Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 29 janvier 2020

 WYCLEF JEAN RAISES $25M TO FINANCE MUSIC PUBLISHING SERVICES In AFRICA And DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

By Tommy Williams

"The generous charitable initiatives established by three-time Grammy Award winner Wyclef Jean, in his native Haiti and other developing countries in Africa, are a significant part of his legacy. Jean hopes to see these regions continue to thrive and, more recently, has turned his attention to the fast-growing music genre of #Afrobeats, which has had a burst of commercial success globally, in 2018 and 2019. I spoke with Wyclef Jean about his newest venture Carnival World Music Group, which has just raised an impressive $25M in capital funding. The group seeks to democratize the global music marketplace for songwriters and producers in developing regions, whilst contributing to further empower dynamic women-owned businesses in the music industry.

Wyclef Jean Connects With His African Heritage

Jean, 50, is a #Haitian native who migrated to the US at the age of 9. He was always aware of his African heritage, calling Haitians “the Nigerians of the #Caribbean” and Jean, in his own words, is “almost 100% #Nigerian”, confirmed by a DNA ancestry test. His music has always been influenced by his Haitian and #African roots and, in 2004, Jean made his first trip to Africa to perform with music legend Fela Kuti’s son Femi Kuti. Jean had released a song titled “Diallo” in memory of Amadou Diallo, a 23-year-old Guinean immigrant who was shot 19 times by four New York City policemen in 1999. The song did not get much play in the US.

Kobe Bryant's Daughter Gianna, 13, Dead Alongside Father in Calabasas Helicopter Crash

The NBA legend and his daughter were both onboard the private helicopter

Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna ALLEN BEREZOVSKY/GETTY

Kobe Bryant’s daughter Gianna also died in the Calabasas helicopter crash that killed her father.

Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, nicknamed Gigi, was also onboard the private helicopter when it went down on Sunday, reps for the former basketball player told TMZ Sports. The outlet said that Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant — with whom he shares all four children — was not onboard.

Emergency personnel responded but none of the nine people onboard survived, a spokesperson for the LA county sheriff’s office said during a press conference.

Sources told ESPN that the helicopter was headed to a travel basketball game for Gianna, and that the other passengers were another player and their parent.

Bryant is survived by Vanessa, 37, and their daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months.

Spokespersons for LA county sheriff’s office and LAPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Singer Yama Laurent, winner of La Voix 2018, soon in Haiti

Winner of the La Voix au Québec competition in 2018, Yama Laurent does not intend to savor alone the success and experience she gained after her victory. Two years later, she launched the “Miss Côte des Arcadins” contest, which recruited girls aged 17 to 27 living nearby. On site, a team is working hard. The champion will be present for the final scheduled for the end of the year.

JAZZ FESTIVAL IN PORT AU-PRINCE

Defying the crisis, international jazz made Port-au-Prince vibrate

The light rain did not prevent spectators from dancing in front of the stage, where Saturday night Canadian Dawn Taylor Watson sang. This proved that the international jazz festival of Port-au-Prince was a breath of fresh air prized in Haiti, in the midst of a socio-political crisis.

Pap Jazz, as it is regulars call it, has gained its place on the international scene at a time when the world capitals of the musical genre are shivering under negative temperatures. But this 14th edition was the most complex to implement.

"We changed the programming schedule 15 times. It was very, very complicated but we never thought for a second that we were not doing this festival, never a second," says Milena Sandler, director of the Haiti Jazz Foundation, organizer of the festival.

Inauguration of the MIDAS installation at the Directorate of Immigration and Emigration (DIE) in the official border point in Malpasse

22^nd January 2020

 On Wednesday 22^nd January 2020 the installation of the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) was inaugurated at the office of the Directorate of Immigration and Emigration (DIE) in Malpasse. Various personalities participated in this event, including the Director of the Ministry of Interior and Territorial Collectivities, the Director of the DIE, the United States Ambassador in Haiti, the Director of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration, and the Director of the Anti-Corruption Unit. This inauguration is a very important date as the use of MIDAS marks a significant step forward in border management in Haiti.

 Developed in 2009 by IOM, the MIDAS system collects, process, store and analyses traveler information in real time. People entering and leaving Haiti are now controlled more efficiently through this new computerized system, thus contributing to increased border security. MIDAS facilitates crossing of travelers through the automatic capture of biometric information, as well as the work of DIE officers. According to information shared by the DIE, from 1st to 31st December 2019, 22,551 persons have already been registered. 

 As indicated by the Director of the DIE, Mr. Joseph Cianciulli, "the DIE no longer only produces passports, it now has full control over migration control".  For his part, the Chief of Mission of IOM Haiti, Mr. Giuseppe Loprete, stressed that "IOM's support in the installation of MIDAS at the Malpasse border point is only the beginning. As of this year, the Ouanaminthe and Belladère border points will also have MIDAS, and then potentially the international airports of Cap Haïtien and Port-au-Prince, in order to have an interconnected national migration control system". 

 The Ambassador of the United States remarked, “The inauguration of Haiti’s first MIDAS installation here in Malpasse represents an important step in modernizing the cross-border travel between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.  [It is] an excellent example of cooperation among the Haitian government, the United States government, and IOM.”

 The MIDAS system has been operational in Malpasse since 28 November 2019 thanks to funding from the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).

U.N. is committed to addressing its peacekeepers’ sexual abuse of women in Haiti | Opinion

BY CATHERINE POLLARD AND JEAN-PIERRE LACROIX

JANUARY 21, 2020 05:18 PM 

 A recent report on the children fathered by U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti is deeply disturbing.

So let us be clear: Sexual exploitation and abuse by U.N. personnel is unacceptable, and we are fully committed to the secretary-general’s zero-tolerance policy. It harms victims and tarnishes the reputation of thousands of our personnel who serve with honor and distinction. It undermines the trust necessary between our personnel and the millions of people we have pledged to protect and serve.

We will do everything possible to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse, address cases when they do occur and support victims and their families — including children fathered by U.N. personnel — and ensure that paternity issues are addressed comprehensively.

The United Nations has a unique responsibility to set a global standard for preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse by those with power and addressing its impact effectively and humanely. The secretary-general has put the rights and dignity of victims at the forefront of efforts to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse and respond to it should they occur.

In countries where U.N. personnel are deployed, our teams train them, raise awareness with communities and receive and respond to complaints. Teams on the ground receive reports, and community networks help victims know where to go to seek help. More people are coming forward as a result, and we are better able to respond.

Our partners on the ground provide medical, psycho-social, protection and legal support, in addition to livelihood opportunities. For example, victims have been referred to partner associations in the Central African Republic for health and livelihood support and for medical services in South Sudan. International humanitarian partners provide crucial services in many field locations.

We have established a trust fund that directly helps victims and others at risk make a living. In Haiti, for example, the United Nations and its partners enable children born of sexual exploitation and abuse go to school and help their mothers gain employment, including by opening their own businesses.

We have also established a special coordinator on improving the U.N. response to sexual exploitation and abuse by U.N. personnel, created a voluntary compact with 103 member states on our mutual commitment to prevent this scourge. By joining a Circle of Leadership, 87 heads of state and government have demonstrated their commitment at the highest political level to stand with us against this scourge.

But the United Nations cannot do it alone. We need the full cooperation of our member states to produce real results for victims. They must ensure that the uniformed personnel they contribute are selected and trained in a way that embed an understanding of zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse. They must act quickly on credible allegations and put the required legislation and processes in place so perpetrators can be held to account and victims receive effective remedies. For the sake of the victims and communities, and to promote greater transparency, the United Nations needs to be informed about the results of their actions. Our contractors must also demonstrate that they have mechanisms in place to ensure their employees are trained and that they receive reports and discipline offenders.

We encourage all who become aware of cases of sexual exploitation and abuse to refer victims and witnesses to U.N. offices and their partners on the ground for assistance and follow-up. It is our duty to hear them.

All of us have a joint commitment to the victims and all those who believe in the U.N. Charter to honor its values. We cannot let them down.

Catherine Pollard is U.N. undersecretary-general for management strategy, policy and compliance. Jean-Pierre Lacroix is undersecretary-general for peace operations.

U.S. demands firm date for next round of elections in Haiti | Miami Herald

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES AND

NORA GÁMEZ TORRES

JANUARY 23, 2020 05:03 PM 

Secretary Pompeo discusses need for elections in Haiti

el Nuevo Herald / Miami Herald reporter Nora Gámez Torres asks U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the situation in Haiti where President Jovenel Moïse is ruling the country by decree. BY EMILY MICHOT

Haiti must set a firm date for the next round of elections, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo says.

“That is the most important thing,” Pompeo said in an exclusive interview Thursday with the Miami Herald. “We need to have the elections. That is important.”

The Trump administration’s position comes as Haiti President Jovenel Moïse seeks to use his recently obtained power to rule by executive order to reform the country’s constitution, a controversial move that some fear could delay the holding of elections and plunge Haiti deeper into already protracted political crisis.

Moïse first called for constitutional reform during the Jan. 12 commemoration of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake. He soon followed up with a statement from his office. The statement said he was working on delivering a unity government that would be empowered to pass a budget, pass laws enabling elections and equally, would “propose constitutional changes to address flaws in the 1987 text, which have contributed to a decades-long cycle of political crises.”

He also said that political parties and international partners, in discussions, all agree “on the need to amend the 1987 constitution to enable our government to function.”

But some see the push for constitutional reform as a stalling tactic, and said the president will need to choose.

Pompeo, meanwhile, is adamant. He said the administration believes that “within the Haitian government, they have the capacity and the capability and the lawful right to do that.”

Pompeo said he raised the elections matter with Haitian Foreign Minister Bocchit Edmond on the sidelines of a round-table discussion this week in Jamaica with a select group of Caribbean ministers. “We urge them to set a timetable; set a firm date for those elections,” Pompeo said.

Moïse’s statement did not say how he planned to change the constitution. Some close to him have suggested by referendum, while others have said through a political agreement. Both avenues pose problems, even among those who support constitutional changes.

The constitution, itself, outlines when and how it can be modified and that window closed last year when the president of the Lower Chamber of Deputies, Gary Bodeau, and the presidential palace, failed to approve recommendations by a legislative special commission in charge of constitutional reform that had spent two years working on proposed amendments. Proposed amendments to the constitution would have had to be done at the close of the last regular session of the legislative year, which was Sept. 9.

“A constitutional reform should be part of a global political agreement where all political and civil society actors agree on a road map containing key objectives leading to elections. It can’t be a separate project,” said Jerry Tardieu, the ex-lawmaker who chaired the special constitutional reform commission.

“Changing the constitution requires a large consensus among Haiti’s political and civil society forces. We are far from there,” he added. “He can’t even find a consensus to form a government let a lone touch the constitution.”

Haiti has been without a legal government since the lower chamber fired Prime Minister Jean Henry Céant in March. Attempts by Moïse to ratify two other choices were blocked in the Senate where he controlled a majority, but a small group of opposition lawmakers used various tactics to block the hearings.

Some question whether Haiti can hold elections in the current security and political environment. Though the protests that paralyzed the country last year have dissipated and life has returned somewhat to normal, the issues that triggered the economic and political crises remain, observers stress.

The country is seeing a worrying resurgence in kidnappings with Haiti police registering 15 since the beginning of this year. There is also a rise in gang-related insecurity. On Wednesday, residents and merchants not too far from the Parliament building, along with government workers assigned there, were forced to flee amid a gang-on-gang shootout.

Parliamentary and local elections in Haiti were due in October. The country’s failure to hold them meant that Parliament became dysfunctional on Jan. 13, ushering in Moïse’s one-man rule.

He announced the end of Parliament in an early morning post on Twitter, saying that the legislative terms of the entire 119-member Lower Chamber of Deputies had expired along with that of two-thirds — 19 out of 29 — of the Senate. The tweet ended speculation about whether 10 or 19 senators would be dismissed, but triggered a new controversy.

Six of the 19 senators are contesting their dismissal and are accusing the president of violating the constitution and the 2015 electoral law under which they ran. Their six-year mandate, they argue, began in January 2016 and runs until the second Monday of January 2022.

The group has filed a grievance with the provisional elections body, and sent a letter address to nine international parliamentarian associations, pleading for help. Representatives of the public relations firm Mercury, which represents Moïse, did not respond to the Herald’s request for comment on the criteria used by the president to dismiss the senators, or their accusations against him.

In the letter, the ex-senators, which include the only elected female and a supporter of Moïse, accuse the president of trying to be a dictator. They note that on Jan. 14, they were blocked by Haitian police from accessing their offices at the Parliament.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 5 février 2020

 Haiti TPS Extended To January 2021

On Nov. 1, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would extend the validity of documentation of certain foreign nationals under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations. The notice, which is scheduled to be published in the Nov. 4 Federal Register, will apply to TPS beneficiaries from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan. TPS-related documentation, including Employment Authorization Documents (EAD), Forms I-797, and Forms I-94, will be automatically extended by this notice until Jan. 4, 2021. TPS designations for these countries were previously set to expire in January and March of 2020.

Haiti moving toward no longer subsidizing diesel and kerosene

On Wednesday, Jan. 29, in an interview with Le Nouvelliste, Jean-Michel Lapin, Interim Prime Minister, stated that “The State can’t continue to subsidize diesel and kerosene.” Lapin stressed the State can no longer afford to spend two billion gourdes each month to support petroleum products.

Haitian Police and judicial authorities determined to retrieve weapons of war

An important meeting took place on Jan. 29, between police officials, members of the judiciary and members of the National Commission for Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration. According to Radio Metropole, the National Commission has a long list of individuals who purchased weapons of war from trafficker Aby Larco. As a result, Haitian authorities are preparing a judicial offensive against them in order to retrieve these weapons.

Haitian First lady in Belize

First Lady, Martine MOISE, was in Belize, last Monday, January 27, 2020, to participate, at the Radison Fort George Hotel and Marina, in a forum around the theme: Adolescents and Youth engaged for change and a sustainable future (Youth and youth committed to change and a sustainable future).

6 Haitian Politicians Making Moves For The Diaspora In Florida

By Farah Louis

Haitian Times

Florida is home to the largest population of Haitians outside of the small island nation. Take a look below at some of the leading Haitian American politicians in Florida working for the Haitian Diaspora in Florida

Al Jacquet, a Haitian-American attorney and emerging leader from Broward County Florida is making strides in office after being elected commissioner in March 2012. Jacquet was appointed to vice president of the Planning and Zoning Board before his election in 2009 and served as a legislative aide in the Florida House of Representatives, handling complex and challenging legislation. Jacquet has a passion for city planning and organizational management and speaks four languages.

Michael A. Etienne, a young progressive lawyer from North Miami Florida was elected in May 2011 as the North Miami City Clerk. After graduating from law school in Florida A&M University, Etienne won his first trial at the early age of 23. He later went on to join the public defender’s office and served as a legislative aide in Florida’s House of Representatives until his race for City Clerk n 2011.

Philippe Bien-Aime, a North Miami councilman from District 3, won his City Council seat in May 2013. Bien-Aime a Haitian immigrant from Port-au-Prince, was a salesman who worked in the automobile industry for 20 years. Bien-Aime was a novice to politics before his first run for office. Bien-Aime has also been a devoted community leader throughout South Florida lobbying on immigration issues.

Residents of North Miami replaced suspended Mayor Lucie Tondreau, with newly-elected Mayor Smith Joseph in November 2014. Mayor Joseph, 52, is a political newcomer and former physician who practiced in North Miami, and ran for the leading seat during a runoff election. Joseph said to the Miami Herald, “There is no one more in touch with the city of North Miami than Dr. Smith Joseph.”

Democratic incumbent Daphne Campbell, 57, represents the Florida House of Representatives in the 108th District, which includes Miami, North Miami and northern Miami-Dade, since 2011. Campbell is from Cap-Haiten, Haiti where she attended nursing school and later became a registered nurse. Campbell and her husband moved to Florida where they founded a group home and a chain of nursing homes for the elderly.

Victoria Pierre Siplin, 40, a political guru since the earlier ages of her life, had her first taste of politics when she began working with the first African-American senator in Florida, Arnett E. Girardeau, and Senator Carrie P. Meek. Siplin was elected as the Commissioner of Orange County District 6 in November 2014.

Farah Louis

Community Relations Director for NYC Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, Freelance TV & Radio Producer, Haitian Times Reporter and Activist for Women's Rights.

Fears of coronavirus keep Chinese visitors confined to airplane on tarmac in Haiti

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus has sickened hundreds of people and killed more than two dozen people. Coronavirus is part of a family of viruses that ranges in severity. Learn more about the virus here. BY META VIERS

The drama over where flights from China can now land hit Haiti Friday when a private plane ferrying Chinese passengers landed on the tarmac in Port-au-Prince after being denied the right to land in the Bahamas and the neighboring Dominican Republic.

Ernst Renaud, the director of operations at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, told the Miami Herald the flight had originated in Dubai with a final destination of the Bahamas. The Bahamas, however, denied the passengers entry over fears of the coronavirus outbreak, which continues to spread and has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization.

The flight then turned around and went to the Dominican Republic where it refueled and then flew to Port-au-Prince. Wilson Lamour, an assistant to Renaud, said airport officials were unaware of the flight and it did not have permission to land. Once in Haiti, everyone was kept on the airplane due to the health risk.

“They are not being allowed to disembark for all of the reasons that you are aware of, the possibility of transmission of the coronavirus,” Renaud later said.

Lamour said the flight had a three-member crew and 11 passengers, including Chinese nationals. The pilots had run out of time and were being allowed to rest on the aircraft with the passengers.

Eddy Jackson Alexis, a government spokesman, said France and Portugal both agreed to accept the aircraft and its passengers. The pilots, he said, chose Portugal and were expected to depart Haiti at 2 a.m. Saturday.

“All measures are being taken to ensure that they do not physically come in contact with the Haitian territory,” said Alexis, who added that police officers were guarding the plane and making sure its doors remained shut.

URGENT: WHO DECREES INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY ON CORONAVIRUS

The Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Thursday, January 30, 2020, that the outbreak of the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV is an international public health emergency (PHEIC). In China, more than 7,700 cases have been confirmed and 170 people have died. There are 82 additional confirmed cases in 18 countries.

Dr. Tedros, acting on the advice of an emergency committee of experts chaired by Professor Didier Houssin, called on the world community “to provide support to low- and middle-income countries to respond to this event, as well as to facilitate access to diagnostics, potential vaccines and therapies.”

Haitian President Says He Wants to Reform Constitution

By The Associated Press

Jan. 17, 2020

HAVANA — Haitian President Jovenel Moïse says he wants to use his new power to rule by executive order to reform the constitution and make his country easier to govern. 

In a statement Friday, Moïse said he was negotiating with opposition leaders to form what he called “a unity government” that would propose a constitutional reform that would go to a national referendum this year. 

The constitutional reform would be aimed to strengthening Haiti's presidency and executive branch, although the statement doesn't not specify how it would do that. 

Haiti's 1987 constitution is seen by many observers as excessively dividing power between the executive and legislature in a way that fuels the country's political instability and frequent deadlock. 

Last year, for example, the country was unable to hold parliamentary elections because the parliament did not approve the budget necessary to hold the vote. As a result, the legislature was dissolved when members' terms ran out at the start of 2020, and Moïse began to rule by executive order. 

Haiti has been roiled by street protests and economic stagnation for much of Moïse's nearly three years in office as opposition leaders demand his departure, saying he has mismanaged the economy and failed to take on corruption. 

“We have a window of opportunity," Moïse said. "I want to take it to fix what has been broken in the Haitian system for far too long and finally allow us to move forward.”

Opposition leader Andre Michel said he favored a constitutional reform but only after Moïse was pushed out of office. 

“'We need a new constitution,” he said. “It will be put together by the transitional government, not Jovenel Moïse.”

Other opposition leaders did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment. 

_____

Correspondent Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, contributed to this report.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 12 février 2020

University Hospital in Haiti Earns Global Accreditation as Teaching Institution

Partners in Health

University Hospital in Mirebalais, Haiti, received accreditation from an international oversight group, affirming that the hospital meets the highest global standards as a teaching institution—and causing Dr. Paul Farmer to reach for a seat.  

“There’s a Haitian expression—news that demands a chair,” said Farmer, Partners In Health co-founder and chief strategist. “Usually it’s bad news, but this is truly exceptional. I have no way to express my gratitude and admiration to the Zanmi Lasante team. They have been tireless.”

PIH was founded in Haiti more than 30 years ago and is known in Haiti as Zanmi Lasante. The team opened University Hospital in Mirebalais in 2013, in collaboration with Haiti’s Ministry of Health. The 300-bed teaching hospital is home to residency programs in internal and family medicine, pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, nurse anesthetists, and emergency medicine. 

ACGME-I, the international arm of the U.S.-based Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, notified PIH of the institution’s accreditation this week, after a multi-year process and extensive analysis. University Hospital joins internationally accredited facilities in just seven other countries and is the first such facility in the Western Hemisphere, and the first in a low-income country.

Dr. Sterman Toussaint, director of medical education at University Hospital for Zanmi Lasante, emphasized that distinction.

“This is a big achievement,” he said. “Most of the time, institutions in high - and middle-income countries get access to accreditation - not institutions in low-income countries like Haiti. This is a reflection of the commitment of PIH and Zanmi Lasante to education.”

Toussaint noted that the accreditation application was due in September, during the height of recent political unrest in Haiti that essentially shut down the country. 

“Despite all of that, we have been able to meet the standards,” he said. “PIH is committed to meeting the standards that everyone is meeting around the world.”

Dr. Edward Hundert, dean for medical education at Harvard Medical School and an advisor to PIH, praised the milestone. 

“This achievement, of the internationally recognized highest standard for the educational programs at University Hospital, represents a truly wonderful validation of the years of hard work to build these programs, and of the outstanding quality of training that they represent,” he said. “This is exciting news not just for the hospital and the people who made it happen, but ultimately for all of the patients who will be cared for by the clinicians who train in these now ACGME-I accredited programs.”

Undocumented immigrant driver’s license bill gets approval from Massachusetts transportation committee

By Michael P. Norton of State House News Service

The Transportation Committee has given a favorable recommendation to legislation that would enable undocumented immigrants to access standard driver’s licenses in Massachusetts.

Barber told the News Service the bill has been reported favorably to the Senate. The committee said it recommended a redrafted version of a bill (S 2061) filed by Senator Brendan Crighton with Barber’s bill attached. Barber said she was “thrilled” about the vote and said she did not believe the bill had previously received a favorable vote in committee. 

“Folks have been amazing to work with,” Barber said, citing efforts by a coalition to advance the bill and the support of law enforcement for the legislation. Last year, Senate President Karen Spilka, speaking to the bill’s merits, said, “I believe that for public safety reasons, even just if you look at it alone, we should pass it … There’s like 14 other states that have done this and the sky hasn’t fallen.”

US EMBASSY OFFICE OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Haiti-DR Private Sector Meeting on Border Security and Control

Joint Statement

On February 5, 2020, representatives of private sector organizations and government officials from Haiti and the Dominican Republic met at the CODEVI industrial park along the border to further discussions on developing a more secure and prosperous border for both nations.  This was the third such meeting convened by the U. S. government in the past eight months, and included the participation of both U.S. Ambassadors and staff and State Department officials.  Representatives from both countries’ Customs agencies, the Haitian National Police, and CESFRONT also actively participated in the meeting.  The discussion focused on best practices for the private sector to increase transparency and to formalize cross-border trade, and on improving coordination between customs and security officials from both countries.  This initiative is part of broader efforts to increase formal trade and security along the Dominican Republic-Haiti border.  The group committed to continue efforts to transform the shared border into an engine for economic prosperity for the region.

(End of text)

HAÏTIAN PRESIDENT LAYS OUT TERMS FOR DEAL WITH OPPOSITION 

Michael Weissenstein

Published: February 7, 2020, 9:45 pm
Updated: February 7, 2020, 11:13 pm

PORT-AU-PRINCE – President Jovenel Moise said Friday that he is optimistic that negotiations with a coalition of his political opponents will succeed in forging a power-sharing deal to end months of deadlock that have left Haiti without a functioning government.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Moise laid out his bargaining position in the talks that began last week in the mission of the papal envoy to Haiti with political opponents and some civil society groups. He said he would accept an opposition prime minister and a shortened term in office, but only after adoption of a constitutional reform strengthening the presidency.

Moise said his efforts to improve living conditions for Haiti's 11 million people had been thwarted during his first three years in office by the constitutional requirement that the National Assembly must approve virtually all significant presidential actions.

He said he would serve only a single term in office so he would not personally benefit from the powers of a stronger presidency. 

“It makes me optimistic to see my brothers and sisters from the political opposition, civil society and religious groups," he said. “I think we're at a crossroads.”

Moise is a former banana farmer who won 56% of the vote against three opponents in the 2016 election. He made some progress on rural infrastructure projects during his first two years in office. Then the end of subsidized Venezuelan oil aid to Haiti fueled chaos in the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.

Without the help, the economy shrank, and investigations found questionable spending of hundreds of millions of dollars over the years in aid from the Petrocaribe program run by Venezuela. Protests began over the Petrocaribe misspending and protests snowballed until Moise's opponents waged a near-total lockdown of Haiti's capital for three months last fall.

Protests were accompanied by a constant blocking of Moise's agenda in the National Assembly. A small group of opposition legislators blocked Moise proposals with tactics ranging from filibusters to throwing furniture inside the Senate chamber or calling supporters to block governing party senators access to the building.

The country was unable to organize legislative elections and the National Assembly shut down last month, leaving Moise without a constitutionally recognized government. He says the constitution allows him to rule by decree with legislative approval but he is choosing not to in order to forge national unity.

Observers say developed nations that provide Haiti with most of its state budget are ihighly reluctant to keep funding a government that could be accused of moving toward dictatorship.

Haiti's 1987 constitution was drafted after the end of three decades of dictatorship and aims in part to prevent the emergence of another strongman by sharply limiting presidential powers.

“The 1987 constitution took all the power out of the president's hands. The president has zero power and the people demand everything from the president of the republic,” Moise told AP in the foyer of his home in the hills above Port-au-Prince.

Moise said he wants a new constitution to stipulate that presidential proposals automatically pass if the National Assembly does not vote them up or down within 60 days.

He also wants all political terms to last five years. Senate terms currently range from two to six years, depending on a variety of factors, leading to constant churn and campaigning in a country where widespread insecurity and corruption make elections difficult to organize.

Convening a constitutional assembly to rewrite the charter would almost certainly take most of Moise's remaining two years in office.

Most of the political opposition has demanded that Moise significantly cut his time in office, with some demanding his immediate resignation and others asking for him to hand over power early next year.

He said negotiations would succeed “if there's good will on the part of the people involved to find a way forward with a realistic calendar."

“You can't say you're going to carry out these reforms in two months,” he said.

A coalition of relatively moderate opponents and civil society groups were unable to reach a deal with Moise's representatives last week at the papal nunciature. Another group of hard-line opponents did not participate.

Moise said he thinks he can reach a deal with enough opponents to move the country forward.

"'We need to all get together and forge a deal, even if that deal isn't accepted by everyone,” he said. “You'll have radicals, extremists who won't sign, who won't accept it, but that won't kill the republic.

“I’m not hung up on finishing my term. I’m hung up on making reforms,” he said.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Haitian president lays out terms for deal with opposition
https://www.local10.com/news/world/2020/02/08/haitian-president-lays-out-terms-for-deal-with-opposition/

Coronavirus leads to travel bans by Caribbean nations

Jacqueline Charles

The Miami Herald

As the U.S. continues to enforce strict travel restrictions on travelers from China over the coronavirus outbreak, an increasing number of Caribbean nations are also doing the same, while taking steps to screen arriving passengers at their ports of entry.

In recent days, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominica, and Trinidad and Tobago have all announced China-related travel bans, even though there are no direct commercial flights between mainland China and their nations.

The Dominican Republic and Haiti, which share the island of Hispaniola, have not made any official announcements about travel restrictions, but over the weekend both countries prevented Chinese visitors on a private jet from getting off the plane. Authorities in the eastern Caribbean island of St. Lucia also prevented Miami-based Carnival Corporation’s AIDA cruise ship AIDAPerla from docking at its port of Castries after it was reported that 14 passengers were being treated for upper respiratory issues.

The ship’s 4,384 passengers were also denied the right to dock in St. John’s, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda, but were later received with no problem by authorities in St. Maarten and Martinique, AIDA Cruises said in a statement.

So far, there have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Caribbean or Latin America, and all of the suspicious cases have been ruled out, said Marcos Espinal, director of the department of communicable diseases and environmental determinants of health with the Pan American Health Organization.

As of Tuesday the coronavirus had killed at least 427 people and infected more than 20,000 globally.

Espinal said health ministers representing the 15-member Caribbean Community, known as CARICOM, held an emergency meeting Monday along with representatives of PAHO — the World Health Organization’s regional office for the Americas — and the Caribbean Public Health Agency to discuss the outbreak and preventive measures being taken.

“Every day we have daily conferences,” Espinal said of his staff. “We have offices in Jamaica, Barbados, Haiti, where we have deployed international staff advising the countries. … We are making preparations for these countries to be able to test for this virus.”

While he acknowledged that some health systems in the region are weaker than others, many are already testing for influenza, which kills more people than the coronavirus.

“We should not create a panic,” Espinal said. “We have to make sure that people get the proper information.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu has already killed 10,000 people just across the U.S. so far this season, while sickening 19 million people and causing 180,000 hospitalizations.

The coronavirus has had far less of an impact.

Détails

Catégorie : What's up Little Haiti

Création : 25 février 2020

 According to a UN report, Haiti experienced a 42 percent increase in homicides in 2019

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, submitted to the Security Council a periodic report on Haiti. It provides an update on the establishment of the Office and describes progress made in integrating the activities of the Office and the United Nations country team.

"[...] Haiti continues to face high and rising levels of violence, including common criminality, kidnappings, hijackings, robberies and violent attacks by heavily armed gang members. The number of reported intentional homicides increased by 42 per cent in 2019, compared with the previous year, with 910 recorded cases involving 1,081 victims (including 61 women), a ratio of 9.34 per 100,000 citizens, up from 6.67 for 2018 and 7.91 for 2017. Two thirds of those of those homicides were recorded in West Department, where criminality is traditionally more prevalent. In addition, 42 police officers were killed in 2019, a 147 per cent increase, compared with 17 in 2018, and the highest number since the inception of the Haitian National Police in 1995. Moreover, 31 of 348 police stations were vandalized countrywide (including 8 facilities set ablaze), compared with 7 recorded incidents in 2018. In most cases, the damage was caused by angry mobs in retaliation for alleged police wrongdoing. During the reporting period, 16 criminal incidents affected United Nations personnel, resulting in no casualties. In addition, one BINUH independent contractor was shot and killed on 1 December while leaving a bank in Port-au-Prince.

Sexual and gender-based violence remains prevalent but underreported. In 2019, 227 cases were reported to the police, compared with 418 in 2018. This 45 per cent decrease is attributable to severe underreporting due to heightened stigma and risk of retaliation against victims, in particular in the current security and political context. To raise awareness of the situation, the United Nations supported activities organized by national counterparts in the context of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign launched in November. In addition, the national police sex crimes unit is developing a database of sexual assault complaints that would improve case processing and provide easier access to countrywide statistics.

The political crisis added another layer of complexity to the security situation. Between 1 September and 30 November 2019, the United Nations documented at least 1,341 demonstrations, roadblocks and barricades. At the height of the mobilization in late September, protests turned violent and the presence of heavily armed individuals was observed in the streets, especially in the urban centres of West, Artibonite, South and North Departments. Those developments led to significant restrictions on movement for the United Nations, hampering operations throughout the country. Attesting to the challenges of maintaining public order, the national police reported, during a press conference held on 19 December, having carried out 2,536 interventions to clear roads between 1 September and 30 November. [...]"

Armored vehicles to fight insecurity in Haiti

Haiti standard, February 22, 2020. - The President of the Republic Jovenel Moïse, the outgoing Prime Minister, Jean Michel Lapin and officials of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) as well as those of the Armed Forces of Haiti (Fad'H) received armored vehicles, to combat insecurity in the country.

On February 21, 2020, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, returning from Cap-Haitien (North), the Head of State indicated that the acquisition of these armored vehicles is part of the efforts carried out by his administration, in the fight against banditry and crime both in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince and in provincial cities.

It should be noted that these armored vehicles are coming at a time when police officers are demanding, at the cost of violence, better working conditions and the right to form a union within the police institution.

Claims that resulted in the removal of five (5) police officers including the self-proclaimed Union Coordinator. A decision that does not seem to deter police protesters.

Michel Martelly ejected from the carnival of Cap-Haitien?

BY STEVENS JEAN FRANÇOIS

In a press release, the 350 Committee seems to have won its case before the organized structures of Cap Haitien civil society, which protested against a possible participation of Sweet Micky in the carnival parade of Cap-Haitien.

Despite the millions of gourdes spent in per diem for the officers assigned to his security and the stormy entrance of a tank that was attributed to him in the city of Cap-Haitien, the training of the former President of the Republic Joseph Michel Martelly, Sweet Micky, is presumably omitted from the carnival parade of Cap-Haitien. Priority has been given to the region in particular to young people within the framework of a policy of promotion of the region. This is stated in the note signed by Marc GEORGES, Chairman of the 350 Committee.

Does the committee have the means to prevent Sweet Micky from inviting himself to the party? Only time will tell!

Haitian state used USAID funding to arm terrorist gangs in Haiti, says police officer

Port-au-Prince, Thursday, February 20, 2020 – A masked police officer said Wednesday in an interview with a foreign journalist that a card program-gifts of $25 allowing officers to buy meals and meet other needs had never reached the hands of members of the National Police of Haiti (PNH)

The man kept a mask throughout the interview. He spoke on the sidelines of a movement that broke out one day after five police officers, fighting to form a union, were fired.

The police officer talked about low wages that have been stagnant for over a decade. He then mentioned a program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which was to give each police officer a debit card of $25 a month.

The officer says the state used the funds to pay for street gangs in the country’s most deprived neighborhoods, turning these gangs into heavily armed terrorist gangs.

These are not the first allegations of links between USAID, the Haitian government and the arming and financing of terrorist gangs in the country. In October 2019, a government official was shot, but not killed, in a meeting with the terrorists in a USAID field office in Port-au-Prince.

Haiti-Foot: Melchie Dumornay "treated as a star" in Lyon

Having left the country to participate in an internship in the largest club in Europe, Melchie Daelle Dumornay has managed to impose herself as a pro, according to the statements of the president of the Haitian football federation, Yves Dadou Jean-Bart who accompanied the 15-year-old female player during her internship in France.

Melchie Dumornay has been “treated like a star,” says Dadou Jean-Bart, who never misses an opportunity to say something positive about the talented Corventina. On Saturday, November 25, she spent a week in Lyon where she trained with the reserves and the pros.

While Haiti police take frustrations out on streets, UN sounds alarm on gangs, bad cops. 

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Haiti’s police are angry. And they are taking their frustrations out on the streets.

Haiti police want to unionize but the internal regulations of the Haiti National Police prohibit it. A few rogue officers have taken their fight to the streets, allegedly destroying property including Carnival stands.

BY JOSE A. IGLESIAS

PORT-AU-PRINCE

Angry over poor pay and miserable working conditions, members of Haiti’s U.S.-backed and United Nations-trained police force are taking their frustrations out on the streets.

They are illegally firing their weapons in the air, vandalizing government property and reportedly setting fire to viewing stands ahead of this weekend’s three-day Pre-Lenten Carnival celebration.

The anger climaxed Monday (Feb. 17^th) with Haiti National Police officers, many of them dressed in red T-shirts with their faces covered, marching through the streets of Port-au-Prince, demanding the right to unionize while decrying the lack of pay, poor treatment and health insurance. At the same time, they reminded everyone of what they do.

Soon video footage emerged showing the protesting cops creating chaos on the streets of Petionville as they discharged their weapons in the air outside of police headquarters in broad daylight before making their way to downtown Port-au-Prince. Once on the Champ de Mars, the public square where the presidential palace is located, they again began to fire as Carnival stands went up in smoke.

Videos showed young men in red shirts gathering around the fire and local media pointed the finger at the protesting officers. The National Carnival committee, which is depending on police to provide security for the festivities that start on Sunday, started rebuilding the stands on Tuesday, announcing the show will go on.

Strongly condemning Monday’s violence, acting Haiti Prime Minister Jean-Michel Lapin called on police to respect the public order and protect the institution, which “must be free from political upheavals to remain at the service of democracy,” he said.

“These barbaric acts, illegal, unacceptable and unworthy of the police, remind us of the indiscriminate violence of extremists and terrorists who are hiding behind the demands to sow disorder and chaos,” he said in a press statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

Lapin said the government has taken note of officers’ demands for better treatment, and asked them to show “serenity, patience, and foresight” while Haiti crosses a difficult path. Later in a press conference he said having a hospital for the police is a priority for the government. He also said they must have an efficient ambulance system and an efficient fire department.

The government’s condemnation came on the same day that the United Nations issued a report on gang violence in Port-au-Prince. Focused on a three-day outbreak of gang violence in the pro-opposition Bel Air neighborhood on Nov. 4-6, 2019, UN investigators accuse Haitian police of failing to protect residents from corrupt officers and gang leaders. At least three people died in the violence while six others were injured and 30 families were left homeless after their houses were set on fire, the UN said. Investigators also noted that the attacks also allegedly involved three active members of the Haiti National Police.

According to the report, one of the Haiti’s most notorious gang leaders, former police officer Jimmy Cherizier, who goes by the name Barbecue, was behind the attacks. Cherizier is the subject of a February 2019 warrant, which has not been carried out, for his alleged involvement in another massacre, this one in the the Grand Ravine neighborhood in November 2017. He has also been cited in the La Saline massacre, in November 2018.

Bel Air, UN human rights investigators noted, is under the informal control of gang leaders who engage in criminal activity such as murder, extortion and kidnappings for ransom, theft and the hijacking of trucks. The neighborhood is also considered one of the traditional bases for anti-government mobilization. The report said Cherizier in a radio interview denied his involvement in the Bel Air attack but offered to compensate the victims who lost their houses.

“Far from being an isolated incident, the Bel Air attack illustrates the recent evolution of the current context in Haiti, mainly characterized by widespread insecurity in working-class neighborhoods and slums, the impunity of criminal gang members who commit human rights abuses, the alleged collusion between them and certain political and economic actors, the links between gang members and some Haitian National Police officers, as well as the lack of police intervention to protect the population,” the report said.

Among the recommendations, investigators with the UN Human Right’s Office and the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti called on Haitian authorities to do more to protect residents in Bel Air and other similar neighborhoods, and to conduct independent and in-depth judicial investigations into acts of violence committed by gangs in Bel Air. The perpetrators of violence should also be brought to justice, they said.

While the UN report was released amid increased concerns about violence in Haiti, Monday’s violent revolt by officers was only the latest after a series of unprecedented protests, buoyed by simmering discontent, began sweeping through the Haiti National Police last year.

Founded in 1995 after Haiti was forced to disband the army, the police, which have been plagued by allegations of human rights violations and corruptions, have been the focus of ongoing rebuilding efforts ever since a U.N. peacekeeping mission returned in 2004 and found that the force had been decimated by political interference, corruption and drug trafficking.

In recent years, the United States, Canada and the U.N., have invested millions in training and recruiting officers to get the force to where it is today, about 15,000-strong. But with Haiti in a constant state of political and economic turmoil, officers have found themselves overworked, poorly equipped and poorly paid in trying to address the country’s security needs, which lately have included anti-government protests and a deadly resurgence in kidnappings.

Police officers earned on average between 20,000 gourdes and 25,000 gourdes a month, or $221 and $276 before taxes. With the country’s double-digit inflation, depreciating domestic currency and rising cost of living, the money amounts to very little, they say.

“We are sent into operations without tear gas, without bullets, without boots, without uniforms,” said Yanick Joseph, one of the leaders of the union movement.

On Nov. 17, frustrations came to a boil with Joseph and other officers announcing the formation of a union in front of police headquarters in Petionville. The move put officers in an open conflict with the high command of the police, whose internal regulations prohibit such organizing efforts.

The unionization effort, the officer said, has defined itself and after 24 years of existence, the police could take control of its own destiny, he argued. “We are in a battle. We aren’t attacking anyone and we don’t want anyone to attack,” he said.

Jeff Hassler, who lost his right leg during a police operation in the Savane Pistache neighborhood, said he received “no assistance,” following his injury.

“We will always pound the pavement demanding a union and assistance for disabled police officers,” he said, standing with the help of crutches while holding up a sign that read “Police officers suffering from a disability deserve help.”

Until recently Haitian officials and police hierarchy did not say much about the union effort despite several street protests, which drew hundreds of officers both in the capital and in Cap Haitien, the second largest city. Then came Feb. 7 when Joseph, 34, was summoned to the the Office of the Police Inspector General.