 17, 1825, Haitian President Jean-Pierre Boyer signed the Royal Decree presented by Charles X, who promised French diplomatic recognition in exchange for a 50% reduction of tariffs on French imports and the outrageous compensation.

For Haiti the figure was impossible to pay, given the conditions of its economy, ravaged by the French naval blockade and a devastating war, but the "generous" colonialists made a proposal "they couldn’t turn down."

A group of French banks offered Haiti a loan to cover the compensation, resulting in a double debt that, along with the interest, bled the small country to death, over the course of the 122 years required to pay off its "independence debt."

What’s more, The New York Times recounts in a recent five-part series of articles, when the U.S. army invaded Haiti in the summer of 1915, a group of Marines entered the national bank and stole some 500,000 dollars in gold, that days later made its way to a Wall Street bank vault.

The United States, using the financial and political chaos the island was experiencing as a pretext, occupied the country militarily, continuing its longstanding policy in the region.  Haiti was to be governed by a U.S. military proconsul.

For more than ten years, a quarter of all Haitian income went to pay off debts to the National City Bank, incurred by the country to cover the expense of "assistance from the U.S. government," according to The Times.

ANOTHER ISLAND DARES TO CHALLENGE THE EMPIRE

In January 1959, another small Caribbean island, Cuba, defying U.S. imperial power, declared itself the first free territory of the Americas and dared to announce its decision to build the first socialist nation in the hemisphere.

The "crime of insubordination" committed required immediate action by the "superpower.”  Since then, all variants of war have been waged against the rebel island, including the economic, without success.

As an essential part of the plan to break the soul and subsequent extermination of the Cuban people, a monstrosity known as the Law for Cuban Democratic Freedom and Solidarity was concocted.

What similarities can be seen between this legal atrocity and the one foisted on Haiti by the French empire? 

Let's skip some frightening sections of the Helms-Burton Act, as it is also known, and consider the plan it envisions.

Let’s imagine two hypothetical scenarios, totally impossible for those of us who have confidence in the capacity for resistance and courage of our people.

First: The imperialist enemy and his allies, making use of their military power, would manage to occupy most of the country and establish a transitional government, after proclaiming the end of the Revolution.  Second: Division, deception, and discouragement sown by the enemy would lead to betrayal, another Baraguá, and we would “let the sword fall,” as in 1878.

Would we then have "free and democratic" elections?  No, the transitional government, handpicked by the occupying forces, would not call elections until the United States Congress approved such a move.  

The U.S. President or his proconsul, appointed for this purpose, would prepare a report to Congress every six months outlining progress being made in the transition process on the occupied island.

How long would this process supposedly last, if they are requiring a report every six months?  How long would Yankee troops remain in Cuba?

The answer to both questions is “Who knows?” (Reading the Bush Plan is recommended.)

Finally, after who knows how many years, the U.S. Congress would approve elections.  

What about the economic, commercial and financial blockade?  Would it be lifted when the end of the Revolution was proclaimed?

No, this is not part of the plan; the blockade is to remain intact during the transition, as an ironclad mechanism to apply pressure.

Once the elections were held in U.S. occupied Cuba, with the Revolution removed from power, we would have a president and government, in the style of the imperialists and to their liking.

Insistent questions remain: Would the blockade be lifted?  Would the economic war end?  The answer is no, that's not what the Helms Burton proposes.

The new Cuban "president" would verify to Congress that all U.S. citizens who were “former owners” had been compensated with the full value of all properties nationalized or confiscated in accordance with revolutionary laws and in line with international law, including those Cubans who, after 1959, became “Cuban-Americans.”

The “indemnity” or “compensation,” according to U.S. experts in 1997, would have an approximate value of 100 billion dollars.

The empire has a solution that would allow the Cuban government to pay for the legal procedures, compensation and debt: loans from U.S. banks, the IMF, etc., which would generate ever-increasing interest payments and create an endless spiral of plunder.

Cubans, like Haitians years ago, would spend decades paying off a practically impossible debt.  How could a country devastated, depleted, impoverished by war and occupation, a country that had lost a good part of its population of working and productive age, afford to do so? 

It must be clear that they could never occupy our island, without defeating a Cuban people determined to defend every inch of our homeland.

We would be left in the hands of our hangmen, ready and willing to drain every last drop of our national wealth.

Thomas Piketty, one of the economists consulted by The New York Times, in his work on Haiti, referred to this policy as "neo-colonialism by debt."

The "crime of insubordination" is the greatest "sin" that a people can commit.  Empires never forgive rebels. 

An insubordinate rebel plants a seed that can sprout many generations later.

The Haitian Revolution was a breeding ground of revolutions.  The punishment, the viciousness of the colonial master, could not erase its example. Inspired, Our America rose up to fight for its independence, again and again, as tireless as the courageous Haitians who defeated Napoleon’s best generals, in the first years of the19th century.

Source

Tropical Storm Emily stopped by Haiti!

By Jean H Charles


The red alert was on; the preparations were underway to displace the population in the zones at risk. The country, already on its knees following the earthquake, was braced for a strike by Tropical Storm Emily that had already caused one death in Martinique.

The island of Ayiti, baptized as such by the Tainos because of its mountainous structure, did what it has done for a millennium -- stopping the fury of the storm through its majestic mountains, exploding the eye of the cyclone and saving on the way Florida and the rest of the land on its trajectory.

The United States in general, and the western insurance companies in particular should reward Haiti with a special prize of recognition for preventing immense damage and compensation that would have resulted if the mountains of Haiti were not in the way to break down the strength of the elements.

Because of extreme poverty, which is the lot of the majority of the rural population, the vegetation cover in Haiti has been reduced lately to only two percent. Cutting trees to produce charcoal represents the cash crop that replaces coffee and coco as the annual source of revenue for that segment of the population.

The services delivered by the mountains of Haiti go behind the confines of the republic; as such there should be an international movement to replenish and maintain Haiti’s mountain ranges. They seem to have been placed there by God to remind humanity of His promise that never again He will send on earth another deluge.

I am witnessing in Haiti how, through the lack of leadership -- national and international -- eight million people are reduced to the life of gleaning and scrounging, eroding the very surface that sustains growth.

The Emily experience is a wakeup call to extend to Haiti the carbon exchange program, whereby the developed countries agreed to provide the less developed nations with funding to plant trees and save their forests, because the benefits go beyond the confines of the geographical frontiers of (in this case) the Republic of Haiti.

It is predicted that the hurricane season that lasts until November might produce twelve to eighteen named storms. Many of them will go through Haiti, if their direction is the same as Emily, and they will certainly face the same fate of explosion and reduction as soon as they meet the gorgeous mountains of the country.

Haiti has the glorious fate of serving as a beacon for humanity for daring to break the chains of servitude. It did not profit from that advantage -- its people are still in de facto bondage.

It is a bulwark against the intemperance of nature; this fact is not well known amongst nature aficionados; worse, Haiti does not receive any recognition for this international service.

Haiti’s environment, depleted by the misery of the Haitian people, deserves international sustenance; its maintenance is the business of the insurance business because whether the hurricane season creates havoc or relief in Florida will depend on the mountains of Haiti.

An astute investor could risk with reasonable confidence the filling of the mountains of Haiti with mahogany, cedar and all types of hardwood trees. The benefits will be compounded. The mature trees, twenty years from now will represent a fortune. The mountains of Haiti, replenished with trees, will continue to defy the hurricanes, saving Florida and coastal United States billion of dollars. This operation will contribute to the cooling of the atmosphere, postponing for a few generation the bubble theory of the melting down of the planet.

Emily, the hurricane that was, because of Haiti, shall remind us all that Mother Nature could create its own antidote to its unpredictable vagaries. We shall be humble, caring and hospitable to those antidotes. Haiti and its mountains need our compassion and our stewardship. They will be there like Michael the Archangel to protect us against Franklin, Gert, Harvey, et al, the next named storms for the season.

August 9, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

Haiti and the seven deadly sins

By Jean H Charles:


With the installation of a new government, Haiti needs to set itself into a mode where the culture of growth, development and hospitality can flourish without impediments. First and foremost, security for life and for limb must be high on the agenda.

The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) tag price of some $865 million per year to provide and enhance a blanket of security on the national territory is not only an international scandal but it represents the perfect model of how things should not be.

Kidnapping, the absence of night life, the complete disregard for the rule of law have been the staple of life in Haiti, sometimes supported and entertained by the very Haitian governments. The many nations that comprise the MINUSTAH family excel in faking the duty of care and support to the stabilization of the country.

With one tenth of that amount, Haiti can set up its own national army that will protect the population, serve as a first defense system in case of environmental disaster and repel and control the drug reshipment invasion. The tourism industry, the commerce, the resilience and the creativity of the Haitian people need a true national security blanket to flourish.

Haiti needs in the second place to uproot the culture of the deadly sins so pervasive in the country. With bad governance implanted into the soul of the nation for the past sixty years, virtue has not occupied a place of choice in the intercourse of people living in the same land.

Haiti of today is comparable to France under the Regency regime in 1715, where the Duke of Orleans promoted a culture of greed, lust and debauchery, where adventurers mixed with do-gooders were seeking fast money followed by spectacular bankruptcy, poisoning the atmosphere for everybody.

The deadly sins you remember, immortalized by Dante, include pride, avarice, envy, wrath, gluttony, sloth and lust. Those vices have found a fertile land in Haiti to germinate and propagate amongst the poor as well as the rich citizens.

Michel Martelly, a former bad boy, might seem the wrong messenger to inject the culture of virtue into the country. Yet God himself did use sinners like Saul who become Paul to spread his religion of love charity, and humility. The Samaritan as well as Mary of Magdalene, both former sinners, were efficient missionaries of the new doctrine that humility, generosity, love, self control, faith, zeal, and prudence should rule the interactions between citizens of the same country and those of different nations.

Gandhi, the father of revolution with non violence, devised the concept of seven social sins. Politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice and commerce without morality.

I am witnessing in all aspects of life in Haiti the pervasive influence of the seven social sins. The legislative, the electoral board, the presidency, even the international organizations whose mission was to heal the wounds of a devastated population have been competing amongst themselves to serve mostly their own venal needs while professing compassion to the fate of the people.

The new government, with its prime minister designate, Daniel Rouzier, will have bread on the table. Before it embarks on any aspect of development those first two pillars – national security and moral sustenance -- must be firmly entrenched into the ethos of the new Haiti.

The people of Haiti, who fought all through to impose their own transition, have a high expectation from the new government. It is ready to uproot the old culture of the seven deadly sins. Martelly will have not only to set an example in his administration but he will have to call on the moral suasion of the Church and the civil society to preach and practice the new doctrine. The Archbishop Louis Kebreau in the homily at the inauguration has set the tone. His call for a culture of virtue was well received by the population who elevated him to a stature of a pop star.

The Haitian government must stop sustaining the lower instincts of the population. No nation has ever survived with the love of lust, greed, and wrath. Development, peace, growth and prosperity demands first and foremost good citizenship!

May 30, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

The Culture of United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)

Brazil, Haiti and the MINUSTAH

By Jean H Charles:




I visited Brazil twenty years ago, as a globe trotter who cherished the joy of travelling, despite my trip to Brazil. I told my travel companion Eddy Harper at the end of our journey, one should not visit a country just because a plane can bring you there. I was warned before my departure that one should be very careful of your belongings, including your own ears or eyes.

They could be taken for sale as fresh organs. My bracelet that I held tightly in my hand to prevent its theft, was stolen anyway. The carnival in Rio, with a public relations machine well oiled all over the world, was for me a deception. It was a fine orchestrated exercise for the tourists (contrary to Trinidad and Tobago) with no personal participation.

I flew to Salvador de Bahia to taste the remnants of the black culture; I was not deceived. Yet my conclusion that one should not travel to a country just because a scheduled airline made the journey there was confirmed in Salvador. In the middle of the night walking around the colonial streets of the city, I was surprised to found the bustling business of the hour was the sale of coffins. An epidemic in the area was killing the citizens by the thousand.

Back in Rio, amidst the splendor of the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana, the squalor of the hills surrounding the city was threatening and menacing. The hypocrisy of the slogan: one nation, one people was mining the ethos of the society. A part of Pele, known all over the world for his skills in the sport of football/soccer, amidst the large black population one cannot find a single emerging black star in politics, the arts, science and education in Brazil.

The larger society was not in better shape, I remember my conversation with a young white teacher on the beach of Ipanema, doubling her life as a school teacher with one of a part time prostitute because her salary was not sufficient to provide a decent living.

Things have improved since in Brazil, with the advent of Ignacio Lula, who recognized social integration and upward mobility as a government policy.

Brazil was in an enviable position to help usher into Haiti a climate of hospitality for all, with the big brother holding the hands of the junior one. Passionate about soccer, the Haitian people have adopted Brazil as their idol nation. There were deaths of passion in Haiti following a football match between Argentina and Brazil. (That passion has been transmuted today onto Messi of Barcelona in Spain, revered as a demi-god.)

Brazil, with its size and its limitless resources, had hemispheric hegemonic ambition. Lula planned to use its leadership of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in Haiti, to help his country obtain a seat on the Security Council. That goal has been a complete failure and disappointment. After the questioning suicide of the Brazilian general in Haiti, Brazil could not find another national to succeed at the helm of the mission. The Guatemalan, Edmund Mulet, whose arrogance equals only his excellent command of French, is decried on the walls of Port au Prince with the same intensity as Rene Preval, the despised Haitian president.

The MINUSTAH culture is one of make believe in most of the operations concerning its mission of stabilization of the country. A mammoth military operation in a nation at peace with itself is as out of place as an elephant moving around in a small living room.

Small countries like Nepal are competing and bidding against big ones like China to get the prime risk funding just for parading on the street of Port au Prince, forcing children to wake up at 5.00 am to reach their school destination on time amongst the crowded streets of Port au Prince.

The police as well as the military unit operates a vast cottage industry designed to provide employment to expatriates from forty nations, while providing absolutely no service or at least limited service that impacts the Haitian population in security, police, training and education and development.

The talk around the water cooler at the headquarters in Geneva or in New York is that a tour of duty in Haiti is a plum placement. You will find sun, sand, docile and attractive women, tasty food, strong and exotic culture during combat and prime risk duty while feigning to stabilize the country with words instead of action. An astute anthropologist or sociologist would have a field day studying Haiti at the age of its colonization by the United Nations.

As a detached or interested observer, I am watching the complete disintegration of Haitian society under the watch of the UN Mission of Stabilization. Starting with the women and the young people that represent the fragile segment of the nation, they exhibit coping mechanisms with pathological manifestations that will compromise the foreseeable future of the nation.

The aftermath of the earthquake and the cholera epidemic (brought by the UN into Haiti) should have been an incentive to rebuild a new Haiti hospitable to all, where the security of the environment, public health and public security would be the hallmark of the government.

Haiti is being instead quickly Africanized at its worst, with refugee camps in public places as well as on the golf courses. The indecency in public policy is being plotted, implemented, and applauded by most international institutions.

One hundred fifty years ago (1864) the Vatican stood up as the only entity to support a nation ostracized by the entire world for daring to stand up against the world order of slavery. Haiti needs today one friendly country in the world that would stand up to support with strategies, finance and technical assistance its growing opposition, thirsty for a complete break with the culture of squalor imposed upon the country during the last sixty years.

I have not seen nor heard one nation in the whole world that raises a finger to say that I am ready for the challenge!

February 19, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International