GUEST POST: STATE DEPARTMENT'S HUMAN TRAFFICKING REPORT
(Council on Foreign Relations) - By James M. Lindsay
This Monday, the U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report was released. My colleague, Mark Lagon, adjunct senior fellow for human rights at the Council on Foreign Relations, offers his assessment.
Despite some eschewing petulant partisanship in foreign policy, it is rampant. However, the June 27, 2011 release of the 11th annual U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report is a tribute to a bipartisan policy that works.
The report assesses efforts worldwide to combat human trafficking, which enslaves victims for labor or sexual exploitation. Sometimes victims are moved across borders (like guest workers in construction in the Persian Gulf, or undocumented agricultural workers in Washington State which I’ve discussed with State Attorney General Rob McKenna), and sometimes not (like the estimated 100,000 prostituted minors in the U.S., or the millions of Dalits in bonded labor in India).
The report assigns countries one of four grades : “Tier 1” for fully meeting basic standards, “Tier 2” for governments making some efforts, ”Tier 2 Watch List” for those slipping, and “Tier 3” for negligible efforts). Combined with offers of aid and training for poorer nations, and an assessment of the United States’ own efforts (started in the Bush Administration and for two years now assigned a grade no less), these rankings propel other nations to face their trafficking problem. Even allies unused to U.S. pressure have been propelled to change—including Israel, Turkey, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates.
The report was created by bipartisan congressional action. In 2000, Christian conservative Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and the late firebrand progressive Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) collaborated to get the Trafficking Victims Protection Act signed into law. The State Department Trafficking Office it created has had strong bipartisan support, including when I headed it in 2007–2009.
Beyond grade hikes, this year’s report offers some good news. Where migrant workers and women are often treated as less than human, the Persian Gulf states have embraced an International Labor Organisation (ILO) convention on domestic workers rights. A paragon of democracy reclaimed, Chile, has finally passed a comprehensive trafficking law stalled since 2007. And the Philippines has confronted corruption and accelerated convictions of traffickers, mitigating the problem that justice delayed is justice denied.
Some State Department diplomats eager to preserve relationships for strategic and economic aims— allegedly more important than ending degradation— won internal bureaucratic battles to selectively grade some countries “on a curve.” Grading on a curve arose among those countries which already received the “Watch List” ranking for two previous years, which Congress mandated in 2008 needed to earn a higher ranking or get a special waiver, or else they would automatically be downgraded to “Tier 3” (worst).
For instance, while India ratified the U.N. Palermo Protocol, it has not successfully addressed its massive bonded labor problem (illegal since 1976). It does not deserve its Tier 2 ranking.
Uzbekistan surely deserved to be downgraded to “Tier 3,” rather than get a lawyerly wordsmithed waiver. Its government refuses to let ILO inspectors in to see if it is abiding by two ILO treaties on child labor it has ratified more than two years ago. A company not famous in the past for labor rights, Wal-Mart, refuses to buy Uzbek cotton because it is harvested by forced child labor. In a cruel irony, cotton-picking is at the heart of even this current instance of slavery.
Since the report came into being in 2000, 146 nations have ratified the Protocol and 128 have enacted comprehensive anti-trafficking laws. Three-quarters and two-thirds of the world’s nations is real progress.
Still, laws on paper aren’t enough. Implementation is lagging. The report’s data shows that last year, only 6,107 traffickers were prosecuted and 3,619 convicted (stagnantly similar to the level each year since 2004). Of them, only 607 were prosecuted and 237 convicted for labor-related trafficking desperate its prevalence. The U.S. justice system was responsible for fully one quarter of the latter (sixty-five).
Victim protection is arguably even more important than holding traffickers to account. Yet the number of victims identified worldwide dropped 32 percent from 49,105 in 2009 to 33,113 in 2010. Despite the awareness-raising report, U.S. and UN-sponsored training, and a year-long CNN campaign, trafficking victims are still being doubly victimized when treated by society and law enforcement as dirty, disposable, and deportable.
The report calls for a “Decade of Delivery” of implementation of pledges and laws on paper. Delivering requires two Bs. First, more businesses working together to scrub their supply chains and operations (like Internet-advertising) should join governments, international organizations, and nongovernment organizations in the anti-trafficking partnerships Secretary of State Clinton aptly touts.
Second, continued bipartisanship is crucial. Hopefully budget cutting and anti-immigrant fervor will not shake the consensus that contemporary slavery is a special concern to the United States, given the slavery in our past. Congress cut the State Department Trafficking Office’s lean budget by one-quarter this year. Yet it is heartening to see a Tea Party favorite, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), hail the report. Maybe on a foreign policy issue so grave, partisan differences can be left behind at the water’s edge.
Friday, July 1, 2011
ARTICLE - BAHAMAS - IGNORE UN REQUEST
UN HAITIAN REQUEST SHOULD BE IGNORED
(The Nassau Guardian) -
The United Nations is asking countries in the region not to repatriate undocumented Haitians for now due to the current state of their country. Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, is still struggling to recover from the January 2010 earthquake that destroyed much of Port-au-Prince.
The UN is demonstrating humanitarian concern by making the call. And we think those countries that have the resources to allow undocumented Haitians to remain within their territories indefinitely should consider doing so. Such a gesture would change the lives of many Haitians seeking opportunity.
However, The Bahamas cannot and should not follow the UN suggestion. The Bahamas is a developing country struggling to escape recession after the 2008 financial crisis. In 2009, the unemployment rates in New Providence and Grand Bahama exceeded 14 percent and 17 percent, respectively. It is likely that high rates of unemployment persist.
It would be unwise for a developing country such as The Bahamas to allow a large number of uneducated and unskilled people to remain in the country at this time.
The number of Haitians residing in The Bahamas is already significant. Estimates range from 30,000 to 80,000. If The Bahamas stopped repatriating Haitians, those in Haiti who want to leave that island would consider this country their prime destination.
With a population of nearly 10 million in Haiti, there would likely be an unprecedented mass exodus from that country to The Bahamas if we announce that apprehensions and repatriations have been indefinitely suspended.
The Haitian situation is tragic. It is estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 people died as a result of the earthquake. A Cholera outbreak since has killed hundreds. The international community through direct country assistance, the UN and NGOs has done much to help Haiti since.
These efforts should continue and Haitians inside and outside of Haiti should do all they can to help rebuild their homeland. The UN, however, should not expect or pressure fragile developing countries to accept thousands of Haitians during these uncertain economic times.
This policy could actually be disastrous for these countries. The retention of thousands of uneducated and unskilled Haitian migrants would increase unemployment rates in countries throughout this region and it would lead to social tension between indigenous populations looking for work and the new migrant class.
Native populations would resent the increased Haitian presence assuming it to be competition for scare jobs.
The Government of The Bahamas has had the right response thus far to the UN request: it has ignored it. The two richest countries in this hemisphere are the United States and Canada. If those countries want to accept thousands of Haitian refugees, they can. They can afford it. It would be wise for other countries in this region too to ignore the UN.
(The Nassau Guardian) -
The United Nations is asking countries in the region not to repatriate undocumented Haitians for now due to the current state of their country. Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, is still struggling to recover from the January 2010 earthquake that destroyed much of Port-au-Prince.
The UN is demonstrating humanitarian concern by making the call. And we think those countries that have the resources to allow undocumented Haitians to remain within their territories indefinitely should consider doing so. Such a gesture would change the lives of many Haitians seeking opportunity.
However, The Bahamas cannot and should not follow the UN suggestion. The Bahamas is a developing country struggling to escape recession after the 2008 financial crisis. In 2009, the unemployment rates in New Providence and Grand Bahama exceeded 14 percent and 17 percent, respectively. It is likely that high rates of unemployment persist.
It would be unwise for a developing country such as The Bahamas to allow a large number of uneducated and unskilled people to remain in the country at this time.
The number of Haitians residing in The Bahamas is already significant. Estimates range from 30,000 to 80,000. If The Bahamas stopped repatriating Haitians, those in Haiti who want to leave that island would consider this country their prime destination.
With a population of nearly 10 million in Haiti, there would likely be an unprecedented mass exodus from that country to The Bahamas if we announce that apprehensions and repatriations have been indefinitely suspended.
The Haitian situation is tragic. It is estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 people died as a result of the earthquake. A Cholera outbreak since has killed hundreds. The international community through direct country assistance, the UN and NGOs has done much to help Haiti since.
These efforts should continue and Haitians inside and outside of Haiti should do all they can to help rebuild their homeland. The UN, however, should not expect or pressure fragile developing countries to accept thousands of Haitians during these uncertain economic times.
This policy could actually be disastrous for these countries. The retention of thousands of uneducated and unskilled Haitian migrants would increase unemployment rates in countries throughout this region and it would lead to social tension between indigenous populations looking for work and the new migrant class.
Native populations would resent the increased Haitian presence assuming it to be competition for scare jobs.
The Government of The Bahamas has had the right response thus far to the UN request: it has ignored it. The two richest countries in this hemisphere are the United States and Canada. If those countries want to accept thousands of Haitian refugees, they can. They can afford it. It would be wise for other countries in this region too to ignore the UN.
ARTICLE - STRENGTHENING THE RULE OF LAW
TOWARDS A STRENGTHENING OF THE RULE OF LAW
(Haiti Libre) -
As part of the support to strengthen the Rule of Law, which is a priority of President Martelly, the United Nations Mission for Stabilization in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the French Government and the Ministry of Justice of Haiti, have allowed 17 men and 3 women, Haitian magistrates students , to receive a training of 10 months at the School of Magistrates in Bordeaux, France. These future magistrates have returned this week having completed their training.
Between 25 and 44 years of age, these professionals, mostly law graduates, now have the academic tools necessary to work in the field of justice as auditors. They are part of the first class recruited exclusively, in accordance with the law of December 20, 2007 on the recruitment process for the School of Magistrates, putting an end to the right of appointment, exercised previously, by the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety.
The program has allowed the theoretical training of these magistrate students in auditing techniques [4 months], followed by an internship in French jurisdictions [six months]. The training also focused on the acquisition of fundamental judicial capacity and ethics.
Also, six Haitian trainers have received during two months, a teaching on the process of development of training sequences and management of studies, from the National School of Magistrates, and on the implementation of the training of auditors, during their internship in court.
The cost of this training has been estimated at 487,160 euros including 118,860 euros for pedagogical expenses engaged by the School. Approximately 79,000 euros (± $100,000) were funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Haiti and the United Nations Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and 408,000 euros (± $500,000) by the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MAEE).
(Haiti Libre) -
As part of the support to strengthen the Rule of Law, which is a priority of President Martelly, the United Nations Mission for Stabilization in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the French Government and the Ministry of Justice of Haiti, have allowed 17 men and 3 women, Haitian magistrates students , to receive a training of 10 months at the School of Magistrates in Bordeaux, France. These future magistrates have returned this week having completed their training.
Between 25 and 44 years of age, these professionals, mostly law graduates, now have the academic tools necessary to work in the field of justice as auditors. They are part of the first class recruited exclusively, in accordance with the law of December 20, 2007 on the recruitment process for the School of Magistrates, putting an end to the right of appointment, exercised previously, by the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety.
The program has allowed the theoretical training of these magistrate students in auditing techniques [4 months], followed by an internship in French jurisdictions [six months]. The training also focused on the acquisition of fundamental judicial capacity and ethics.
Also, six Haitian trainers have received during two months, a teaching on the process of development of training sequences and management of studies, from the National School of Magistrates, and on the implementation of the training of auditors, during their internship in court.
The cost of this training has been estimated at 487,160 euros including 118,860 euros for pedagogical expenses engaged by the School. Approximately 79,000 euros (± $100,000) were funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Haiti and the United Nations Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and 408,000 euros (± $500,000) by the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MAEE).
ARTICLE - BRIEFING ON LAW AND ORDER COMPLEXITIES
POLICE DG ANDRESOL BRIEFING ON COMPLEXITIES OF LAW AND ORDER IN "ISUZU" DEATH
(Defend Haiti) - By Diony Monestime
PORT-AU-PRINCE - The Director General of the Police Nationale d'Haiti described the complexities of law and order at a press conference, following a senate hearing into the death of an arrested suspect, Serge "Isuzu" Demothene; speculated to be part of the investigation of the BNC Chairman, Guiteau Toussaint.
Demothenes was reported to have been arrested in connection with the assassination of BNC Chairman Guiteau Toussaint. After the death of Isuzu which occurred while in custody of Petion-Ville police, the explanation was given that Isuzu had information regarding the assassination of Toussaint. Lawyers for Demothene have denounced the claims of the police department saying that the death of their client was due to an ongoing street war that their client had against a relative of the police department's commissioner, Vanel Lacroix, and further more that Lacroix was out of his jurisdiction when the arrest was made.
Director General of the Police Nationale d'Haiti, Mario Andrésol: "I cannot say it was an assassination or an attempted assassination on Desmosthene, because I do not have all the evidence."
"We are waiting on all the evidence to come and as they come in we will inform everyone as this is a very important matter. It is so important that it concerns the institution as a whole because if we are where we are today, it simply means that something is not working well."
"So we took the measures we did so that we can know the full extent of our responsibilities when all the truth comes out."
"So despite all the work Chief LaCroix has done, he was the Chief of that precinct, we put him on leave so that we can collect all the evidence to know what really happened. If our investigation reveals that he did not have anything to do with what happened, then he will be back to his regular duties. But if he’s implicated then appropriate sanctions will be taken against him accordingly."
"Senator, you’ve also mentioned something about him intervening outside of his jurisdiction. Let me address this clearly for you: Here’s the problem, as the Director of the Police force, if I had a warrant to arrest someone in Croix des Bouquets, I would not call on an officer in that precinct to execute the warrant. Because those areas, namely, Tabarre, Croix des Bouquets, there is some kind of mixture, some type of mafia that are involved in stealing land; a group of mafia that involves police officers, notaries, surveyors, all types of people who used to be big landowners. Whenever you have a warrant to execute in the area and you call the local police chief, he won’t get it executed."
"It’s not that I don’t trust the police officers there; there are some people in that area, that for you to get them arrested you’d need a special force to get them arrested. That means, the people are complaining now, because LaCroix authorized the execution of a warrant outside of his jurisdiction. He can do that. He’s a police officer and he had a warrant. Normally, he should have inquired, and asked the local chief to help, but all that depends on the situation."
"As for Mr. Rony Volet, Senator, quite frankly, I don’t know what to tell you, LaCroix had a warrant."
(Defend Haiti) - By Diony Monestime
PORT-AU-PRINCE - The Director General of the Police Nationale d'Haiti described the complexities of law and order at a press conference, following a senate hearing into the death of an arrested suspect, Serge "Isuzu" Demothene; speculated to be part of the investigation of the BNC Chairman, Guiteau Toussaint.
Demothenes was reported to have been arrested in connection with the assassination of BNC Chairman Guiteau Toussaint. After the death of Isuzu which occurred while in custody of Petion-Ville police, the explanation was given that Isuzu had information regarding the assassination of Toussaint. Lawyers for Demothene have denounced the claims of the police department saying that the death of their client was due to an ongoing street war that their client had against a relative of the police department's commissioner, Vanel Lacroix, and further more that Lacroix was out of his jurisdiction when the arrest was made.
Director General of the Police Nationale d'Haiti, Mario Andrésol: "I cannot say it was an assassination or an attempted assassination on Desmosthene, because I do not have all the evidence."
"We are waiting on all the evidence to come and as they come in we will inform everyone as this is a very important matter. It is so important that it concerns the institution as a whole because if we are where we are today, it simply means that something is not working well."
"So we took the measures we did so that we can know the full extent of our responsibilities when all the truth comes out."
"So despite all the work Chief LaCroix has done, he was the Chief of that precinct, we put him on leave so that we can collect all the evidence to know what really happened. If our investigation reveals that he did not have anything to do with what happened, then he will be back to his regular duties. But if he’s implicated then appropriate sanctions will be taken against him accordingly."
"Senator, you’ve also mentioned something about him intervening outside of his jurisdiction. Let me address this clearly for you: Here’s the problem, as the Director of the Police force, if I had a warrant to arrest someone in Croix des Bouquets, I would not call on an officer in that precinct to execute the warrant. Because those areas, namely, Tabarre, Croix des Bouquets, there is some kind of mixture, some type of mafia that are involved in stealing land; a group of mafia that involves police officers, notaries, surveyors, all types of people who used to be big landowners. Whenever you have a warrant to execute in the area and you call the local police chief, he won’t get it executed."
"It’s not that I don’t trust the police officers there; there are some people in that area, that for you to get them arrested you’d need a special force to get them arrested. That means, the people are complaining now, because LaCroix authorized the execution of a warrant outside of his jurisdiction. He can do that. He’s a police officer and he had a warrant. Normally, he should have inquired, and asked the local chief to help, but all that depends on the situation."
"As for Mr. Rony Volet, Senator, quite frankly, I don’t know what to tell you, LaCroix had a warrant."
ARTICLE - PNH TRAINING IN CROWD MANAGEMENT
THE PNH TRAINS INSTRUCTORS IN CROWD MANAGEMENT
(Haiti Libre) -
As part of the establishment of an Office of Continuous Training within the National Police of Haiti (PNH), 18 candidates have participated in a new training module for instructors in "crowd management". This training module, the third of its kind, focuses on defensive techniques and of interpellation as well as the use of force.
The third training module, prepared by the Mobile Training Team (MTT) of the MINUSTAH, is subsequent to the training courses held from October 11 to November 12, 2010 in "maintaining order" and from 12 to 21 January 2011 in "progression and penetration."
According to Eric Besville, a French police officer, working in the UNPOL, 11 candidates are from the Departmental Unit of Maintenance Order (UDMO), 3 from the Company for Intervention and Maintaining Order (CIMO) and 4 from the instructors body evolving at the Police Academy.
The students, first, learn how to use the stick (tonfa et telescopic stick of defense) in an appropriate manner and without abuse. They must then transmit this technique, while focusing on the educational aspect of the use of the stick, stated Jérôme Grisel, training officer, member of the United Nations Police (UNPOL), who stresses that for this purpose, each applicant has been evaluated "pedagogically and tactically."
According to Paolo Bonanno, stage Director, head of the MTT, the Haitian police suffers "of a notable lack of trainers in all professional fields." The establishment of an Office of Continuous Training, autonomous within the Police Academy is indispensable for the independence of the PNH. This office will be composed of referents or chief instructors, in different disciplines requiring a specialization, such as close protection, penetration techniques and intervention or maintaining order. The objective is the "start of a system so that the police force may, itself, form its members."
The principles and techniques taught as part of this training series, are based on a program developed by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in New York and designed for peacekeeping missions on the ground. These formations are funded by the French Cooperation Agency.
(Haiti Libre) -
As part of the establishment of an Office of Continuous Training within the National Police of Haiti (PNH), 18 candidates have participated in a new training module for instructors in "crowd management". This training module, the third of its kind, focuses on defensive techniques and of interpellation as well as the use of force.
The third training module, prepared by the Mobile Training Team (MTT) of the MINUSTAH, is subsequent to the training courses held from October 11 to November 12, 2010 in "maintaining order" and from 12 to 21 January 2011 in "progression and penetration."
According to Eric Besville, a French police officer, working in the UNPOL, 11 candidates are from the Departmental Unit of Maintenance Order (UDMO), 3 from the Company for Intervention and Maintaining Order (CIMO) and 4 from the instructors body evolving at the Police Academy.
The students, first, learn how to use the stick (tonfa et telescopic stick of defense) in an appropriate manner and without abuse. They must then transmit this technique, while focusing on the educational aspect of the use of the stick, stated Jérôme Grisel, training officer, member of the United Nations Police (UNPOL), who stresses that for this purpose, each applicant has been evaluated "pedagogically and tactically."
According to Paolo Bonanno, stage Director, head of the MTT, the Haitian police suffers "of a notable lack of trainers in all professional fields." The establishment of an Office of Continuous Training, autonomous within the Police Academy is indispensable for the independence of the PNH. This office will be composed of referents or chief instructors, in different disciplines requiring a specialization, such as close protection, penetration techniques and intervention or maintaining order. The objective is the "start of a system so that the police force may, itself, form its members."
The principles and techniques taught as part of this training series, are based on a program developed by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in New York and designed for peacekeeping missions on the ground. These formations are funded by the French Cooperation Agency.
ARTICLE - LEADERS DEMAND UN ACCOUNTABILITY
HAITIAN LEADERS DEMAND UN ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CHOLERA
(Defend Haiti) - By Sylvio Simon
PORT-AU-PRINCE - Leaders of national organizations in Haiti demanded accountability from the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH) for introducing a south Asian strain of cholera into the territory.
At a press conference Carole Pierre-Paul Jacob of the Organization for the Solidatiry of Women (SOFA) suggested the United Nations' "centers for the treatment of cholera" to be not satisfyingly contrite as a hypothetical United Nations "center for the prevention of cholera." Madam Jacob called for accountability and reparations from the world organization.
"We demand relief and reparations. And in terms of relief and reparations we demand that, one: MINUSTAH recognizes that this is a crime that is political, against human rights and against a nation, in regards to the question of cholera. They owe these people a public explanation and an apology."
"Secondly, that the money return into the coffers of the state, the $853 million that is being wasted, the money budgeted for MINUSTAH, it must be returned to the state so that it can find the means to care for those infected with cholera and to prevent cholera."
"And the next thing we ask, furthermore, we demand that all the soldiers of MINUSTAH, break up into groups to work with organizations like PAPDA and SOFA, and other organizations of social movements. We demand this, because we are not okay, firstly with the military occupation."
"And we demand, that the soldiers of MINUSTAH, in the first reparation that they can give to the people of Haiti, is to mobilize in every corner of the country, in all the thousands of villages, to go dig latrines, dig for potable aqueducts so that the peasants can find water, because it is because they can not find potable water that they are dying by the cholera."
"They must go and build pumps, it is this type of man power that is missing and we ask also that this is a national mobilization. And within this national mobilization there are other things that can be done."
"If the authorities of the state allow, they could mobilize masses of students that went to study in Cuba, that went to study medicine; there are a number of students now that are on vacation, they can go to the villages and help..."
"For us, we say, we don't want the CTC (cholera treatment center) anymore because the CTC is an organ for treatment, which means the person must already be infected."
"For us we want centers for prevention and treatment that we can call CPC."
"In the CPC, the prevention is a cultural prevention. For it is potable water we must introduce into the country, the peasants have never found potable water, and they must be able to find potable water today, and it is MINUSTAH who owes us this reparation."
To date, some 5,400 persons have died of cholera and the first suggestion of accountability has pointed in the direction of the United Nations. A U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report published on the very day of this press conference found that a pipe dumping refuse into a stream, among other sanitation deficiencies at a MINUSTAH camp in Mirebalais as the source of the contamination.
Wednesday, President Michel Martelly welcomed the new head of MINUSTAH, Chilean, Mariano Fernandez to his post and asked that the new head of the mission encourage more visibility from the soldiers, in terms of law enforcement and more participation in reconstruction projects.
(Defend Haiti) - By Sylvio Simon
PORT-AU-PRINCE - Leaders of national organizations in Haiti demanded accountability from the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH) for introducing a south Asian strain of cholera into the territory.
At a press conference Carole Pierre-Paul Jacob of the Organization for the Solidatiry of Women (SOFA) suggested the United Nations' "centers for the treatment of cholera" to be not satisfyingly contrite as a hypothetical United Nations "center for the prevention of cholera." Madam Jacob called for accountability and reparations from the world organization.
"We demand relief and reparations. And in terms of relief and reparations we demand that, one: MINUSTAH recognizes that this is a crime that is political, against human rights and against a nation, in regards to the question of cholera. They owe these people a public explanation and an apology."
"Secondly, that the money return into the coffers of the state, the $853 million that is being wasted, the money budgeted for MINUSTAH, it must be returned to the state so that it can find the means to care for those infected with cholera and to prevent cholera."
"And the next thing we ask, furthermore, we demand that all the soldiers of MINUSTAH, break up into groups to work with organizations like PAPDA and SOFA, and other organizations of social movements. We demand this, because we are not okay, firstly with the military occupation."
"And we demand, that the soldiers of MINUSTAH, in the first reparation that they can give to the people of Haiti, is to mobilize in every corner of the country, in all the thousands of villages, to go dig latrines, dig for potable aqueducts so that the peasants can find water, because it is because they can not find potable water that they are dying by the cholera."
"They must go and build pumps, it is this type of man power that is missing and we ask also that this is a national mobilization. And within this national mobilization there are other things that can be done."
"If the authorities of the state allow, they could mobilize masses of students that went to study in Cuba, that went to study medicine; there are a number of students now that are on vacation, they can go to the villages and help..."
"For us, we say, we don't want the CTC (cholera treatment center) anymore because the CTC is an organ for treatment, which means the person must already be infected."
"For us we want centers for prevention and treatment that we can call CPC."
"In the CPC, the prevention is a cultural prevention. For it is potable water we must introduce into the country, the peasants have never found potable water, and they must be able to find potable water today, and it is MINUSTAH who owes us this reparation."
To date, some 5,400 persons have died of cholera and the first suggestion of accountability has pointed in the direction of the United Nations. A U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report published on the very day of this press conference found that a pipe dumping refuse into a stream, among other sanitation deficiencies at a MINUSTAH camp in Mirebalais as the source of the contamination.
Wednesday, President Michel Martelly welcomed the new head of MINUSTAH, Chilean, Mariano Fernandez to his post and asked that the new head of the mission encourage more visibility from the soldiers, in terms of law enforcement and more participation in reconstruction projects.
ARTICLE - STUDY - UN BROUGHT CHOLERA TO HAITI
STUDY SUGGESTS UN FORCE BROUGHT CHOLERA TO HAITI
(AP) - By Jonathan M. Katz
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Evidence "strongly suggests" that a United Nations peacekeeping mission brought a cholera strain to Haiti that has killed thousands of people, a study by a team of epidemiologists and physicians says.
The study is the strongest argument yet that newly-arrived Nepalese peacekeepers at a base near the town of Mirebalais brought with them the cholera, which spread through the waterways of the Artibonite region and elsewhere in this impoverished Caribbean country.
The disease has killed more than 5,500 people and sickened more than 363,000 others since it was discovered in October, according to the Haitian government.
"Our findings strongly suggest that contamination of the Artibonite (river) and 1 of its tributaries downstream from a military camp triggered the epidemic," said the report in the July issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The article says there is "an exact correlation" in time and place between the arrival of a Nepalese battalion from an area of its South Asian homeland that was experiencing a cholera outbreak and the appearance of the first cases in the Meille river a few days later.
The remoteness of the Meille river in central Haiti and the absence of other factors make it unlikely that the cholera strain could have come to Haiti in any other way, the report says.
In an email U.N. mission spokeswoman Sylvie Van Den Wildenberg didn't comment on the findings of the article published in the CDC journal, referring only to a study released in May by a U.N.-appointed panel.
That panel's report found that the cholera outbreak was caused by a South Asian strain imported by human activity that contaminated the Meille river where the U.N. base of the Nepalese peacekeepers is located. The study also found that bad sanitation at the camp would've made contamination of the water system possible.
But the U.N. report refrained from blaming any single group for the outbreak. While no other potential source of the bacteria itself was named, the report attributed the outbreak to a "confluence of circumstances," including a lack of water infrastructure in Haiti and Haitians' dependence on the river system.
The panel's report was ordered by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as anti-U.N. protests spread in Haiti and mounting circumstantial evidence pointed to the troops.
Before that, for nearly two months after the outbreak last October, the United Nations, CDC and World Health Organization refused to investigate the origin of the cholera, saying that it was more important to treat patients than to try to figure out the source.
The article published in the CDC journal comes as health workers in Haiti wrestle with a spike in the number of cholera cases brought on by several weeks of rainfall. The aid group Oxfam said earlier this month that its workers were treating more than 300 new cases a day, more than three times what they saw when the disease peaked in the fall.
Cholera is caused by a bacteria that produces severe diarrhea and is contracted by eating or drinking contaminated food or water.
The disease has spread to the neighboring Dominican Republic, where more than 36 deaths have been reported since November.
Epidemiologist Renaud Piarroux, the lead author of the CDC journal article, was initially sent by the French government in late 2010 to investigate the origins of Haiti's outbreak. He authored a report for U.N. and Haitian officials that said the Nepalese peacekeepers likely caused the outbreak, a copy of which was obtained at the time by the AP.
The latest study was more complete and its methodology was reviewed by a group of scientists.
The new study argues it is important for scientists to determine the origin of cholera outbreaks and how they spread in order to eliminate "accidentally imported disease."
Moreover, the study says, figuring out the source of a cholera epidemic would help health workers better treat and prevent cholera by minimizing the "distrust associated with the widespread suspicions of a cover-up of a deliberate importation of cholera."
It also argues that demonstrating an imported origin would compel "international organizations to reappraise their procedures."
After cholera surfaced last fall, many Haitians believed the Nepalese peacekeepers were to blame, straining relations between the population and U.N. personnel and sparking angry protests. On the streets, cholera has become slang for something that must be banished from Haiti.
The new study is acknowledged in a commentary by a pair of public health experts affiliated with the CDC.
"However it occurred, there is little doubt that the organism was introduced to Haiti by a traveler from abroad, and this fact raises important public health considerations," wrote Scott Dowell, director of the CDC's Division of Global Disease Detection and Emergency Response, and Christopher Braden, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC.
Associated Press writer Trenton Daniel reported this story from Port-au-Prince and Jonathan M. Katz reported from Mexico City.
Trenton Daniel can be followed at http://twitter.com/trentondaniel; Jonathan M. Katz can be followed at http://twitter.com/KatzOnEarth.
(AP) - By Jonathan M. Katz
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Evidence "strongly suggests" that a United Nations peacekeeping mission brought a cholera strain to Haiti that has killed thousands of people, a study by a team of epidemiologists and physicians says.
The study is the strongest argument yet that newly-arrived Nepalese peacekeepers at a base near the town of Mirebalais brought with them the cholera, which spread through the waterways of the Artibonite region and elsewhere in this impoverished Caribbean country.
The disease has killed more than 5,500 people and sickened more than 363,000 others since it was discovered in October, according to the Haitian government.
"Our findings strongly suggest that contamination of the Artibonite (river) and 1 of its tributaries downstream from a military camp triggered the epidemic," said the report in the July issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The article says there is "an exact correlation" in time and place between the arrival of a Nepalese battalion from an area of its South Asian homeland that was experiencing a cholera outbreak and the appearance of the first cases in the Meille river a few days later.
The remoteness of the Meille river in central Haiti and the absence of other factors make it unlikely that the cholera strain could have come to Haiti in any other way, the report says.
In an email U.N. mission spokeswoman Sylvie Van Den Wildenberg didn't comment on the findings of the article published in the CDC journal, referring only to a study released in May by a U.N.-appointed panel.
That panel's report found that the cholera outbreak was caused by a South Asian strain imported by human activity that contaminated the Meille river where the U.N. base of the Nepalese peacekeepers is located. The study also found that bad sanitation at the camp would've made contamination of the water system possible.
But the U.N. report refrained from blaming any single group for the outbreak. While no other potential source of the bacteria itself was named, the report attributed the outbreak to a "confluence of circumstances," including a lack of water infrastructure in Haiti and Haitians' dependence on the river system.
The panel's report was ordered by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as anti-U.N. protests spread in Haiti and mounting circumstantial evidence pointed to the troops.
Before that, for nearly two months after the outbreak last October, the United Nations, CDC and World Health Organization refused to investigate the origin of the cholera, saying that it was more important to treat patients than to try to figure out the source.
The article published in the CDC journal comes as health workers in Haiti wrestle with a spike in the number of cholera cases brought on by several weeks of rainfall. The aid group Oxfam said earlier this month that its workers were treating more than 300 new cases a day, more than three times what they saw when the disease peaked in the fall.
Cholera is caused by a bacteria that produces severe diarrhea and is contracted by eating or drinking contaminated food or water.
The disease has spread to the neighboring Dominican Republic, where more than 36 deaths have been reported since November.
Epidemiologist Renaud Piarroux, the lead author of the CDC journal article, was initially sent by the French government in late 2010 to investigate the origins of Haiti's outbreak. He authored a report for U.N. and Haitian officials that said the Nepalese peacekeepers likely caused the outbreak, a copy of which was obtained at the time by the AP.
The latest study was more complete and its methodology was reviewed by a group of scientists.
The new study argues it is important for scientists to determine the origin of cholera outbreaks and how they spread in order to eliminate "accidentally imported disease."
Moreover, the study says, figuring out the source of a cholera epidemic would help health workers better treat and prevent cholera by minimizing the "distrust associated with the widespread suspicions of a cover-up of a deliberate importation of cholera."
It also argues that demonstrating an imported origin would compel "international organizations to reappraise their procedures."
After cholera surfaced last fall, many Haitians believed the Nepalese peacekeepers were to blame, straining relations between the population and U.N. personnel and sparking angry protests. On the streets, cholera has become slang for something that must be banished from Haiti.
The new study is acknowledged in a commentary by a pair of public health experts affiliated with the CDC.
"However it occurred, there is little doubt that the organism was introduced to Haiti by a traveler from abroad, and this fact raises important public health considerations," wrote Scott Dowell, director of the CDC's Division of Global Disease Detection and Emergency Response, and Christopher Braden, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC.
Associated Press writer Trenton Daniel reported this story from Port-au-Prince and Jonathan M. Katz reported from Mexico City.
Trenton Daniel can be followed at http://twitter.com/trentondaniel; Jonathan M. Katz can be followed at http://twitter.com/KatzOnEarth.
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