Haiti

(Quelle: UN News) In their latest anti-gang operation in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, 200 United Nations peacekeepers waged an eight-hour gun battle yesterday with heavily armed men who attacked them when they were checking a barricade under construction, killing four of the assailants. … There were no civilian or UN casualties in the battle which erupted in the Pele zone of the Cité Militaire area when the blue helmets came under attack by men firing heavy weapons.

(Quelle: BBC) The members of a high-level committee set up to improve the organisation of the forthcoming elections in Haiti have resigned, local media reports say. The panel was set up by the interim prime minister, Gerard Latortue, because of concerns about the work of the Provisional Electoral Council. But the head of the committee, Christian Rousseau, said that it had received no political support. Poor organisation has resulted in the elections being delayed twice already. Both the United Nations and the United States have voiced concerns about the postponements. The polls are now planned for some time between 11-18 December under the UN supervision.

(Quelle: BBC) Haiti's interim government has filed a lawsuit in the US against the exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It alleges that Mr Aristide and eight other defendants stole tens of millions of dollars from the Haitian treasury and state-owned telephone firm Teleco.

(Quelle: UN News) A Jordanian peacekeeper serving with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has become the latest blue helmet to lose his life for the cause of peace after dying today of a gunshot wound sustained at the weekend during an operation to seize a stolen vehicle and find a kidnapped woman.

(Quelle: UN News) The Security Council today stressed the primary importance of holding a first round of elections in Haiti this year, and urged the authorities there to undertake a series of measure to achieve this goal. ... Specifically, the Council urged the Haitian authorities to work with the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) to develop a phased electoral plan as a matter of priority, with a view to finalizing a feasible electoral calendar. It also urged the Haitian authorities to publish the final list of candidates for the elections and to agree in consultation with MINUSTAH on a list of voting centres.

(Quelle: Reuters AlertNet) Haiti's human rights situation is 'catastrophic,' with summary executions, mob violence, torture and arbitrary arrests, the top U.N. human rights official in the troubled Caribbean nation said on Friday.

(Quelle: BBC) Haiti's planned elections will probably have to be postponed, interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue has said. He was speaking after a cabinet meeting to discuss logistical and funding problems dogging the preparations. The presidential and parliamentary polls are scheduled for 20 November, but Mr Latortue told the BBC they could now be held two to three weeks later.

(Quelle: UN News) With a significant number of voters and with candidates representing a broad range of political opinion gearing up for upcoming elections in Haiti, a credible vote is possible but the Transitional Government must take further measures to ensure success, a new United Nations report says. “Haiti is at a critical juncture,” UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in the report to the Security Council on the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). The security environment in Haiti has improved in recent months, with MINUSTAH helping the Haitian National Police to develop a reform plan aimed at enhancing professionalism and technical skills. But the report warns that the potential for a resurgence of violence remains and continued preparedness will be crucial, particularly during the electoral period.

(Quelle: UN News) The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti today opened a new General Headquarters for the capital, Port-au-Prince, after voter registration across the country passed a benchmark of 3 million. The new Headquarters, commanded by a general, aims to ensure that the military component and police component in the area would carry out efficient, better integrated operations, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) said. ... Meanwhile, 310 soldiers out of the extra 750 the Security Council authorized have arrived in the Caribbean country to create a rapid reaction force, especially in and around Port-au-Prince, MINUSTAH said.

(Quelle: AlertNet) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Haiti's interim government, struggling to contain political and criminal violence, to speed up planning for November's elections and urged citizens to get out and vote. In a one-day visit to Haiti on Tuesday under heavy security, Rice met interim President Boniface Alexandre and Prime Minister Gerard Latortue and expressed concern over planning for the Nov. 20 legislative and presidential poll.