Items related to "Human Security Gateway: Caribbean". Sat, 17 May 2008 0:30:20 +0000 Sat, 17 May 2008 0:30:20 +0000 robert_hartfiel@sfu.ca (Robert Hartfiel) Wed, 14 May 2008 16:42:43 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24372 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24372 Haiti connaît actuellement une grande insécurité alimentaire. Celle-ci a surtout été causée par la mauvaise performance de la dernière saison agricole (août à décembre 2007) et par une très forte hausse des prix des céréales sur le marché international. Bien que le niveau très élevé des prix des aliments ait affecté tout le pays, certaines communes sont plus affectées (voir Figure 1-a). Les quartiers pauvres des villes n’ont pas été épargnés. La flambée des prix conduit à des stratégies de survie inacceptables (réduction des repas, vente effrénée de charbon de bois, migrations,….). Elle a aussi été à la base des manifestations violentes survenues début avril dans les villes. L’insécurité alimentaire devrait évoluer négativement durant la période d’avril à juin 2008. SOURCE: Famine Early Warning Systems Network - USAID Famine Early Warning Systems Network - USAID Wed, 14 May 2008 13:09:40 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24356 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24356 La prévalence du VIH atteint voire dépasse 1% aux Bahamas, à la Barbade, au Belize, au Guyana, en Haïti, en Jamaïque, au Suriname et à la Trinité-et- Tobago (ONUSIDA, 2006). La plupart des pays de la région montrent une baisse ou une stabilisation de la prévalence du VIH, particulièrement dans les zones urbaines, tandis que les changements intervenus dans les zones semi-urbaines et rurales ont été modérés. L’inadéquation des systèmes de surveillance du VIH dans plusieurs pays rend néanmoins difficile l’analyse des tendances récentes de ces épidémies. SOURCE: Nations Unies // Programme Commun Des Nations Unies Sur le VIH/SIDA Nations Unies // Programme Commun Des Nations Unies Sur le VIH/SIDA Mon, 05 May 2008 14:26:10 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24133 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24133 Haiti’s constitution was adopted on March 29, 1987 when over 90 percent of the voters approved it in a popular referendum. The result was not surprising. Among the most democratic in the world, Haiti’s constitution was proposed in the aftermath of the brutal Duvalier dictatorship and seemed to promise an end to arbitrary and violent rule. Unfortunately, that was not the case as the country endured two more decades of turmoil. In the period of instability following adoption of the constitution, its provisions were more often ignored or violated than observed. SOURCE: United States Institute of Peace United States Institute of Peace Mon, 05 May 2008 14:24:40 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24132 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24132 Haiti has been hard hit by the global food crisis, which has culminated in riots all over the country, five people dead, gunshot victims, an attempt to invade the National Palace, and the removal from office of the Prime Minister just weeks ahead of the upcoming International Donor Conference in Port-au-Prince. Major progress had been made during the last year - violence had diminished and the UN peacekeeping operation (MINUSTAH) had reoriented its efforts to focus on state building. It is still too early to evaluate the real impact of the turmoil. With a new government to be sworn in, some observers already say the effects are catastrophic. The impact of a global food shortage in a country already suffering from a profound structural crisis could seriously undermine all achievements made to date by MINUSTAH and the international community. SOURCE: Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:51:18 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23998 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23998 Les manifestations qui débutent dans le département du sud le 3 avril 2008 s’apparentent à des émeutes de la faim, accompagnées d’actes de violence et de casses. Très vite elles se propagent à travers plusieurs villes jusqu’à la capitale. Jets de pierres contre des édifices publics et privés, incendies de véhicules privés et de ceux des forces de l’ordre, pillage de dépôts de nourriture, mais aussi saccages de magasins (de divers produits manufacturés), irruption violente dans des ministères, bureaux publics et... tentatives d’investir le palais présidentiel et le parlement. Plus le mouvement de protestation s’intensifie, plus certains manifestants se montrent menaçants et s’écartent de leurs principales revendications, à savoir la hausse du coût de la vie, pour exiger la démission du chef du gouvernement [1] voire du président [2] et le départ des troupes onusiennes. Ces observations nous amènent à nous interroger sur les réelles motivations des manifestants. Nous sommes en droit, en effet, de nous demander si les manifestations contre la hausse des prix ne constituent pas un prétexte pour certains secteurs politiques et économiques travaillant à la déstabilisation du gouvernement ? A qui profiterait cette déstabilisation ? S’agit-il d’émeutes de la faim, de révolte sociale ou encore d’une sévère réprobation du modèle de développement adopté par nos dirigeants ? SOURCE: Centre Tricontinental Centre Tricontinental Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:45:30 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23806 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23806 Six years ago trade talks began between the European Union (EU) and 76 African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries. By the negotiating deadline of December 2007, fewer than half the ACP countries had ‘initialled’ any form of deal with Europe. The deals promised to deliver development, but they fail to meet the development test (see the Scorecard below). As trade ministers from across the ACP stated in December 2007, the ‘European Union’s mercantilist interests have taken precedence over the ACP’s developmental and regional integration interests’. To date, deals have only been initialled: they are not legally binding agreements. This means change is possible: new, fairer deals can and should be created. SOURCE: Oxfam International Oxfam International Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:20:37 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23724 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23724 In the four years since the UN Stabilization Force (MINUSTAH) entered Haiti, there has been progress in security on the streets. And after security, the political stability of the nation was advanced by a successful election that returned René Préval to a second term as president. But Haitians remain frustrated by the ultimate challenge in any post-conflict environment: a lack of food as a result of a lack of jobs. This week’s food riots in the Haitian capital, Port au Prince, and in other cities throughout the country underscore the problems when a weak economy is battered by global price increases for basic commodities. The rise in food costs have resulted in bread riots in other poor developing countries, such as Egypt and the Philippines. But Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has little room for any price increase when more than 8 million people live on less than $2 a day. Next to security, which has improved with the help of UN forces, and generous donor support from Canada and the United States for police and judicial capacity, access to reasonably priced food remains essential to demonstrate progress to anyone trying to survive the turmoil of any stabilization program. SOURCE: Center for Strategic and International Studies Center for Strategic and International Studies Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:01:41 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23716 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23716 After nearly two decades of instability, political leaders inside and outside of Haiti are hopeful that the country is moving in the right direction.The current government is enjoying strong support from the population as well as local and international legitimacy and is taking advantage of the “unprecedented” international commitment to assist with this process. Despite this optimism, members of Haitian civil society remain skeptical, having hosted seven UN missions since 1991, and still point to continued violence, poverty and lack of institutional capacity. These internal problems, coupled with a myriad of daunting external challenges including international organised crime, drug trafficking and environmental threats, will not be easily resolved. SOURCE: Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:38:47 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23646 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23646 La Commission Interaméricaine des droits de l’Homme (ci-après « CIDH » ou « la Commission ») a visité la République d’Haïti du 16 au 20 avril 2007, à l’invitation du gouvernement haïtien. La délégation était dirigée par Sir Clare K. Roberts, commissaire et rapporteur pour Haïti, qui était accompagné de collaborateurs du Secrétariat exécutif. La version préliminaire du rapport sur les observations de la Commission sur la situation des droits humains en Haiti lors de sa visite sur le terrain d’avril 2007 a été adoptée par la CIDH le 5 septembre 2007. Conformément à l’article 58 du Règlement de Procédure de la Commission, ce rapport a été transmis au Gouvernement haïtien le 28 novembre 2007, accompagné d’une communication lui demandant de bien vouloir soumettre, dans un délai d’un mois, les observations et les commentaires qu’il estimerait pertinents. Le 28 décembre 2007, la Commission n’avait toujours reçu aucune réponse de l’Etat haïtien. Le 2 mars 2008, la Commission a décidé de publier ce rapport en conformité avec l’article 58 son Règlement de procédure. SOURCE: Organisation des états américains // Commission Interaméricaine de Droits de l'Homme Organisation des états américains // Commission Interaméricaine de Droits de l'Homme Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:56:36 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23603 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23603 By its resolution 1780 (2007), the Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) until 15 October 2008, and requested me to report on its implementation semi-annually and not later than 45 days prior to its expiration. The present report covers major developments since my report of 22 August 2007 (S/2007/503) and the progress made in the implementation of the mandate of the Mission as set out in Security Council resolutions 1542 (2004), 1608 (2005), 1702 (2006), 1743 (2007) and 1780 (2007), and contains initial reflections on the development of a consolidation plan. SOURCE: United Nations Secretary General Report United Nations Secretary General Report Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:09:51 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23482 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23482 Rights & Democracy would like to thank the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development for this invitation to participate in your on-going deliberations about Canada’s foreign policy towards Haiti [1]. We appreciate the leadership that this Committee has taken within Parliament to discuss Canada’s long-term and ongoing engagement in Haiti. We appreciate the leadership that this Committee has taken within Parliament to discuss Canada’s long-term and ongoing engagement in Haiti. We appreciate the leadership that this Committee has taken within Parliament to discuss Canada’s long-term and ongoing engagement in Haiti. In its report on Canada’s foreign policy towards Haiti released in December 2006, this Committee rightly identified Haiti as a particularly important test for Canada’s ability to engage in a complex and fragile state, and to do so in a coordinated manner among Canadian government departments and non-governmental organizations and with other bilateral and multilateral donors in Haiti. SOURCE: Rights and Democracy // House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development Rights and Democracy // House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:21:05 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23432 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23432 Dans son dernier rapport au Conseil de sécurité sur la Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haïti (MINUSTAH), Ban Ki-moon recommande une coopération « visible » des institutions nationales et l'adoption de mesures économiques palliatives sur le court terme. « Des progrès remarquables ont été accomplis mais des différends entre les branches du gouvernement ont failli compromettre le niveau de collaboration indispensable à une bonne gouvernance », a regretté le Secrétaire général dans son rapport, qui couvre la période postérieure au mois d'août 2007. Il a mentionné en particulier une collaboration politique « fragile », comme l'a démontré, selon lui, l'interpellation du Premier ministre par la Chambre des députés le 28 février. Ban Ki-moon a aussi recommandé une coopération entre le pouvoir exécutif et le pouvoir judiciaire. « Toute perception de divergences entre ces institutions ne manquera pas de les affaiblir l'une et l'autre », a-t-il affirmé. SOURCE: Nations Unies // Conseil de sécurité Nations Unies // Conseil de sécurité Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:14:51 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23337 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23337 Haiti is consistently listed among the world’s poorest performing countries in terms of social and economic development. For decades the 8.3 million inhabitants of this troubled Caribbean state have lived in chaos and anarchy, with rampant violence, poverty, water shortages, HIV-AIDS, illiteracy and unemployment all among the features of day-to-day life. In this Comment article General Brigadier Eduardo Aldunate, the former Military Second in Command of United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), explores the complex problems facing the country and asks what the international community must do in order to address the challenges that lie ahead. SOURCE: Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:00:20 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23274 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23274 This report by Amnesty International on the public security crisis in Jamaica forms part of a body of work by national and international organizations working on the crisis and its human rights implications. The research for this report was conducted by visiting Jamaica and its inner-city communities of Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine during 2007 and speaking to a wide range of people from civil society and people holding positions of public office. During that research Amnesty International found: There is a public security crisis in Jamaica and the state is failing to effectively provide human security to its population, especially to those most vulnerable to crime and violence, namely people living in poverty in inner-city communities; An unspoken tolerance of policing based on strong prejudice and stigmatization, excessive use of force, extrajudicial executions and corruption among certain members of the police force that reinforces a circle of violence for people living in poverty in socially excluded communities; A lack of scrutiny and accountability of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) against allegations of corruption and human rights violations. This report also identifies the stigmatization and excessive use of force by, and corruption within, the police forces, which effectively exacerbate the violence these communities suffer and constitute a violation of the obligation to respect human rights. SOURCE: Amnesty International Amnesty International Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:59:32 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23260 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23260 The social impact of civil and political conflict is profound. In Haiti, such conflict was on-going almost from the time the tiny island was discovered in 1492, and worsened over the decades. By the time a truth commission was appointed in the early 1990s, the country faced a number of challenges. The Commission nationale de verite et de justice was implemented, as are most truth commissions, to uncover details of past events. Yet the Commission faced myriad complications, including a dearth of political will and funding, as well as a number of institutional constraints, including lack of capacity, increasing security concerns, and shortages of time and funding. SOURCE: Annual Convention of the International Studies Association Annual Convention of the International Studies Association Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:42:00 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23151 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23151 Resilience refers to the ability to rebound, maintain or strengthen functioning during and after a disturbance; to cope successfully in the face of extreme adversity or risk. In many cases where the term ´resilience´ is used, it is applied as a simple descriptor without analysis of why particular systems are resilient even when, by most accounts, they should not be. This paper provides (1) A framework for conceptualizing resilience with regard to vulnerable, fragile, and conflict prone states (in other words, what IS resilience and why is it relevant?) and (2) A small collection of case studies including Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, Guinea and others which highlight particular adaptive strategies. The key argument of this research is that the nature of development strategies in such environments must tend towards enhancing the capacity of local communities to self organize, by prioritizing experimentation and local ownership over project designs and outcomes. SOURCE: Annual Convention of the International Studies Association Annual Convention of the International Studies Association Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:09:08 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23078 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23078 Le crime organisé et la violence menacent de submerger Haïti. Le système judiciaire haïtien est faible et complètement dépassé par la vague croissante d’enlèvements, de trafic de drogue et de personnes, d’agressions et de viols qui frappe le pays. Il faut agir de toute urgence pour que les efforts de ces trois dernières années visant à mettre en place un État de droit et une démocratie stable en Haïti portent leurs fruits. Avant tout, le gouvernement haïtien doit faire preuve de véritable volonté politique. Mais la communauté internationale elle aussi doit jouer un rôle important de soutien. Le besoin le plus urgent concerne la création de deux tribunaux spéciaux : une chambre criminelle qui jugerait des principaux actes criminels commis en Haïti et un tribunal hybride haïtiano-international pour juger des cas de crime organisé transnational auxquels le pays seul ne peut faire face. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:05:29 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23077 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23077 Les prisons d’Haïti, surchargées, sous-encadrées et mal sécurisées, sont une véritable poudrière à la merci de la première étincelle. N’importe quelle explosion de violence ou évasion en masse de prisonniers pourrait bien mettre à mal les récents progrès faits par le gouvernement et la mission onusienne de maintien de la paix (MINUSTAH) dans la lutte contre les gangs urbains et le crime organisé. Il faut, pour parer au plus pressé, s’assurer que les criminels les plus dangereux, y compris ceux qui ont été arrêtés récemment et sont soupçonnés d’enlèvements, soient détenus dans des cellules de haute sécurité ; recruter davantage de surveillants pour protéger les prisonniers et leur assurer un minimum de soins ; lancer un plan d’urgence financé par le gouvernement et les bailleurs de fonds pour la construction de nouvelles prisons plus sûres. Alors que le gouvernement du président Préval s’apprête à terminer sa première année aux commandes de l’État, un échec dans la prise en main et dans la mobilisation de ressources supplémentaires pour faire face de toute urgence à la crise des prisons risque non seulement de compliquer les réformes de la police et de la justice mais aussi de contribuer à l’insécurité du pays. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:56:44 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22761 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22761 La sécurité et la stabilité d’Haïti demeurent fragiles. Le président René Préval a mis en place des politiques de réforme des secteurs de la sécurité, de la police, de la justice et des prisons mais leur mise en œuvre est lente, difficile et incertaine à cause de la faiblesse de l’État et des décennies sinon des siècles d’abandon institutionnel. Son premier et véritable succès consiste à avoir démantelé les gangs les plus durs de Port-au-Prince. Mais pour qu’il soit durable, il s’agit d’instituer une Police nationale d’Haïti (PNH) en confiance avec la population, et ce sous l'oeil vigilant de la mission de maintien de la paix des Nations unies (MINUSTAH). De plus, un climat favorable au développement des infrastructures et de l’économie doit être assuré dans les quartiers pauvres de la capitale, et des processus similaires de redressement et de reconstruction doivent être étendus à tout le pays. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:29:02 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22459 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22459 This report analyses the response of the international community involved in implementing the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) mandate. The information gathered in the interviews allows the actors to make their voices heard on many aspects of the situation in Haiti and to communicate their ideas to each other. The following points will be discussed: establishing a secure and stable environment; defining the Haitian context, police reform, the DDR programme and violence reduction, maintaining order and restoration of the rule of law, protection of civilians. SOURCE: Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:13:09 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22218 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22218 Le produit le plus récent et le plus détaillé à être conçu par securitehumaine-villes.org, cette publication s'appuie sur les travaux de 40 collaborateurs externes qui appliquent un prisme urbain à des thèmes tels que les enfants et les conflits armés, la réforme des systèmes de sécurité, les armes de petit calibre et les armes légères, la stabilisation et la reconstruction, la consolidation de la paix et la promotion de la démocratie. SOURCE: securitehumaine-villes.org securitehumaine-villes.org Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:06:13 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22097 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22097 U.S. attention to terrorism in Latin America intensified in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, with an increase in bilateral and regional cooperation. In its April 2007 Country Reports on Terrorism, the State Department highlighted threats in Colombia, Peru, and the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. There were no known operational cells of Islamic terrorists in the hemisphere, but pockets of ideological supporters in the region lent financial, logistical, and moral support to terrorist groups in the Middle East. Cuba has remained on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1982, which triggers a number of economic sanctions. In May 2007, for the second year in a row, the Department of State, pursuant to Arms Export Control Act, included Venezuela on the annual list of countries not cooperating on antiterrorism efforts. Congress fully funded the Administration’s FY2008 request for $8.1 million in Anti-Terrorism Assistance for Western Hemisphere countries in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2008 (P.L. 110-161). In the first session of the 110th Congress, the House approved H.Con.Res. 188, which condemned the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association in Buenos Aires, and H.Res. 435, which expressed concern over the emerging national security implications of Iran’s efforts to expand its influence in Latin America, and emphasized the importance of eliminating Hezbollah’s financial network in the triborder area. The Senate also approved S.Con.Res. 53, which condemned the hostagetaking of three U.S. citizens for over four years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, while a similar resolution, H.Con.Res. 260, was introduced in the House. SOURCE: Congressional Research Service Congressional Research Service Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:59:13 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22078 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22078 This number of En la Mira intends to become an echo of one of the main problems related to the proliferation of firearms, one which clearly affects all of Latin America: youth and armed violence. This number of En la Mira sparks the debate that is occurring in Latin America on the levels of of involvement of young people in armed violence, as well as a discussion of which mechanisms and interventions should be applied. SOURCE: Comunidad Segura Comunidad Segura Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:51:47 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22076 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22076 Latin America and the Caribbean are regions of the world with worrisome levels of firearm related violence. The ample availability of small arms and light weapons certainly plays a important role and without a doubt it has increased the level and the lethality of social violence. In this context, the statistics show that the most vulnerable stratum of society are children and adolescents SOURCE: Comunidad Segura Comunidad Segura Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:08:11 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22022 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22022 La mission des Nations unies pour la stabilisation en Haïti (MINUSTAH) ne va pas y rester pour toujours et, en tout état de cause, on ne peut lui demander de trouver des solutions à tous les multiples et profonds problèmes que connaît Haïti. L’absence de personnel qualifié, le manque de ressources financières et une gestion peu efficace à tous les niveaux de gouvernement ralentissent la mise en Å“uvre des réformes structurelles et des programmes socio-économiques dans le pays. Former des fonctionnaires et augmenter leurs salaires sera un bon début mais il faudra faire davantage pour satisfaire aux demandes de progrès qu’exigent les Haïtiens. L’inclusion dans la destinée du pays des quelque trois millions d’Haïtiens qui vivent à l’étranger, à condition qu’elle se fasse dans le cadre d’une initiative d’envergure s’inscrivant dans la durée, pourrait permettre de dépasser l’historique sentiment de méfiance que les Haïtiens nourrissent à l’égard de l’extérieur, d’avoir accès à une classe moyenne qui fait défaut en Haïti et d’aider ce pays à échapper à son statut d’État fragile. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:31:29 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21807 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21807 Another kind of war within the context of a “clash of civilizations” is being waged in various parts of the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere around the world today. Some of the main protagonists are those who have come to be designated as first-second-, and third-generation street gangs, as well as their various possible allies such as traditional Transnational Criminal Organizations. In this new type of war, national security and sovereignty of affected countries is being impinged every day, and gangs’ illicit commercial motives are, in fact, becoming an ominous political agenda. SOURCE: Strategic Studies Institute of the US Army War College Strategic Studies Institute of the US Army War College Thu, 20 Dec 2007 11:25:15 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21506 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21506 Loin des projecteurs, des dizaines de conflits meurtrissent la planète. tsr.ch, avec l'aide du Comité International de la Croix-Rouge, vous propose de plonger dans ces guerres oubliées pour mieux comprendre leurs origines et observer la vie qui continue malgré tout. SOURCE: Télévision Suisse Romande Télévision Suisse Romande Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:16:52 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21443 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21443 The article attempts to briefly analyze state-building theories and methods, as applied to justice system reform in post-conflict scenarios. In this respect, the international authorities involved in the reconstruction process may traditionally chose between either a 'dirigiste' or a consent-based approach, which represent the essential terms of reference for past interventions. However, features common to most reconstruction missions and relatively poor results confirm the need for change in the overall strategy. This requires the international donors to focus more on the 'demand for justice' at local level than on the traditional supply of legal aid. In this respect, the articles stresses the need for effectively promoting the 'local ownership' of the reform process, without this expression being merely used by international actors as a political umbrella under which to protect themselves from potential failures. SOURCE: European Conference on International Relations European Conference on International Relations Fri, 14 Dec 2007 09:44:28 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21371 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21371 To escape its “fragile state” status and consolidate the country’s stability, the Haitian government needs to implement a long-term diaspora policy with the support of the international community. This report examines how a sustained initiative to include three million Haitians living abroad could foster development and investment, strengthen state institutions and modernise the country’s political system. The diaspora is waiting for the government to move beyond rhetoric to action by removing formal and informal barriers to expanded engagement. The government must also clearly communicate to the public and key sectors within Haiti the reasons for encouraging returns, so as to decrease the risks of tensions in an already fragile country. The government should set up a diaspora task force, mandated for one year and comprising Haitian officials, all political forces in parliament, civil society, and private sector and diaspora representatives, to draft a ten-year diaspora strategy backed by international support. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:27:43 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21147 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21147 In the first Congressional hearing held on the controversial case of violent Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight invited National Security Archive Senior Analyst Peter Kornbluh to testify on formerly top secret CIA and FBI intelligence reports linking Posada to the October 6, 1976 bombing of a Cuban civilian airliner. In his testimony, Kornbluh argued that the declassified records demonstrated that Posada had concrete foreknowledge of the bombing; was in possession of a surveillance report on Cuban targets that included the doomed plane; received coded messages immediately after the plane went into the ocean from the men who placed the bombs; and was quickly identified by multiple FBI and CIA sources in Venezuela as one of two masterminds of the attack that claimed the lives of all 73 passengers and crew. SOURCE: The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:49:09 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21104 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21104 Haitian President René Préval says that his country no longer deserves its “failed state” stigma, and he is right. Haiti’s recent progress is real and profound, but it is jeopardized by continued institutional dysfunction, including the government’s inexperience in working with Parliament. There is an urgent need to create jobs, attract investment, overhaul and expand access to basic social services, and achieve tangible signs of economic recovery. Now that the United Nations has extended its peacekeeping mandate until October 2008, the international community must seek ways to expand the Haitian state’s capacity to absorb development aid and improve the welfare of the population. The alternative could be dangerous backsliding. SOURCE: Inter-American Dialogue Inter-American Dialogue Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:07:49 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=10866 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=10866 For many years now, not only with the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship, Haiti has been breaking up politically, socially and economically. The consequences have been growing insecurity and violence, the collapse of institutions, authority and power dispersion, and widespread poverty. The international community has carried out five military interventions in the last fifteen years; nonetheless, the causes leading to these interventions, especially the government's failure to ensure the security of the population, seem to be prevalent still today. The adverse effects of these failed interventions also contribute to the current instability. Furthermore, Haiti is the most corrupt country in the world and the level of insecurity and violence has affected even the United Nations forces working in the country, with the death of two blue helmets in mid-November.1 The third Donor Conference will be held in Madrid on 30 November, and is an important moment for the international community to make a long-term commitment aimed at Haiti's decisive recovery. SOURCE: Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:07:18 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=15304 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=15304 More than two years ago, Brazil assumed the leadership of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, referred to by its French acronym MINUSTAH. Since then, Brazil's role in that country has been the subject of heated debate in the Brazilian Parliament, among academics and even among members of the Partido de los Trabajadores, PT, (Workers Party), currently in office. Although the participation in Haiti neither has been, nor is, a controversial issue in the election campaign, the results of the second round of elections, to be held at the end of this month, could change Brazil's role in MINUSTAH. SOURCE: Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:32:06 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=1121 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=1121 Canada will play a key role in rebuilding Haiti's judicial system, Prime Minister Paul Martin said Saturday (December 11) at a conference on the future of the Caribbean country. Canada will be involved in everything from training magistrates and judges to reconstructing court houses, he said. "Military security is only part of the answer," the prime minister said. SOURCE: Canadian Press Canadian Press Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:48:29 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20913 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20913 Schooled predominately in a Catholic environment, the 50-year old former president's interest in the liberal arts led him to post-graduate studies in psychology and theology in Haiti, and to Rome and Israel where he studied biblical theology for two years. SOURCE: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:48:18 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20658 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20658 Update on the humanitarian situation in Haiti for the month of October 2006. SOURCE: Relief Web // United Nations // United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Relief Web // United Nations // United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:48:18 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20677 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20677 In order to design effective disarmament policies, one first needs a theory of small arms demand. Insights from the theory of polarization and rent-seeking may provide at least some terms in the demand equation. Disarmament programs that do not address the underlying sources of polarization and rent-seeking will provide only temporary reprieve at best. Broader development initiatives that ignore these sources do so at the peril of exacerbating small arms demand and leading to a deterioration of the overall security situation. This paper is divided into two parts. Part I provides a theoretical framework on the economics of small arms demand, with an elaboration of the concepts of polarization and rent-seeking and of their relevance to the small arms problem. Part II applies this framework in a case study of Haiti, followed by comparisons of Haiti to two, sometimes three, relevant reference countries, and then provides some econometric results with data from a cross-section of countries in Latin America. SOURCE: Bonn International Centre for Conversion Bonn International Centre for Conversion Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:48:17 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20579 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20579 This document outlines testimony given before the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere regarding peacebuilding, development and reconstruction in Haiti. SOURCE: U.S. House Committee on International Relations // Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere U.S. House Committee on International Relations // Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:48:17 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20581 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20581 This document outlines testimony made before the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere regarding peacebuilding, development, and reconstruction in Haiti. SOURCE: U.S. House Committee on International Relations // Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere U.S. House Committee on International Relations // Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:48:17 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20588 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20588 A brief summer visit to Haiti--the beautiful, perpetually tormented tropical purgatory that occupies the western third of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola--cannot help but focus the comfortable and well-fed foreign visitor's attention on two profound issues of the modern era: the reasons for the persistence of so much misery in an ever more affluent world, and the practical measures that might permit our world's poorest countries to escape from the heart-rending deprivation that they continue to suffer. With an area comparable to the state of Maryland and a population (at about eight and a half million) roughly the size of New York City's, Haiti is closer to Florida--just an hour and a half from Miami by jet--than is Washington, D.C. But in a very real sense, the distance between the United States and Haiti is almost unimaginable. SOURCE: American Enterprise Institute American Enterprise Institute Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:48:11 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20438 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20438 Promoting a U.S. foreign policy based on international cooperation, demilitarization and respect for basic human rights SOURCE: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:48:03 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20348 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20348 The following report on the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean discusses changes that have ocurred at the centre since its founding in 1987. In particular, it discusses how the Centre has expanded its mandate from being a disarmament information centre to managing weapons stockpiling or destruction and providing training courses for law enforcement officials, politicians and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), SOURCE: United Nations // United Nations General Assembly United Nations // United Nations General Assembly Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:48:03 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20361 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20361 In June 2001 a Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS was agreed by 189 member states at a United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS). A review of progress is under way, led by UNAIDS. This report is the product of studies conducted by the Panos Institute in seven countries: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Haiti, Latvia, Malawi, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SOURCE: Panos Panos Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:47:56 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20210 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20210 The United States, particularly the Army, has a long history of involvement with Cuba. It has included, among others, the Spanish-American War of 1898, military interventions in 1906 and 1912, the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion, the 1962 Missile Crisis, counterinsurgency, and low intensity warfare in Latin America and Africa against Cuban supported guerrilla movements. After almost 5 decades of authoritarian one-man rule, Fidel Castro remains firmly in power. On July 31, his brother, Raul Castro, assumed provisional presidential power after an official announcement that Fidel was ill and would undergo surgery. What would be the strategic and political implications attendant to Castro's eventual demise or incapacitation? The author suggests some possible transition or succession scenarios and examines the consequences that might follow and the role that the United States might be called to play. SOURCE: U.S. Army War College // Strategic Studies Institute U.S. Army War College // Strategic Studies Institute Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:47:56 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20215 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20215 Par sa résolution 1702 (2006), le Conseil de sécurité a prorogé jusqu'au 15 février 2007 le mandat de la Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haxc3xafti (MINUSTAH) et m'a prié de lui faire rapport sur l'exécution du mandat le 31 décembre 2006 au plus tard. Le présent rapport couvre les principaux faits nouveaux intervenus depuis mon rapport du 28 juillet 2006 (S/2006/592) et expose les progrxc3xa8s accomplis et les problxc3xa8mes rencontrés dans la mise en oeuvre du mandat de la Mission, tel qu'il est défini dans les résolutions 1542 (2004), 1608 (2005) et 1702 (2006). SOURCE: Nations Unies // Conseil de Securite Nations Unies // Conseil de Securite Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:47:56 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20254 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20254 Having determined that the situation in Haiti continued to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region and acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the Security Council, by its resolution 1542 of 30 April 2004, decided to establish the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and requested that authority be transferred from the Multinational Interim Force (MIF), authorized by the Security Council in February 2004, to MINUSTAH on 1 June 2004. SOURCE: United Nations // United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations United Nations // United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:47:55 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20140 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=20140 Haiti's tenuous steps toward police and judicial reform cannot succeed unless the overcrowded, insecure prison system is also overhauled. This briefing warns that the prisons are powder kegs that could erupt and further destabilise the country unless immediate steps are taken to alleviate overcrowding and prevent violence or mass escape. More than 5,000 prisoners are crowded into Haiti's seventeen prisons, but only ten per cent have been convicted, and many have yet to be charged. Dangerous offenders are housed with petty criminals, disease is rampant, prisoners take turns sleeping or sitting and are granted access to sanitation facilities just once a day, which is often the only time they leave their cells. Despite promises by donors in the Interim Cooperation Framework (ICF) of 2004, there have been no significant steps to rehabilitate prisons and none at all to build them. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:47:44 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=19797 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=19797 This essay draws on a recent study of how the international community has dealt with the need to construct or reconstruct the security sector in six countries where there has been severe conflict leading to significant international engagement. Various factors are identified as having been critical in shaping the outcome of (re)construction efforts, and they are evaluated from several perspectives. The author observes that external actors have tended to take a limited #and unbalanced approach to the security sector, focusing on building the efficiency of statutory security actors, and neglecting the development of managerial and governance capacity. He concludes that while programmes tended to become more effective after the first major post-Cold War effort was undertaken in Haiti in 1994, the plight of the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan after 2001 may point to a reversal of this trend. SOURCE: Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:47:34 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=19612 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=19612 xe2x80x98Human security' is a promising but still underdeveloped paradigmatic approach to understanding contemporary security politics. We argue that tension between those embracing the politics of development and those supporting the human security paradigm has intensified because the transnational dimensions embodied within the latter approach have been underassessed. The idea of xe2x80x98threat' also needs to be identified with more precision for the human security concept to accrue analytical credibility. We focus on how transnational behaviour addresses the central human security problems of vulnerability and immediacy. Human security's utility for confronting crisis is also evaluated via the application of two case studies of humanitarian intervention: the 1994 multinational operation in Haiti and the 1999 intervention in East Timor. We conclude that, while general security politics includes both domestic and international issues, human security allows us to transcend sovereign prerogatives and to address emerging transregional threats more effectively. SOURCE: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:47:34 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=19622 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=19622 Almost one year after the abrupt departure of former President Aristide, Haiti remains in turmoil, at risk of losing what may be its last chance to escape a crushing cycle of violence and poverty that has periodically upset the stability of the Caribbean and sent refugees streaming to the U.S. and elsewhere. The transitional government is fighting to maintain its credibility, and the elections planned for late 2005 are unlikely to produce the legitimate government the country needs without major improvement in three key areas: security, reconciliation and economic revival. The UN Mission has begun to take a more assertive approach, but both it and the transitional government must do more to address citizen insecurity. Haiti also needs a pluralistic national dialogue that establishes some common objectives for the next government, regardless who wins the end-of-year elections. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group