Konbit Pou Ayiti

IN THIS REPORT:
- Student Demonstrators Burn UN Vehicle
- Student Protests
- Dominican Republic to Plant 5 Million Trees Along Border with Haiti
- Delay urged in Haiti Senate runoffs; One killed in pre-election tensions
- Bill Clinton Debuts as UN Special Envoy
- Mourners Clashed with UN During Father Jean-Juste's Funeral
- President Obama Announces Nominee for Ambassador to Haiti
- New phase of modernisation begins for Haiti’s Teleco
- UN Expert on Slavery Concerned about "Restavek" System
- International Association of Democratic Lawyers on MINUSTAH in Haiti

Student Demonstrators Burn UN Vehicle:
Student demonstrators attacked and burned a U.N. police vehicle in the Haitian capital on Wednesday, adding to security concerns ahead of this weekend's scheduled Senate elections. The student protests, now in their fourth week, are part of a general uptick in violence leading into Sunday's scheduled second-round elections for 11 vacant Senate seats. At least two people have been killed in clashes between political parties elsewhere in Haiti. Two U.N. police officers were driving past the state university medical school when students bombarded it with rocks and forced it to halt, said U.N. police spokesman Fred Blaise. The officers escaped unharmed and the demonstrators burned the vehicle down to its metal husk.

Peacekeepers from India and Jordan arrived and formed a perimeter around the SUV. Students threw rocks at the soldiers from inside the campus and peacekeepers responded with repeated rounds of tear gas. Haitian riot police stood at the ready nearby. When peacekeepers and police left after towing the vehicle amid a driving rainstorm, hundreds of onlookers rushed in from the surrounding neighborhood dancing and chanting, "Burn them! Burn them!" Peacekeepers fired a final canister of tear gas as they sped away on the rock-strewn street.

The student demonstrations began in late May against the elimination of medical school classes but quickly grew into protests against the 9,000-member U.N. force that has been in Haiti since 2004, and in support of increasing Haiti's minimum wage from $2 to $5 a day. The salary increase has been approved by the legislature but is opposed by business owners, especially owners of factories that produce garments for sale in the United States and elsewhere. An agreement is expected to be announced by President Rene Preval this week. Haitians are watching these protests closely as student-led demonstrations preceded major recent upheavals. (AP, 6/17)

Student Protests:
The National University of Haiti (UEH) has been gripped by crisis for the last two months, operating under the constant threat of student strikes staged to demand reinstatement of cancelled courses and an increase in the minimum wage. Several of the schools which make up the UEH, including the Liberal Arts School and the School of Social Science, remain paralysed, with students in those departments following the call for a strike by students in the School of Medicine and Pharmacology (FMP) and the School of Medical Technology (ETM). Since Jun. 4, the strike inside the different departments, particularly inside the Medical School, has spilled over into violent demonstrations in the streets. Both the Haitian National Police and the United Nations peacekeeping force (MINUSTAH) have launched tear gas and fired into the crowds of protesting students. The students, in turn, have thrown rocks and bottles back at the troops. The students have burned and broken the windshields of several vehicles belonging both to the government and international NGOs. Dozens of students have been wounded by police bullets.

To date, 24 students have been arrested. Eight have so far been released from custody. On Apr. 27, the students in the Medical School called for a work stoppage, hoping the strike would draw attention to the difficult conditions under which they are striving to obtain an education. They complain that they are without adequate faculty or the physical infrastructure befitting a state university. They are demanding that the university administration reinstate more than 10 courses which they term "indispensable" and which have been eliminated from the curriculum. They are also calling for the "unconditional" resignation of the dean of FMP, whom they accuse of mismanagement. The 165 students at the medical school, which was founded in 1861, take a five-year degree for which they pay only the registration fee of 500 gourdes (12 dollars) per semester and the cost of their books. At the end of their studies, they must perform a year of social service as an internship and may then chose a specialty. Many more Haitians, an estimated 1,800, are studying medicine at various universities in neighbouring Dominican Republic.

The student strikers, in their official paper, Le Moniteur, have also called on President Rene Preval to approve the law raising the minimum wage to 200 gourdes a day, about five dollars, from the current 70 gourdes, which is less than two dollars a day. President Preval has delayed signing the minimum wage bill which was passed by the Senate and the House over one month ago. Faced with opposition from business leaders, Preval has called for a dialogue among the opposing factions. The president's attitude has sparked anger among many students. (IPS, 6/15)

Dominican Republic to Plant 5 Million Trees Along Border with Haiti:
The Dominican Republic plans to plant 5 million trees along the border with Haiti as part of a project to fight deforestation, environmental officials said. The project, which will cost about 35 million pesos (some $972,200), will be carried out under an agreement signed by the Environment Ministry and the General Border Development Administration, or DGDF. Pine, mahogany, mango, oak, tamarind and guayacan trees will be planted in the border region, the Environment Ministry said. The agreement will be implemented via the Quisqueya Verde reforestation program in Montecristi, Dajabon and Santiago Rodriguez provinces in the northwestern part of the country, as well as in the southwestern provinces of Elias Piña, Bahoruco, Independencia and Pedernales.

Natural resources “are a national security” issue because “not just forests but also transborder waters” are at stake, Environment Minister Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal said. "The production of charcoal is a threat to all of us, but when families join reforestation brigades you create green jobs, on the one hand, and reduce the pressure on resources, on the other,” Fernandez Mirabal said. The Dominican Republic and Haiti share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, with Haiti in the western portion. Heavy rains from tropical storms and hurricanes have caused mudslides, killing thousands of people in Haiti in recent years. Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country, is prone to devastating mudslides and flooding because of man-made deforestation that has reduced the amount of the nation covered by forest from 25 percent some 50 years ago to just 2 percent today, while the neighboring Dominican Republic retains a lush tree canopy. (Latin America Herald Tribune, 6/17)

Delay urged in Haiti Senate runoffs; One killed in pre-election tensions:
Citing widespread irregularities and fraud in the first round of voting in Haiti's Senate elections, a Washington-based think tank and a former candidate for Haiti's presidency are separately calling for the postponement of Sunday's runoff elections. The demands by the Haiti Democracy Project and Charles Henry Baker come just days ahead of the runoffs for 11 senatorial seats and amid reports of election-related violence between rival political parties. At least two people have been killed in recent days including a motorcycle-taxi driver who was shot during a clash between supporters of President René Préval's Lespwa (''Hope'') coalition and the Struggling People's Organization, or OPL, in the southern city of Jacmel. The long-overdue elections would bring Haiti's 30-member Senate to almost full capacity, and lay the political landscape for Préval's Lespwa coalition to gain control of the chamber, setting the groundwork for him to reform Haiti's constitution.

None of the Senate candidates received the majority vote needed to win in the April 19 balloting, leaving 11 vacant seats up for grabs. Electoral officials reported an 11 percent voter turnout. The vote was boycotted by supporters of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, whose Fanmi Lavalas party was disqualified from the elections after failing to produce required documents. ''The elections that were held on the 19th of April were probably worse than any we have had in a long time,'' said Baker, whose Respe party supported three candidates. Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council, or CEP, has decided to proceed with the runoffs. Officials did cancel the voting in the Central Plateau after a poll supervisor was shot. The race has not yet been rescheduled. Following reports of ballot stuffing, the CEP disqualified many votes. But the canceled votes occured after the CEP had accepted the results, and only after opposition candidates presented their challenge, the Haiti Democracy Project said in a report it has issued demanding greater accountability by electoral officials.

The report and critics, including Baker, say officials have not gone far enough, and that some races should have been nullified. Baker said he has written to Préval, the United Nations, the Haitian parliament and the CEP requesting that signatures be verified, and all fraudulent ballots be thrown out. So far, he has gotten no response. If the election proceeds as planned, he said his Respe party will ask voters to protest their dissatisfaction by voting blank. ''We don't want them to sit at home, because if they do, they will vote for a candidate for them,'' he said.

James Morrell, project executive director of the Haiti Democracy Project, said all of the questions about irregularities, ballot stuffing and candidates with alleged criminal past "should be dealt with before you have the next round.'' He said the 40-page report has been sent to Haitian government officials. It gives detailed accounts of fraud allegations, which the group says needs to be further investigated before any more elections are held. ''No one is going to accept the legitimacy of the elections,'' Morrell said. "The election returns were not really verified. Some fraud was detected and there is a lot more out there.'' (Miami Herald, 6/17)

A bystander was killed in a clash between rival Haitian political parties this week, adding to growing concerns about potential violence ahead of next week's Senate elections, police said Friday. Haitian police in the southern city of Jacmel confirmed that a motorcycle-taxi driver was killed as supporters of President Rene Preval's Lespwa movement fought with the opposing Struggling People's Organization, or OPL. The incident is under investigation and it is not clear who fired the shots that killed him, but officials believe the unnamed driver was a bystander, police officer Mario Pierre said. He died Wednesday. Isolated violence was reported in April during the first round of voting for 12 Senate seats. Official turnout was 11 percent. Public transportation was halted that day, making polls unreachable for some, while others chose to stay home and avoid trouble. (AP, 6/17)

Bill Clinton Debuts as UN Special Envoy:
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who has been appointed as United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti, says one of his first orders of business to help the impoverished Caribbean nation will be to ensure that $353 million in promised pledges from the international community actually end up in Haiti. ''We want to encourage the donors both to honor the commitments they have already made at the donor's conference,'' Clinton said. "We also want to do everything we can to make sure that these donor commitments are aligned as closely as possible with the Haitian program we have been given.'' Clinton made the announcement Monday at a U.N. press conference in New York during which he laid out a long and ambitious list of priorities he plans to tackle in his new role. It was the first time Clinton has spoken publicly about his plans for Haiti since U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon named him to the post last month.

''I will do my best. It's a formidable task,'' Clinton said, adding that he also plans to focus on bringing alternative energy to the country, encourage better coordination among thousands of nongovernmental organizations working in Haiti and to attract private investors. "This is the best chance that Haitians have ever had.'' Last month, Haitian Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis complained that despite commitments at a donor's conference in Washington, D.C., her government was still waiting on a plan on how, and where they intend to spend the money. But getting donor's to ante up their pledges may be the least of the former president or Haiti's challenges. For weeks, Haiti has been embroiled in a divisive debate over a controversial decision by Haiti's parliament to raise the minimum wage from $1.70 a day to $4.90. The decision has triggered weeks of violent protests by groups claiming to be state university students.

Clinton did not address the protests or minimum wage debate during Monday's news conference, though he did stress the benefits of the HOPE legislation in helping Haiti. He said he plans to travel to Haiti soon and will report to Ban, the secretary general. He also dismissed reports in the Haitian press that his $1-a-year job was part of an imperialistic plot to take over Haiti. ''All I want to do is help the Haitians take over control of their own destiny,'' he said. "That is all I ever wanted for Haiti. That's all the secretary general wants.'' (Miami Herald, 6/15)

Mourners Clashed with UN During Father Jean-Juste's Funeral:
Mourners clashed with U.N. troops after a popular priest's funeral in the Haitian capital on Thursday and a demonstrator was killed by gunfire that witnesses blamed on the peacekeepers. Thousands of mourners gathered at the Port-au-Prince Cathedral and the surrounding area to pay their last respects to Roman Catholic priest Gerard Jean-Juste, a champion of Haiti's poor who died of a stroke on May 27 in Miami. He was 62. After the funeral, mourners and supporters of ousted ex-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former priest with whom Jean-Juste was a close ally, took to the streets in protest. Some accused the government of former Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue of causing Jean-Juste's death by imprisoning him in 2005 on charges that later proved false. Jean-Juste became ill with leukemia while in prison.

Several witnesses said U.N. troops shot and killed a young male demonstrator as a convoy prepared to leave Port-au-Prince to bury Jean-Juste in his hometown of Cavaillon. "I saw several U.N. troops firing gunshots and immediately after I saw the man laid on the ground," Jean Mathieu, who said he was nearby, told Reuters. "I did not see anybody else shooting. I am sure the U.N. soldiers are the ones who shot the demonstrator." A spokeswoman for the U.N. mission in Haiti, Sophie Boutaud De La Combe, confirmed that U.N. soldiers shot in the air to deter protesters who were throwing rocks at them, but she did not rule out that gunshots fired by U.N. troops could have hit the victim.

"We can confirm that our troops shot about five times in the air," said De la Combe. "But only a ballistic test could finally determine whether the victim was killed by bullets fired by U.N. troops or not." The demonstrators took the victim's body from the scene and planned to lay it down in front of the presidential palace, but a police ambulance intervened to take the body to the morgue. Many demonstrators accused the former Latortue government of jailing Jean-Juste in 2005 to prevent him from running for president. Jean-Juste was released in January 2006 under intense international pressure, including from a number of U.S. Congress members, and went to Florida for treatment. Many of his supporters believed he could have better coped with the disease if he had received treatment earlier. (Reuters, 6/18)

One protestor was killed as UN forces open fire during a funeral for Catholic priest Father Gerard Jean-Juste. A human rights advocate and well-known supporter of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his Lavalas movement, Jean-Juste died on May 27 in a Miami hospital from complications following a stroke and long respiratory illness. Eyewitnesses report today's shooting incident involving the UN began after mourners began chanting slogans for the return of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide outside of Haiti's national cathedral. One of the protestors was seen inadvertently passing through a security barrier erected by UN forces and was detained. As the UN arrested him hundreds more rushed past the barrier and resumed chants for Lavalas and Aristide.
 
According to witnesses, UN troops on the scene began shooting indiscriminately at the crowd killing a young man identified only as "Junior" from the neighborhood of Solino. Hundreds more protestors then took the body of the victim to the front of Haiti's National Palace where they began chanting, "Down with Preval" and "Long live Aristide." Widespread disillusionment with Haitian president Rene Preval and the UN occupation force has grown discernibly over the past year. Members of Fanmi Lavalas, Haiti's largest political party were barred from participating in the last Senate election and organized a successful boycott called "Operation Closed Door." Today's shooting comes days before a second round of elections scheduled for Sunday. Fanmi Lavalas has announced a second boycott to protest their exclusion from the electoral process. The incident involving the UN was captured live and streamed over the Internet by Tele-Ginen, a Haitian television station located in Port au Prince. (Haiti Information Project, 6/18)

President Obama Announces Nominee for Ambassador to Haiti:
President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals today: 
Kenneth H. Merten, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Haiti.
Kenneth Merten currently serves as Deputy Executive Secretary at the Department of State. A career Foreign Service Officer, he joined the Foreign Service in 1987. His previous overseas diplomatic assignments include Economic Counselor in Paris, France, Economic Section Chief, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Economic Officer at the U.S. Mission to the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium, Economic Officer in Bonn, Germany and Vice Consul in Port-au-Prince. Mr. Merten's Washington assignments include two tours in the State Department Operations Center and service in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs and on the Cuba Desk, as well as a year as Special Assistant to the Special Advisors on Haiti. Mr. Merten holds a B.A. from Miami University in Ohio, and a Masters in Public Administration from American University. Studies at the Université d'Aix-Marseille in France and at Karl Franzens Universität in Austria complement his other academic work. (The White House, 6/4)

New phase of modernisation begins for Haiti’s Teleco:
The process of modernisation of Haiti’s incumbent fixed line network operator Telecommunications d’Haiti (Teleco) has entered its second phase, writes Haiti Press Network. Private companies have been invited to participate in a tender for a strategic partnership and network upgrading project, launched on Monday by the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH). The project’s primary objective is to restructure Teleco via a partnership with an operator possessing the technical and financial capacity to provide a competitive fixed telephony service, as well as developing wireless broadband and wholesale broadband capacity services. In addition, important goals will be to improve access to and quality of telecoms services for the population, and to restore the profitability of Teleco. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the commercial arm of the World Bank, is acting as adviser and financier for the project. (6/10)

UN Expert on Slavery Concerned about "Restavek" System:
The Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, its causes and consequences, Gulnara Shahinian, expressed deep concern today over the highly exploitative nature of the 'restavek' system in Haiti, which she considers to be a modern form of slavery. 

At the end of her visit to Haiti, Ms. Shahinian emphasized her deep concern at the restavek system, which deprives children of their family environment and violates their most basic rights such as the rights to education, health, and food as well as subjecting them to multiple forms of abuse including economic exploitation, sexual violence and corporal punishment, violating their fundamental right to protection from all forms of violence. Many have been reported as trafficked within the country and outside the country. Throughout her visit, which also brought her to Ouanaminthe and Les Cayes, witnesses gave various accounts of this practice and its forms. Ms Shahinian discussed efforts to address this phenomenon and its root causes with different stakeholders. The Special Rapporteur expressed her deep concern at the situation, calling on all actors to make the eradication of this practice a top priority – “this practice is a severe violation of the most fundamental rights of the child – the foundation of society – and reinforces a vicious cycle of violence - it should be stopped immediately.” 

While noting that the political instability of the last decades combined with continuous natural disasters have impeded the economic and social development of Haiti and further deepened poverty and enhanced human insecurity, the Special Rapporteur commends the Haitian government for its efforts to address the issue through legislative, policy and programmatic steps to protect the rights of restavek children. She particularly welcomes the creation of the Brigade de Protection des Mineurs and the efforts of Institut du Bien-Etre Sociale et de la Recherche, despite insufficient human and financial resources. However, she also agrees with the conclusion reached by many government officials during their meetings with the Special Rapporteur - Many challenges remain before the complete eradication of the restavek system in Haiti. 



Two new tendencies have been observed in recent years: the direct placement of children from family to family has been supplemented by the existence of recruiters, who for financial gain recruit children from rural areas to work in urban families as child slaves in domestic work and outside the home in markets. In addition, the majority of the demand has shifted from wealthy families to those belonging to the poor. Therefore, the situation of hundreds of thousands of children remains alarming; it requires urgent attention and a comprehensive, systematic response by the Government. “The issue should be put urgently on the highest priority agenda of the Government and the international community”, adds the Special Rapporteur. 



The following issues should be addressed as a matter of priority and are of strong concern to the Special Rapporteur:


1. The limited application in national law and practice of the international human rights obligation of Haiti, irrespective of the fact that Haiti has ratified many international human rights instruments on the elimination of slavery and the protection of the rights of the child, in particular the UN Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave trade and Practices similar to Slavery, ILO Convention No. 29 on Forced or Compulsory Labour, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, UN Convention on Transnational organized Crime and Protocols

2. The fragmented nature and limited institutional and financial capacities of state agencies dealing with vulnerable children 

3. The limited number of programs addressing the issue of child labour 

4. The limited number and inaccessibility to free schooling for children from poor rural communities as well as the absence of a comprehensive health care and social protection system 

5. The absence of comprehensive legislation protecting the rights of the child, in particular vulnerable groups of children, including restavek

6. The weakness of the judicial system in ensuring prosecution, fair trail and adequate punishment of perpetrators, thus preventing access to justice and the right to an effective remedy

7. Insufficient attention to the issue, limited cooperation and fragmented programmes at the level of international agencies 

8. Sporadic and insufficient efforts by the Government to cooperate with and support civil society 

UN report puts pressure on Canada to end Haitian slavery (UN)

The chief United Nations investigator on slavery signalled Wednesday that Haiti — the only nation born of a slave revolt — has entrenched child enslavement through its long-denounced "restavek" system. The finding by Gulnara Shahinian after she toured the Caribbean nation raises pressure on Canada and other major aid donors to the country to focus more on eliminating the blight. Named for the Haitian francophone Creole term meaning "stay with," the system is supposed give parents unable to care for their children an opportunity to send them to more affluent relatives or strangers in urban areas. There, the children would receive food, shelter and education in exchange for "light" housework. But Shahinian said the practice subjects children to multiple forms of abuse, including economic exploitation, sexual violence and corporal punishment. Hours of work typically run from early in the morning until the last adult in the home goes to bed at night, witnesses have said.

While family-to-family placements have long occurred, paid recruiters now scour the country looking for children to traffic both within and outside Haiti, Shahinian found. The majority of the demand has also shifted in recent years from wealthy families to poor ones, she reports. "This practice is a severe violation of the most fundamental rights of the child," said Shahinian, an Armenian national. "(It) reinforces a vicious cycle of violence. It should be stopped immediately." The International Labour Organization estimates that 300,000 children work as restaveks in Haiti, population eight million. Shahinian reports children are delivered to work for urban families "as child slaves in domestic work and outside the home in markets." A UN summary of her visit says witnesses gave her "various accounts" of the practice as she visited the capital, Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes in the southwest, and Ouanaminthe on the northern part of the border with the Dominican Republic. She "expressed deep concern," says the summary. "She considers it to be a modern form of slavery."

As part of the $555 million in Canadian aid to Haiti over five years, the Canadian International Development Agency has provided millions of dollars to cover school fees and lunches for thousands of Haitian youngsters from impoverished backgrounds. But Shahinian said more needs to be done to give poor families the means to keep their children and send them to school. "The issue should be put urgently on the highest priority agenda of the (Haitian) government and the international community," said the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery. Haiti is Canada's biggest overseas aid focus after Afghanistan. "The agency is aware of the restavek problem, and we're investing in a wide range of programs that we believe will attack it and other ills in Haiti," said Jean-Luc Benoit, spokesman for International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda. Shahinian acknowledged that decades of political instability and a series of recent natural disasters "have further deepened poverty and enhanced human insecurity" in Haiti, the western hemisphere's poorest country. She also noted the Haitian government had taken some steps to try to protect the rights of restavek children, despite being cash-strapped. But a law stating employers must pay people from age 15 for work has often resulted in restaveks being thrown onto the streets at that age. Among a series of recommendations, Shahinian called on the Haitian government to place greater administrative focus on "vulnerable children." She also called on the government to ensure "compulsory and free primary education," and to help children in rural areas gain better access to schools. (Canwest News Service, 6/12)

International Association of Democratic Lawyers on MINUSTAH in Haiti:
SITUATION OF MINUSTAH IN HAITI - The General Assembly of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, at its 17th Congress in Hanoi, Vietnam, having considered the effects of the United Nations Mission for the Stabilisation of Haiti (MINUSTAH) on the human rights and, in particular, the economic, social and cultural rights of the overwhelming majority of people in Haiti:
1.      Strongly condemns the continuing use of excessive force by MINUSTAH and Haitian police, resulting most recently in at least five deaths in April 2009, in an attempt to put down justified protests against soaring rents and food prices, extreme food shortages (leading to the increased sales of cakes made of mud, oil and salt), coupled with mass unemployment;
2.      Expresses profound concern at reports of increased structural uncertainty resulting from abductions and summary executions, including the “disappearance” in August 2007 of Pierre-Antoine Lovinsky, coordinator of the human rights organisation, September 30th Foundation;
3.      Recalls that MINUSTAH, whose present mandate is due to expire in October 2009, is the only UN peace-keeping mission to be deployed in the absence of a pre-existing peace agreement, while the Haitian Constitution prohibits the presence of any foreign force on Haitian soil;
4.      Resolves and requests as follows:
a.      That MINUSTAH immediately cease and desist from all violations of the rights of the people of Haiti and provide full and fair compensation to victims and the families of those killed and injured by MINUSTAH forces;
b.      That the United Nations Security Council shall not renew the mandate of MINUSTAH and order the withdrawal of MINUSTAH forces so that Haiti may recover full sovereignty in accordance with its Constitution. (6/18)