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25321: Leiderman: (news) calling the shots in Haiti (fwd)





From: Stuart M Leiderman <leidermn@cisunix.unh.edu>


dear Readers:

excerpts from the most recent Haiti report by the Organization of American States, dated May 18th, is appended below. for the full report: <http://www.oas.org/documents/eng/Haiti/Haiti_Fourth_Quarterlyl+Report_of_the_SG_Eglish.doc>

thanks,

Stuart Leiderman

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PERMANENT COUNCIL

OEA/Ser.G
CP/doc.4037/05
18 May 2005
Original:  English


FOURTH QUARTERLY REPORT OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL ON THE SITUATION IN HAITI AND ON THE WORK OF THE OAS SPECIAL MISSION FOR STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY IN HAITI PURSUANT TO AG/RES. 2058 (XXXIV-O/04)

<snip>

BACKGROUND

This fourth report of the Secretary General to the Permanent Council, pursuant to Paragraph 15 of resolution AG/RES 2058 (XXXIV-O/04) of 8 June, 2004, describes the current situation in Haiti, discusses the work of the OAS Special Mission for Strengthening Democracy in Haiti (Special Mission), including the OAS Electoral Technical Assistance Program in Haiti (ETAPH), between mid -March and mid-May 2005. The report also gives a brief overview of the implementation of recommendations made in AG/RES 2058 (XXXIV-O/04).


WORK OF THE SPECIAL MISSION

Pursuant to paragraph 2 of resolution AG/RES 2058 (XXXIV-O/04), which requested that the OAS Special Mission should assist the Haitian Provisional Electoral Council in the preparation, organization and overseeing of elections, the OAS Electoral Technical Assistance Program in Haiti (ETAPH) has been established in Port-au-Prince. As was mandated, the ETAPH is functioning in cooperation with the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH). In accordance with the memorandum of understanding with the UN, the primary responsibility of ETAPH is to provide technical assistance to the CEP in the registration of voters; voter registration began on April 25.

<snip>

The OAS Special Mission facilitated the recruitment by the Government of Haiti of 21 specialized Haitian consultants to work in various ministries of the interim government to assist with the formulation and delivery of policies.

A technical advisor continued to work closely with the Director General of the Haitian National Police (HNP), consolidating the leadership skills of the latter and bringing about significant improvements in the selection and training of high- ranking officers, including commissioners and inspectors. The technical advisor's work has also developed the HNP's capacity to prepare and execute security operations.

<snip>

The OAS Special Mission has also accompanied Haitian human rights and civil society organizations, including the government's Ombudsman's Office, providing them with technical advice as they have adapted to the new challenges of the transition. After a detailed evaluation of their needs, the OAS Special Mission has provided finance for equipment, specialized consultants, and appropriate training for workers throughout the country. A civil society organization active in monitoring human rights in the turbulent and indigent neighborhood of Cite Soleil has benefited from office equipment, and the Special Mission facilitated outreach activities of the Lawyers' Committee on Individual Liberties (CARLI) which aim to raise public awareness on international human rights law. The Catholic Church's Justice and Peace Commission also benefited from grants for training in human rights monitoring, as did the National Network for Defence of Human Rights, (formerly the National Coalition on Haitian Rights, NCHR). It has also provided technical advice to human rights organizations on how to prepare complaints for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Further, the Special Mission has been monitoring, very closely, the situation regarding the cases of members of the former administration, information on which will be addressed in other sections of this report.

<snip>

In conjunction with the Department of Democratic and Political Affairs of the General Secretariat of the OAS, the SM facilitated the participation of a delegation of three Haitian politicians from different parties in the Caribbean Meeting of the Inter-American Forum on Political Parties in Montego Bay, Jamaica from April 27-29, addressing the particular challenges facing Haitian political parties.

<snip>

A most positive development was the launch of voter registration in the city of Gonaives on April 25th. Political parties also held assemblies, in some cases nominating presidential and other candidates. Given the high number of political parties in Haiti, mergers of some was an encouraging sign, in particular the merger of three parties to form the Social Democrats Fusion, a party linked to the Socialist International.

<snip>

An Ad Hoc Advisory group of the UN Economic and Social Council visited Haiti for four days in mid-April, to gather information for its long term plan for Haiti. The Ad Hoc Advisory group declared on departure that its priorities for projects will be in education, environment and infrastructure.

A governmental decree declaring the launch of the National Dialogue was published on 6 April. The government announced the creation of a commission of 12 people to organize the dialogue, which will bring together Haitians of all sectors in all the provinces in the lead up to elections, aiming to promote depolarization and facilitate reconciliation. The National Dialogue format has however not been welcomed by all sectors.

Speaking from South Africa, former President Aristide continued to encourage his supporters to mobilize for his return. The Lavalas Family continued to be ambiguous as to whether or not it will participate in elections, with some of its members calling for a boycott, and others encouraging supporters to register, in case the party decides to participate.

<snip>

A Ministerial Meeting on Aid for the Reconstruction of Haiti, convened by the French Foreign Ministry in Cayenne, French Guyana, on March 18, mobilized 782 million Euros for 380 infrastructural and social projects. International donors agreed to relax disbursement procedures to speed up implementation of projects to satisfy the Haitian population's urgent needs.

<snip>

Following the serious spate of gun violence that rocked several neighbourhoods of the capital late March /early April, HNP carried out an operation to arrest Remissainthe Ravix and Rene Jean Anthony over the weekend of April 9/10. The operation resulted in a shoot-out and the deaths of Ravix and Anthony, which brought a lull in the violence in the city.

<snip>

Throughout the month of April, there was a spate of kidnappings of high profile individuals, including a prominent cardiologist, school directors, Jean-Enol Buteau, general secretary of the Movement for National Reconstruction, a Russian civilian employee of MINUSTAH and an unnamed HNP officer. This phenomenon has also been observed in Cap Haitien. Most kidnapping victims were released on payment of ransoms, with some managing to escape or be released by the police with the assistance of MINUSTAH. Former victims' accounts suggested that some HNP officers may be involved in some kidnapping activities.

<snip>

The most important advancement during this period was the launching of voter registration on April 25 in the city of Gonaives, Department of L'Artibonite, a location chosen by the CEP for its national symbolism as the birthplace of Haitian independence. To date, thirteen registration offices have been successfully opened across the country, with at least one office opened in each provincial capital and some rural localities, which together will cover registration for close to 20% of the voting-age population. The CEP has expressed general satisfaction with the development of the process in the centers that are already functioning and reports from the media have been favorable. In support of this process, the Electoral Technical Assistance Program of the OAS in Haiti (ETAPH) has been working intensely to deploy the necessary equipment to the sites, train the required registration personnel that are being recruited by the CEP for the process, and follow registration activity in the field to ensure smooth technical operations.

Registration centres have reported very few technical problems. The rate of registration in operating centres is good, despite there having been little available public information on the process, since the CEP launched its information campaigns only on May 16. Equal participation by all age groups has so far been noted. However, less than 25% of those registered so far are women. The OAS Program has raised this publicly, and encouraged companies contracted by the CEP to conduct public information campaigns to promote greater participation by women.

<snip>

Haitian electoral law puts the deadline to complete registration at August 9, 2005, a full two months before the first elections, which are municipal elections, scheduled for October 9th. With registration beginning at the end of April, the time available for registration has been reduced to a little over three months, with the majority of sites still unopened around the country.

This slow pace of center openings is due to delays primarily in preparing infrastructure, the lack of adequate security personnel to provide static security to sites, and the lack of sufficient personnel for operations.

<snip>

The elections budget itself has been an important issue requiring full collaboration among partners during this period. Together, the executing organizations worked extensively with donor countries and institutions on reviewing and detailing the budget, which marked an increase from US$44 to 61m, required for additional costs in security, civic education, infrastructure, ground transportation, and information technology equipment, under-budgeted in the original budget projections or which became more costly as the time available for registration and the preparation of elections themselves became shorter. On May 12 a project document for the management of elections funds by the UNDP was signed by Prime Minister Latortue, the CEP, and the local heads of OAS, UNDP and MINUSTAH. The document is an updated version of the January 10 project, to include the revised $US60.7m budget and acknowledge the deposit of the EU contribution of 10 million Euros.

<snip>

The ETAPH met during this period with three Canadian consultants, sent on elections-related missions to Haiti to evaluate the developing situation. Mr. Ron Gould was specifically charged with the task of examining, reviewing, and reporting on the elections budget situation and the overall electoral process. Mr. Gould recommended that voter registration and the issuance of National Identification Cards be highly prioritized. Since Mr. Gould's report, various government entities involved in the registration of citizens and the issuing of ID cards, together with the CEP and assisted by the UN and the OAS, have already drafted and submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval, a decree denoting the ID Card referred to in the electoral law as an obligatory document, and specifying its additional use (other than for voting) for everyday civil, political and commercial activities. The adoption of this decree would be of great significance for the registration process, since the possibility of obtaining, free of charge, a durable, reliable and multi-purpose identification card would be an added incentive for many to register.

<snip>

The transitional period provided a unique opportunity to break with the practices of the past and to build a judicial system upon the foundation of the Constitution of Haiti and key Inter-American and international civil and human rights instruments.

<snip>

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