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Accompaniment Program?

PROPOSAL TO: LETHAITILIVE COALITION FROM: HUMAN RIGHTS WORKING GROUP DATE: 6/09/05 RE: PROPOSAL FOR ACCOMPANIMENT PROGRAM NOTE TO ALL COALITION MEMBERS: Please study and write up feedback on this proposal. Consider as well making offers of assistance, financial, personnel, materials etc. Send your feedback and/or assistance offers to Tom Luce, Coordinator, April 6 Vt? Citizens Lobby with "SIS-LHL” in the subject line. Please give us your name and contact information in your reply. Thank you! TITLE: “STANDING IN SOLIDARITY-LET HAITI LIVE” (SIS-LHL) An Emergency Accompaniment Program to support pro-democracy activists in Haiti TIMETABLE: Immediately and lasting through February, 2006 SUPERVISION: LHL Oversight: Human Rights Working Group; Program MANAGEMENT: Director with Joint Committee of Haitian Partners and US Partners FUNDING/FISCAL MANAGEMENT: start up donations solicited from LHL Coalition members and beyond including grants; 501©(3) status to be determined. HAITIAN PARTNER(S): Initial partner, AUMOHD (see http://www.April6vt.org), a young, non-partisan human rights advocacy group with lawyers and social service professionals GOALS: 1. To stand in solidarity with our Haitian pro-democracy partners who are calling for a return to democratic rule under extremely threatening conditions. 2. To assist our Haitian pro-democracy partners in promoting an authentic national process for redressing human rights abuses that prohibit free and fair elections.

Note: Until responsible civil societies and government entities acknowledge and set remedies for all human rights abuses including killings, illegal imprisonments, and illegal removal from office there can be no peace, no democratic elections in Haiti.. The abuses must include government-complicit actions used as a tool of repression of political action against the majority poor citizens of Haiti. The poor must be represented in all phases of reconciliation and restoration of their political rights. ("Government" includes the Interim Government, MINUSTAH, the U.S., Canada, France and any other country involved in this violent, illegal behavior during the past year leading to the exclusion of the poor in the planning of and participation in elections and other measures meant to rebuild democracy and a viable economy.) OBJECTIVES 1. To assist pro-democracy Haitian partners in stopping human rights abuses by a. physically accompanying at-risk groups in their exercise of free speech and legal rights, b. helping document and bring to trial cases of abuses. c. mounting an emergency public information campaign soliciting worldwide reaction, and d. petitioning government authorities holding them accountable for abuses committed under their rule. 2. To assist the work of pro-democracy Haitian partners who are demanding a return to constitutional government: a. support grassroots communications, discussions, actions promoting the respect for the constitution of 1987. b. facilitate international involvement in the pro-democracy movement. 3. To assist pro-democracy Haitians who are calling for a national reconciliation based on a return to the rule of constitutional law and a redress of human rights abuses before any elections are held including: a. helping to provide appropriate technical, financial, and moral assistance to pro-democracy groups wanting to establish the physical and moral space for an authentic national healing process. Models such as So. Africa, Guatemala etc. would be used in constructing an authentic Haitian healing. This would include the use of a Truth Commission, international peace experts, i.e. Nobel Laureates, national reconcilers, i.e. Nelson Mandela. b. assisting in the development of the infrastructures needed by the national healing process; this would include communications systems, office space, establishment of resources bank for funding, for personnel, etc. c. helping to provide independent monitoring of any official election activities especially those that would bypass the healing process. PROGRAMS 1. COORDINATION WITH LHL AND PARTNER PROGRAMS: a. ALERT SYSTEM 1. Will continue and enhance the "A Half Hour For Haiti" program of LHL member IJDH by growing the list of target groups and the network of petitioners, especially recruiting allies in the peace and justice communities in the US, and Canada. This would mean continuing the petition drives, calls to action to increase awareness and achieve concrete goals. 2. Will develop a doable number of advocacy campaigns geared to calling a halt to abuses and to denials of the reconciliation needed before elections. These campaigns would target all parties to the conflicts, local regional and international b. PUBLIC RELATIONS 1. Will regroup writers and distributors of news already active in LHL coalition to give added emphasis and to increase the LHL Coalition's writer and news distributor pool. Continue to submit guest editorials and responses to stories in the media, mainstream and alternative 2. Will increase contacts with, and support for, the alternative news community to enhance their effectiveness in getting the true stories to the allies of the pro-democracy movement in Haiti. This would be done by a fortified LHL team of news watchers/writers and those who have contacts with alternative news media personnel. 3. Will organize an improved contact with the mainstream media. In the same way as 2.b, a team of LHL PR people will work to establish working relationships. c. LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY a. Will continue and enhance the surveillance of legislative initiatives, both harmful and beneficial to Haiti. b. Will continue and grow the LHL nationwide, collaborative network of grass roots activists work with members of congress. Alliances will be built with groups sharing the same goals, i.e. SOAW, LASC, etc. c. Will seek creative uses of congressional mechanisms to deal with the needs of the Haitian pro-democracy movement. Will strengthen alliances with friendly members of congress 4. PEACEFUL ACCOMPANIMENT a. Will survey Haitian pro-democracy groups seeking reconciliation and a return to democracy and develop a needs assessment that will be used in soliciting moral and material aid basic to their survival. b. Will identify specific partner groups who wish to have accompaniers to aid in their programs. c. Will recruit international volunteers to provide basic accompaniment--physical presence at critical sites (rallies, prisons, court, police stations etc) to give moral, international support. This basic role doesn't require multilingual gifts. Will insure a trustworthy screening process, a clear job description, adequate supervision and training, and a practical safety program. Volunteers will provide travel to and from Haiti, fees for room and board, and will not hold LHL liable for negligence and special services. d. Will assist partners in obtaining and operating a high end and reliable communication infrastructure that will serve as large a number of agencies as possible, i.e. satellite internet and phone systems, battery-charging solar panels, cell-phones, two way radios, computers, digital cameras, etc. e. Will seek volunteers to help in maintaining and using the communications system especially to keep the international community in direct touch with the ground. f. Will seek volunteers to watchdog the official election planning activities in order to be better informed as to what needs to be done to counteract a failure in obtaining fair elections. Alert mechanisms to bring attention to harmful actions (IFES type sabotage tactics), to the world community will be constructed. Support for Haitians organizing protests will be given. g. Will seek volunteers who can competently assist in documenting cases of abuse and other civil rights violations against poor, Creole-speaking Haitians. h. Will solicit funding to establish a budget to meet basic program needs, i.e. in country board and room for volunteers,

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