Eight months after the catastrophic earthquake, Haiti has fended off a second-wave disaster of epidemics and unrest, but the impoverished nation’s political, social and economic situation will remain fragile, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report.

“It is to the great credit of the Haitian people that large-scale disturbances have so far been avoided despite the extremely harsh and precarious conditions of so many,” he writes in the report to the Security Council made public today.

The Haitian Government estimates that 1.3 million people are still uprooted following the devastating January earthquake. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands will still be in camps or improvised shelters over the coming year.

The Secretary-General cautions that the potential for social unrest exists, underscoring that debris removal and advancing reconstruction efforts is imperative.

“Haiti is now entering a period of change which will be critical to its future stability. The most immediate challenge, besides reconstruction, is the organization of presidential and legislative elections,” he notes.

Those polls, set to take place on 28 November, must be credible and legitimate so that they usher in a president and government “with a clear and uncontested mandate” to lead the reconstruction process, Mr. Ban writes, voicing hope that many Haitians will cast their ballot in the elections.

“Political stability will be essential for recovery and the resumption of socio-economic development,” he stresses, urging the international community to deliver on its commitments to support the polls.

For its part, the United Nations peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSTAH, will continue its support, including in the potentially volatile post-election period.

Other important political tasks, the Secretary-General points out, include completing the constitutional reform process initiated by President René Préval’s Government, which seeks to simplify the electoral cycle and boost the diaspora’s economic participation.

He also cites the need to resettle those displaced by the quake, underscoring the need for decisive leadership to resolve complex issues related to land, property and rental rights.

“A balance will also need to be struck between the provision of essential services for the displaced population, and the need to encourage camp residents to return to their communities and neighbourhoods of origin,” the report says.

“Even before 12 January, a significant number of the displaced were living in conditions comparable to, and in many cases worse than, those in the camps,” it notes.

Therefore, Mr. Ban says, there must be incentives for returns through the provision of adequate shelter and basic services, as well as the establishment of a protective environment, especially for women and children.

“With over a million displaced currently living in makeshift conditions, and the risk of transitional shelters evolving into a ‘new generation’ of slums, there is a continuing need for a clear, considered and comprehensive strategy for the resettlement of earthquake victims and the urban poor,” he writes.

The new publication also highlights the importance of donors and others maintaining their support for Haiti, even as media interest in the country wanes.

“Rebuilding Haiti will be a long-term project,” the Secretary-General underscores. “It will require decisive leadership on the part of the Government of Haiti, with the sustained support of the international community.”

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/VDUX-894TVU?OpenDocument

(Port-au-Prince, Haiti) – Six months after the earthquake devastated Haiti on January 12, the situation in the country remains worrying. Despite the preparative and preventive efforts of UN agencies, international organisations, the Haitian authorities and other local actors to cope with the humanitarian crisis and other natural disasters, the hurricane season now represents a significant danger to vulnerable populations, the 1.7 million displaced and other homeless persons.

Children play near a garbage mound in one of the camps for people displaced by the earthquake. (Shaina Aber – Jesuit Refugee Service/USA)

Moreover, despite the introduction by the UN World Food Programme of “Food for Work” and “Cash for Work” initiatives, food insecurity is increasingly affecting the Haitian population, particularly at least two million earthquake survivors. This situation especially affects displaced persons, forced to live rough or in hellish provisional camps under constant threat of being evicted by landowners, and still waiting to be relocated by the Haitian authorities.

Inside these camps, hunger pushes young girls to turn to prostitution in exchange for a hot meal, and the number of reported cases of sexual violence and theft continues to rise. The fundamental rights of displaced populations, principally the most vulnerable groups, unable to gain access to education and healthcare services, are no longer respected.

In addition, the slow pace of the reconstruction process, in part due to the failure of donors to live up to commitments made at the international conference on Haiti in New York last March, is alarming. As UN Secretary General, Ban Ki moon told the 31st Assembly General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on July 4, “Promises will not feed the Haitian people and unrealized commitments will not provide housing to those in need.”

In the interim, national leaders and other Haitian political actors have shown more interest in the struggle for power than in tackling the country’s humanitarian situation and reconstruction process. The current administration, led by President René Préval, and the opposition parties are leading the country towards a political crisis over the organization of the next presidential, legislative and local elections on November 28.

Nevertheless, civil society and other organizations continue to demand their inclusion and participation in the reconstruction process, encouraging Haitian politicians to seek a consensual approach to the resolution of the current political impasse and proposing urgent, appropriate and concrete responses to the serious problems facing the country.

http://www.jrsusa.org/news/news_100710.php

LONDON — Not enough aid has reached Haiti six months after its deadly earthquake, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said Tuesday.

Ban told BBC radio from Jamaica that immediate humanitarian assistance is only being funded at 60 per cent. Donors must be held accountable for their pledges, he said.

“I would urge that there should be an accountability that when they have a pledge to this money they should immediately deliver this aid,” Ban told the BBC.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Ban was making a flash appeal for aid or whether significant sums of aid still had not been received.

Ban’s comments came after Haitian President Rene Preval complained that the government lacks the money to run and re-build the country.

The Jan. 12 earthquake devastated Haiti’s capital and killed an estimated 300,000 people, according to the Haitian government.

Ban said he plans on talking to former President Bill Clinton about the need to accelerate aid. Clinton is the U.N. special envoy to Haiti.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5g8v2jXcWmG-E0t143i95L0aXbXag

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for “transparent and credible” presidential elections in Haiti later this year.

“The upcoming November elections will also be fundamental for ensuring Haiti’s democratic future. It is essential that they are transparent and credible,” said Ban, the first UN Secretary General to address the Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders at their annual summit.

He said that the UN is working with its international partners to support the electoral effort in the French-speaking nation and was grateful for Caricom’s support in that regard.

He said that the recovery will take many years adding that “promises will not feed the people of Haiti…”

President Rene Préval has announced November 28 as the date for presidential and legislative elections and also issued a decree mandating the Caricom country’s nine-member Provisional Electoral Council to prepare for the presidential elections.

The upcoming general elections are likely to cost US$44 million and last month, delegates attending a donor’s summit in the Dominican Republic discussed ways to finance the elections.

The Haitian president said that he was thankful to Caricom for the support shown to Haiti since the catastrophic earthquake.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/CARICOM-SUMMIT–Transparent-elections-needed-for-Haiti

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) – United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday welcomed the presidential decrees that mandate the Provisional Electoral Council to organize the upcoming presidential and legislative elections on November 28 in Haiti.

The Secretary-General urged the government of Haiti, the Provisional Electoral Council, and the general population to ensure transparent and credible elections. He added that the upcoming elections should serve to strengthen Haiti’s democratic institutions as the country struggles to recover from the worst humanitarian crisis in its history.

Ban encouraged all member states, particularly those involved in the Task Force on Elections, to ensure that the financial resources required for the elections are made available as soon as possible.

Ban also reiterated the UN’s commitment to provide support to Haitian authorities in the preparation and conduct of the elections.

On January 12, a major 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck close to Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, killing more than 230,000 people. The earthquake was one of the deadliest on record.

http://wireupdate.com/wires/7110/uns-ban-welcomes-the-organization-of-presidential-elections-in-quake-hit-haiti/