Haiti's President Chooses Jean Henry Ceant as Country's Next PM
PORT-AU-PRINCE —
Haitian President Jovenel Moise said Sunday he had picked Jean Henry Ceant, 61, to be his next prime minister.
Moise unveiled his choice following two days of intense negotiations with leaders of both houses of Parliament, three weeks after riots against rising fuel prices wreaked havoc in Port-au-Prince.
"After consultations with the Presidents of the two branches of Parliament, I made the choice of citizen @jeanhenryceant as new Prime Minister," the president said on Twitter.
A one-time notary by profession and former presidential candidate in 2016, Ceant leads a political organization called Renmen Ayiti.
If he wins approval from Parliament, he will be Moise's second prime minister.
Deadly violence hit the Caribbean country last month during mass protests sparked when the government announced major fuel price hikes -- 38 percent for gasoline, 47 percent for diesel and 51 percent for kerosene.
The early July demonstrations in the capital Port-au-Prince and other cities saw streets blocked with barricades of debris and burning tires.
At least four people were killed as dozens of shops were looted and burned and cars were set ablaze.
In a quick about-face the government called off the planned price increases.
Former prime minister Jack Guy Lafontant – a physician who had little political experience before taking office in February 2017 – had faced widespread criticism even before the spasm of violence.
The embattled politician resident in the unrest's wake, triggering a fraught process to form a new government.
New prime minister announced in Haiti weeks after deadly protests
By Spencer Feingold, CNN
Updated 4:45 AM ET, Mon August 6, 2018
(CNN)Haitian President Jovenel Moise announced on Sunday that Jean-Henry Céant will be the nation's new prime minister.
"Following consultations with the Presidents of the two branches of Parliament, I made the choice of the citizen Jean-Henry Céant as the new prime Minister," President Moise said in an official tweet.
The announcement comes three weeks after former Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigned amid violent and deadly protests sparked by a proposed plan to significantly raise fuel prices. A former notary by profession, Céant has long been involved in Haitian politics and was a presidential candidate in 2016.
Election posters of current President Jovenel Moise and newly appointed Prime Minister Jean Henry Céant in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 2015.
"I thank the President of the Republic for choosing me as his Prime Minister and welcome the commitment of the Presidents of both chambers," Céant tweeted, referring to the two chambers of Haiti's National Assembly. "I understand the scope of the task and the challenges that await me."
Former Prime Minister Lafontant resigned on July 14 in front of the nation's parliament before he was due to face a vote of no confidence.
Lafontant's government came under fire after protesters took to the streets in early July in response to a controversial plan that would have increased the cost of gasoline by 38%, diesel by 47% and kerosene by 51%.
Looting broke out on the streets of Haiti's capital on July 8, after two days of deadly protests over ultimately suspended fuel price hikes.
At least two people -- a police officer and social leader -- were killed in violent demonstrations in the capital Port-au-Prince, according to Yves Germain Joseph, the general secretary of Haiti's National Palace.
The UN praised the composure of Haitian police officers while managing recent events
While criticized by some for his management of police forces during the recent riots caused by an increase of petroleum products, the director of the National Police Force of Haiti (PNH), MICHEL ANGE GÉDÉON, received praises from Mamadou Diallo.
Rezo Nodwes
The Managing director of the PNH, Michel-angel Gédéon, received a visit recently from the Special Representative of the General Secretary of the United Nations in Haiti, Dr. Mamadou Diallo.
In his introduction, he congratulated the calm manner in which law enforcement officers managed the recent riots in Haiti. These actions demonstrated an improvement for the respect of human rights by the PNH. The praise given to PNH confirmed the interest and the support which the MINUJUSTH has for the development of the capacities of Haiti’s police according to its mandate.
DACA program should be fully restarted, federal judge rules.
A federal judge on Friday ordered a total restart of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, in a hit to the Trump administration.
The administration last year announced its plan to phase out the program, which provides a level of amnesty to certain illegal immigrants, many of whom came to the U.S. as children.
The order is not set to kick in right away, according to Politico, which notes that the government has until Aug. 23 to file a motion to appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge John Bates.
However, the judge denied a motion by the government to revise its earlier decision in April -- which determined that the Department of Homeland Security's decision to rescind DACA was "unlawful," according to court documents.
WHAT IS DACA AND WHAT DOES THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WANT TO DO WITH IT?
Following that decision, the court issued a 90-day stay acknowledging that the "DHS could possibly remedy the decision's inadequacies -- at least in theory." That period of time is now over, the judge said. "For the reasons explained below, the government's motion will be denied," the document read. "Although the Nielsen Memo purports to offer further explanation for DHS' decision to rescind DACA, it fails to elaborate meaningfully on the agency's primary rationale for its decision: the judgment that the policy was unlawful and unconstitutional."
ADMINISTRATION ENDS DACA, WITH 6-MONTH DELAY
The DACA program was formed through executive action by former President Barack Obama in 2012 and allowed certain people who came to the U.S. illegally as minors to be protected from immediate deportation. Recipients, widely known as Dreamers, were able to request "consideration of deferred action" for a period of two years, which was subject to renewal.
Individuals were able to request DACA status if they were under the age of 31 by June 15, 2012, came to the U.S. before turning 16 and continuously lived in the country since June 15, 2007.
It did not provide "legal status."
Humanitarian crisis: the FAO believes that Haiti is neglected by the international community
Rezo Nodwes
The crises in Haiti was among the most sub-financed, as were those in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and in the region of Sahel
A new report of the FAO blew the whistle on some of the least financed crises in the world and urged that in the face of future instability, a humanitarian response should be required as well as some emergency agricultural help.
According to the United Nations agency, without the necessary financing, new challenges such as droughts, floods, poor crops or conflicts could pull millions of people towards grave sufferings linked to hunger and food insecurity, threatening people’s lives, well-being, and their future.