Demanding Action from the United Nations on Cholera in Haiti

If you haven't seen it yet, don't wait another moment before you visit the UNDeny website to view "Baseball in the Time of Cholera" and sign the petition asking the United Nations to take definitive and immediate action to stop the spread of cholera in Haiti.

Last week, the directors of the film, David Darg and Bryn Mooser, joined former AP reporter Jonathan Katz (visit his blog here), Attorneys Brian Concannon, Jr. and Nicole Phillips from the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, Dr. Rishi Rattan from Physicians for Haiti, and Dr. Ruth Wedgewood from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, to present the film and speak on panels both at the US Congress and at SAIS. Take a look at their SAIS panel: 

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Women’s Rights Groups and Cholera Victims Unite in Shared Struggle against UN Impunity in Haiti

Contact: Mario Joseph, Av., Bureau des Avocats Internationaux, (in Haiti), mario@ijdh.org, +509-3701-9878 (French, Creole, English)

Maria-Elena Kolovos, Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (in Haiti), mariaelena@ijdh.org, +509-4688- 9968 (English)

Women’s Rights Groups and Cholera Victims Unite in Shared Struggle against UN Impunity in Haiti On International Women’s Day 2012, human rights groups condemn MINUSTAH cholera and sexual violence

Monday, March 5, 2012, Port-au-Prince –To commemorate International Women’s Day 2012, on March 8, human rights groups will join cholera victims in a peaceful demonstration under the banner “Men and Women Together Demand Justice and Reparations for Victims of MINUSTAH Cholera and Rape.” With support from the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) Women’s Network, the Collective for Reparations for Cholera Victims, the Movement for Liberty and Equality of Haitians for Brotherhood (MOLEGAF), and Batay Ouvriye, demonstrators will peacefully protest against the cholera and sexual violence that the UN and its peacekeeping mission, MINUSTAH, have inflicted on Haitians. The demonstration will begin in front of Fort National at 10AM EST.

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New Survey Shows Residents of Haiti’s Capital Have Negative View of UN Troops and Feel They Should Compensate Victims of Cholera

For Immediate Release: February 15, 2012

Contact: Prof. Mark Schuller: mschuller@york.cuny.edu; 718-262-2611

Jamaica, NY – As a United Nations Security Council delegation visits Haiti to review the mandate of over 10,000 UN troops stationed there, a newly published survey indicates that a majority of residents of Haiti’s capital have a negative opinion of these troops, available here: http://ijdh.org/archives/25111. The survey of over 800 households throughout Port-au-Prince shows that less than a quarter of respondents considered that the presence of the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (or MINUSTAH) is a “good thing” while a majority feel that the troops aren’t providing adequate security.  A large percentage (43.9%) of respondents believed that MINUSTAH agents are or have been engaged in criminal activities such as violence, theft and rape. 

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A Year of Cholera from the United Nations

By: Etant Dupain, Bri Kouri Nouvèl Gaye                      

Nothing can replace the lives of the 6,500 people dead from a cholera epidemic that MINUSTAH (the United Nations peacekeepers) brought to Haiti. More than 400,000 have already been infected while 600,000 people are still living in displacement camps without access to services for their basic needs, such as sanitation and potable water.

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Heavy Rains Ravage Haiti’s Capital as Hurricane Season Approaches

June 9, 2011

 Immediate Action Necessary to Stop Preventable Deaths and Injuries

Thunderstorms dumped more than six inches on Haiti earlier this week, leaving more than 20 people dead and many more missing as the hurricane season begins. More bad weather is in the forecast. People’s poorly constructed homes, made from tarps, tents, and sheets were swept away as their camps flooded, leaving the most vulnerable groups – particularly women, children and the elderly – at great risk. Those in sturdier transitional housing are not experiencing the same grave danger as the hundreds of thousands of Haitians who remain in flimsy “shelter” almost eighteen months after the catastrophic earthquake.

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