UN human rights experts raise concern over growing use of foreign mercenaries in Honduras

A group of independent United Nations experts voiced concern today over the influx of foreign mercenaries in Honduras since the Central American nation’s President was deposed in a military coup in June.

The experts have received reports of the recruitment of former Colombian paramilitaries to protect properties and individuals in Honduras from violence between supporters of the ousted President José Manuel Zelaya and the de facto Government.

Land owners in Honduras have hired some 40 ex-fighters from the former armed group, Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), since Mr. Zelaya was removed from power on 28 June, according to the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries.

In addition, the Working Group said that other sources report an armed group of 120 mercenaries originating from several countries in the region was formed to support the coup in Honduras.

“There are also allegations of indiscriminate use of ‘Long Range Acoustic Devices’ by the police and mercenaries against President Zelaya and his supporters who have taken refuge at the Embassy of Brazil,” the experts said in a news release.

“We urge the Honduran authorities to take all practical measures to prevent the use of mercenaries within its territory and to fully investigate allegations concerning their presence and activities,” they added.

The experts noted that the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries is prohibited under the International Convention on the issue, which Honduras has signed, stressing the right of Hondurans to decide how they want to be governed without the influence of any other entity.

The Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination was established in 2005 by the Commission on Human Right, which has since been succeeded by the Human Rights Council.

It comprises five experts serving in their personal capacities. They are: Shaista Shameem of Fiji, Najat al-Hajjaji of Libya, Amada Benavides de Pérez of Colombia, José Luis Gómez del Prado of Spain and Alexander Nikitin of Russia.

9 October 2009

UN News

Bahamas Blog Bahamas

Who's listening when the Caribbean speaks?

By Ronald Sanders:

In Turkey, where meetings of the IMF and the World Bank were held during the week of October 4th, Caribbean Finance Ministers raised with the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, John Lipsky, their concerns about “the need for better representation and participation of small, developing countries in key meetings and fora such as the G20, where decisions that can significantly impact these small economies are frequently made”.

But, Caribbean representation in the already overcrowded G20 will not happen without a strong case being made and accepted by governments currently at the table.

Similarly, much needed reform of the IMF and World Bank to benefit the Caribbean appears remote.

At the Bank/Fund meetings, the President of Guyana, Bharat Jagdeo, as current Chairman of CARICOM, led a team of Prime Ministers from the Bahamas, Barbados and St Lucia to make a case to the President of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, that special attention should be paid to relieving and restructuring the debt of the highly indebted, vulnerable, middle income countries of the region.

And, Barbados Prime Minister, David Thompson, speaking at the formal meeting was emphatic that “limited access to World Bank funding has forced many middle income Caribbean countries to borrow in the private capital markets at substantially higher rates and shorter repayment terms”. Mr Thompson recommended that “further consideration be given to this issue of access by middle income countries to financing from the multilateral financial institutions.”

All of this is right. The entire Caribbean region is facing a serious reversal of its economic and social progress arising from a number of factors. It is true that one of the significant factors is poor economic management and decision-making by some of their governments, and this is a concern that Caribbean countries must themselves address.

The external factors are also real. Not least among them is the point raised by both Jagdeo and Thompson that the classification of Caribbean states as middle-income countries disqualifies them from concessionary financing from the international financial institutions and forces them into the commercial market for borrowing.

But, is anyone really listening? The moment for effective reform of international institutions is fast receding. Those industrialised nations that pledged themselves to reform in the wake of last year’s financial crisis are quickly retreating from their pledges as their economies begin to pick-up. The creation of the G20 and the provision of some additional resources to the IMF appear now to be the most they will do.

The new resources for the IMF are insufficient and, in any case, are not targeted to middle income countries such as those in the Caribbean; they are focussed on low income countries and on bigger countries such as those in Europe and Mexico.

A so called Flexible Credit Line has been introduced by the IMF “for countries with very strong fundamentals, policies, and track records of policy implementation”. Caribbean countries will not qualify for among the criteria are: a track record of steady sovereign access to international capital markets at favourable terms, and sound public finances including a sustainable public debt position.

Why these criteria should be relevant instead of ones that recognise the need to stimulate stagnant economies and provide support for social welfare programmes speaks to the anachronistic role of the IMF which still operates as an agency of the victors of World War 11, despite all the rhetoric.

As for the World Bank, the Turkey meeting deferred any increase in its capital until next year. Therefore, the Bank is faced with a limited lending capacity, and in this scenario, countries such as those in the Caribbean that are designated middle-income are not a priority.

Caribbean Heads of Government and Finance Ministers raising their concerns with Heads of the International Financial Institutions and in the formal sessions of the Bank/Fund meetings was absolutely right. They do not get much chance to do so, Caribbean countries have no seat of their own on the Boards of these bodies where they are represented by Canada. And, while Canada may be a sympathetic ally, there is no substitute for authentic argument from high representatives of Caribbean countries themselves.

In this connection, the prospect of any reform of the international financial institutions that would benefit the Caribbean in terms both of representation at the highest levels and change in IMF conditionalites and World Bank criteria for concessionary financing, does not appear to be on the cards anytime soon.

This is why Caribbean countries should adopt a collective and cohesive approach to this issue devoting resources to a joint and continuous diplomatic effort to put their case forcefully to the international community at every opportunity.

It is well within the region’s capacity to establish a task force of public sector and private sector professionals, under the umbrella of a special unit of the CARICOM Secretariat, to undertake this task. The task force could be mandated to produce documentation with all the necessary rigour for presentation to the Boards of the International Financial Institutions and to influential governments. Much of this work has already been done by a group established last year under Caribbean Development Bank President, Compton Bourne.

In turn, high regional representatives led by one or other of available Heads of Government could be appointed to engage the international community in an intense campaign on the basis of a well-debated and agreed CARICOM strategy.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in Trinidad in November presents a unique opportunity to make the Caribbean case to five Heads of Government of G20 countries – Australia, Britain, Canada, India and South Africa. They may not get far with Australia and Britain, but India and South Africa with whom they have close links, and Canada with whom they share a common neighbourhood should listen.

The Commonwealth Secretariat has itself done a great deal of work on small states and reform of International Financial Institutions. The November Commonwealth Summit, therefore, is an excellent forum for the Caribbean to advance a cohesive campaign.

October 9, 2009

caribbeannetnews

Bahamas Blog Bahamas

Jamaica Prime Minister, Bruce Golding says the Jamaican government may re-evaluate its position on the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, indicated on Tuesday night that the Jamaican government may be contemplating re-evaluating its position on the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

Golding told Tuesday night's Town Hall Meeting in the assembly hall of the University of the West Indies(UWI), Mona, that a number of changes had been made to the Court, since his Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and other regional groups raised concerns.

"I think we are in a position now, where we can do a revaluation of that now. I put it no stronger than that. But, I think we are now in a position where that proposal can be re-evaluated," he said.

He explained that the JLP had reservations about the original concept of the Court, including having CARICOM political leaders appoint the judges, as well as the possibility of the Court becoming hostage because of lack of finances. He said that the JLP also needed to see the court function, in order to evaluate its jurisprudential quality.

Golding said that the Government was satisfied with the appointment of a judicial commission to appoint the judges, as well as the setting up of a trust fund to finance the Court and felt that, in terms of the performance of the court, a re-evaluation was possible.

October 8, 2009

caribbeannetnews

Bahamas Caribbean Blog International

HONDURAS: The inestimable value of the Resistance

HONDURAS

Nidia Diaz

ONE hundred days of heroic resistance against the coup regime’s repressive apparatus have been sufficient for the local fascists and their extreme right-wing U.S. sponsors to finally realize that the Honduran people are resolved to keep fighting until President José Manuel Zelaya is restored, as the first step in their strategic course to convene a national constituent assembly, for which they will have to sit down and find a negotiated solution to the conflict backed by the empire.

Neither the advisement of Israeli officials who arrived in Tegucigalpa to destabilize the struggle through psycho-technological means, nor the secret support of the Pentagon, nor the brutal repression in complicity with curfews, nor the declaration of a state of siege, nor the lies in favor of the fascists flooding the media, have been able to make the Honduran people and the international community — with a few, abominable exceptions — accept the de facto government or forget about the unconstitutionally deposed president or that Central American people’s present and future aspirations for a Honduras for all and for the good of all.

The National Resistance against the Coup is now a political movement to be reckoned with in these presumably final moments, in which the OAS is to attempt to get the national capo, Roberto Micheletti, to sign the San José Agreement. Despite his smiles and apparent tranquility, Micheletti knows that his days are counted.

To accompany him at this time with the aim of supporting him to obtain a solution loaded with concessions, representatives of extreme right-wing U.S. Republicans turned up in Tegucigalpa. The howls of lead hyena (Ileana Ros Lehtinen) and her followers, the Díaz- Balart hyenas (Lincoln and Mario) are aimed at giving succor and protection to the empire’s chosen ones, Roberto Micheletti and General Romeo Vázques. The latter two have run out of arguments for keeping up their farce, given that the former publicly stated that Zelaya was deposed for being "a leftist, for aligning himself with Venezuela, Cuba and Ecuador," and not, as he had previously reiterated, for committing unconstitutional acts.

President Obama handed over the Honduras issue to his hawk, Hillary Clinton, and she, in the end, was also left hanging, on losing the initiative to the establishment’s more conservative and reactionary elements. It proved worthless to contract Oscar Arias, Washington’s ever-faithful servant, as messenger for the so-called mediated agreement of San José to restore President Zelaya without any powers. The coup regime ignored her and laughed at Obama.

That is the visceral quality of the hatred toward representatives of governments who are not docile as regards the empire, and with the abovementioned agreement, the deposed president would have to pay for daring to join the PETROCARIBE and ALBA blocs.

The yanki Department of State did not count on the people — imperial logic never does — becoming, from the first day of the coup, the liberation army for their president, the only one in recent Honduran history to take them into account and work honestly and transparently on their behalf during his mandate. He was the only one who took it upon himself to begin paving the road to the country’s second and definitive independence, even in the midst of heavy pressure from the local oligarchy, the same one that paid for his exile and continues to pay for the siege set up around the Brazilian embassy.

The U.S. secretary of state believed from the start that the battle within the Democratic Administration was solely against its African-American president. She also fell into the trap of the reaction, and the coup — as we said from the beginning — was likewise against the current administration.

It is evident to everyone that the de facto Honduran government could not have remained in power for more than 100 days as it has done, flagrantly violating human rights and even international law, without the support of the U.S. extreme right.

If that is not the case, why did José Miguel Insulza, the OAS secretary general, secretly meet with coup leader Micheletti at the yanki military base in Palmerola, and not in the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa?

What is the explanation for Ros Lehtinen’s demand for recognition of the de facto government, because not doing so would be to endanger U.S. "national security"? Of course, these howls are nothing but an expression of defeat in face of the courage, political maturity and unity of the Honduran resistance, which is the element that is actually forcing the coup regime to the negotiating table.

In an interview given a few days ago to the international media, President Zelaya referred to the limits of the San José Agreement:

"The person who is going to sign the Arias Plan is me, as the elected representative of the Honduran people. The Plan has two components: my restoration, in order to say ‘No!’ to coups d’état – which is what the presidents of Latin America are interested in, so that they can be assured of respect for popular sovereignty and that the will of the people is not going to be replaced by a military, economic and political elite; and the second component, which consists of social processes and reforms, and they are a question of time.

"I have promised that, before the elections, I will not take any initiative in that context, but that does not mean that the processes are going to come to a halt. I never proposed that the Constituent [Assembly] should take place during my government, but during the next one, when I will no longer be president…

"The Arias Plan is an emergency plan to solve the crisis of a de facto state, which at the same time is not going to paralyze social processes, far less deter what the determination of a sovereign people signifies."

Finally, President Zelaya reiterated: "No effort will be in vain if we obtain the desired result, and the awakening of the Honduran people now has an inestimable value as part of our history. The people have removed the veil from their eyes, and the economic elite has removed its mask. That is why we can now sit down at the table to talk about reality with all of those involved, in order to reach conciliation and come to agreements."

An heir does not steal, according to the popular refrain, and the Honduran people, heir to Morazán, have risen to the occasion of this historic moment. Once the agreements have been reached, we are convinced that in Honduras, the blood that has been shed and the sacrifice of its sons and daughters will never be past history, because nobody and nothing will be forgotten here.

Translated by Granma International

granma.cu

Bahamas Blog Bahamas

Bahamas: Successful HIV/AIDS treatment makes disease rate appear higher

By ALISON LOWE:

Tribune Staff Reporter -

alowe@tribunemedia.net:

IN AN ironic twist in the fight against HIV/AIDS, success in treating people living with the virus has seen the Bahamas appear to have a higher HIV/AIDS rate than resource-poor countries like Haiti.

According to Perry Gomez, director of the National Aids Programme, the fact that there are now fewer people dying from AIDS in the Bahamas thanks to wider access to medication and awareness has meant there are more people alive to be recorded in the statistics which are shared internationally.

Currently, the Bahamas is documented by the Joint United Nations AIDS Programme (UNAIDS) as having an HIV/AIDS rate among people aged 15 to 49 of three per cent. The same grouping in Haiti has a rate of 2.2 per cent, Cuba, a 0.1 per cent rate, Jamaica, 1.6, Trinidad and Tobago, 1.5, and Barbados, 1.2.

"The fact is we have done such a good job of keeping people alive has added to the figures. The fewer people who die, the more you have with AIDS alive. And so when one looks at country data, and this is important for us. You might wonder why our prevalence remains being reported relatively high, higher than some countries that might surprise you."

Dr Gomez said it is "important to understand the nuances of statistics."

"As someone once said, 'There are lies, damn lies and statistics'," joked the official.

Over the last three years the number of cases where HIV progressed to AIDS has diminished significantly.

By the end of 2008, 185 new cases of AIDS - the final stage of HIV infection, which sees the body's immune system weakened to the point that it has serious difficulty fighting infections - had been recorded in the Bahamas, compared with 221 in 2007 and 329 in 2006.

The highest ever number of cases in one year of HIV progressing to AIDS - a progression which is more rapid if HIV positive individuals do not take anti-retroviral drugs - was 382 in 1997, and the rate has decreased year on year ever since.

Of the 185 AIDS cases in 2008, 65 people died and 120 remained alive at the end of the year.

Dr Gomez noted that this ensured that there were fewer people who died of AIDS last year than who lost their lives as victims of murder.

This success in keeping sufferers alive is in contrast to struggling countries like Haiti, where fewer people who contract the virus seek or receive treatment and therefore often die, removing them from data that is documented by international organisations which monitor the pandemic.

On top of the impact of this success on the rate, Dr Gomez claimed to "totally believe" that international organisations have exaggerated the Bahamas' rate, pegged at around three per cent.

The rate would also be increased by the success of a Know Your Status Campaign which continues to encourage people to get tested for HIV/AIDS.

Mr Gomez revealed that last year the National AIDS programme had been able to get "significant testing done" in the "men who have sex with men" community (MSM) in the Bahamas, a group which is known to be more likely than most not to seek testing or treatment for fear of discrimination.

The introduction of a new "rapid testing" technique, now available at all public clinics in New Providence and about to be launched across Grand Bahama, is expected to make a further impact in this regard, adding to the numbers of people who know their status by making the experience less time consuming.

The testing technique, which is as accurate as traditional methods, enables people to get tested and receive their results in less than half an hour - much quicker than the days in which people would have to wait to get blood test results back from a laboratory.

October 07, 2009

tribune242.com

Bahamas Caribbean Blog International

Bahamas: New HIV cases set to increase

By ALISON LOWE:

Tribune Staff Reporter -

alowe@tribunemedia.net:


THE number of new HIV cases in The Bahamas is set to increase, health experts have revealed.

If trends recorded in the early part of this year hold until its end, this year will see a worrying rise, said Dr Perry Gomez, director of the National AIDS Programme.

From January to April 2009 Mr Gomez said 57 more people -- 29 men and 28 women -- were added to the list of people infected with the virus in The Bahamas.

Meanwhile, during the same period, 42 people with HIV saw their disease progress to the critical AIDS stage of the illness, resulting in 22 deaths during those four months.

"If we multiply 57 times four, we get 228. That would be more than we had last year. We'll have to see how things pan out," said Dr Gomez.

This potential rise in new HIV cases comes even as the National AIDS Programme has had impressive success in minimising the number of cases which are progressing to the critical AIDS stage of the disease, suggesting that while access to treatment and education in this regard has had an impact, people are still not getting the message about HIV prevention.

Dr Gomez disclosed the latest figures as he, with President of the AIDS Foundation Camille Barnett, and organisers of this year's Red Ribbon Ball appealed to the public to continue to support the annual fundraising gala despite hard economic times.

Tickets are $200 each for the November 21 event, which has over the past 16 years raised $700,000 for the AIDS Foundation -- a non-governmental organisation that assists in providing education, counselling, housing, medication and other basic necessities to people "infected and affected" by the virus.

Sandra Knowles, a director at major sponsor Colina Imperial Insurance Ltd and co-chair of the organising committee for the ball, reminded the public that "need knows no season" and now is not the time to give up on supporting the HIV/AIDS fight.

"We are hoping to raise at least $50,000...but if we could maintain what we got last year, that would be a miracle and God's blessing," said Mrs Knowles.

Mrs Barnett noted that within the next couple of months the AIDS foundation is embarking on a new outreach initiative which will cost a significant amount of money.

The programme, aimed at providing support to adolescents suffering from HIV/AIDS, is expected to see trained professionals connect with the young people, who often struggled to cope with their healthcare regimes, on a weekly basis.

"The foundations wants to assist these young people to achieve their right to health and right to life. We would like to empower these youths to truly believe they are accepted, safe and well," said Mrs Barnett.

In this regard, Dr Gomez commented on the case of a 20-year-old man born with HIV as a result of his mother being infected who died in the last six weeks, "in short, because of neglect."

"He had no support, he lived alone, aged 20, parents deceased, no help," said Dr Gomez.

Despite advances made by the National AIDS programme and the AIDS foundation, the NAP director said the fight against HIV/AIDS still has a long way to go in The Bahamas and therefore still needs the support of members of the public and corporate donors.

Highlighting this, he noted that although The Bahamas has been described as a model of best practice for reducing mother-to-child HIV transmission, last year saw four babies born with HIV to HIV positive mothers.

"Stigma and discrimination remains a huge problem that keeps people away from care. In the mother-to-child programme we went for a few years with almost no transmission at all from mother to child in people who came for care.

"We normally have one or two (babies born with HIV each year). Last year we had four women who had no ante-natal care, so we had four children born with HIV last year.

"That's the most we've had in ages and so there's still a lot to do with maintaining the programme of awareness and care and making sure that people get in for care," said Dr Gomez, who also noted that The Bahamas' standout reputation for good ante-natal care for HIV/AIDS infected mothers has seen numerous women travel here in recent years from across the region seeking care in the country's public clinics.

Providing a cumulative overview of the impact of HIV/AIDS in the Bahamas since it was first detected in this country, Dr Gomez said that up to the end of 2008 a total of 6,103 people in The Bahamas have contracted AIDS -- 3,626 men and 2,477 women. Of these, "4,000 plus" have died already, or 66 per cent, while 2,078 are "alive and living well with AIDS."

Meanwhile, up to the end of 2008 there was also a cumulative total of 5,387 people infected with HIV, 2,678 men and 2,726 women.

That means that there are around 7,400 people living in The Bahamas at the moment who are known to be infected with HIV/AIDS, with a current "one to one" male to female ratio -- a change from the historically greater prevalence of HIV/AIDS in men than women.

Dr Gomez noted that there are also "certainly people who have HIV/AIDS and do not know because they have never been tested", meaning that the actual rate may be much higher.

October 07, 2009

tribune242

Bahamas Blog Bahamas

A victory for the Third World

Reflections of Fidel

(Taken from CubaDebate)

MIGHTY economic powers competed for the venue of the 2016 Olympics, including the two most industrialized on the planet: the United States and Japan. Nevertheless, the winner was Rio de Janeiro, a Brazilian city.

Let them not say now that it was the generosity of the rich nations toward Brazil, a Third World country.

The triumph of that Brazilian city is proof of the growing influence of countries that are struggling to develop. It is a sure thing that in the countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia, the choice of Rio de Janeiro will be received with pleasure in the midst of the economic crisis and the current uncertainty with climate change.

While popular sports like baseball are being eliminated from the competitions to make way for the entertainments of the bourgeois and the rich, the peoples of the Third World are sharing the joy of the Brazilian people, and will support Rio de Janeiro as organizer of the 2016 Olympic Games.

It is a duty to appear in Copenhagen with the same unity, and to fight to prevent climate change and wars of conquest from prevailing over the desire for peace, development and the survival of all the world’s peoples.



Fidel Castro Ruz
October 2, 2009
2:55 p.m.

Translated by Granma International

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