Linked with HURAH INC. Human Rights Accompaniment In Haiti, with Shocking Lancet Study about Haiti, with The economic development program for Haiti, and with Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti.
Linked also with Paul Farmer – USA / Haiti, with Marie Carmèle Rose-Anne Auguste – Haiti, and with Haiti’s Election – Looking Back.
He is a french lawyer and the the director of the human rights section of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), PHONE: 011.509.244.9650.9660, FAX: 011.509.244.9366/67, Or, Fax, Office of General Secretary (New York) – 212.963.4879. And UNHCHR Field Offices Contacts.
He says: « Since the beginning of the procedure until today, the fundamental rights, according to national and international standards, have not been respected in the case of Mr. Neptune and Privert », … and: « I would like to tell those people they should also pay particular attention to the fact that the judicial treatment of Mr. Neptune and Mr. Privert has proved to be illegal since their arrest, » … and: « more than 95 percent of Haiti’s prisoners are kept in prolonged custody without seeing a judge ». (See the whole article on Peninsula, May 4, 2005).
Sorry, I found no photo of Thierry Fagart. But this picture about the situation in Haiti (by the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti).
Read Haiti Report May 2006.
The Politics of Finger Wagging, Canada, the UN and « Judicial Reform » in Haiti, by Stuart Neatby, April 19, 2006, ZNet.
Thierry Fagart pointed out at a news conference that the Haitian Constitution calls for suspects to be tried in the criminal court sessions with a jury in cases of alleged « blood crimes » (the term « blood crimes » is not defined in the Constitution but is often construed as crimes resulting in death).
If this decision stands, said the MINUSTAH human rights official, it would mean that Mr. Neptune and all the other accused will appear in Saint-Marc and will be tried by a single judge who will not only rule on the innocence or guilt of the accused but will also decide the sentence that would be imposed if any defendants are found guilty. It is evident, said Mr. Fagart, that if a trial is held in Saint-Marc, there will be all sorts of pressures exerted, particularly by sectors accusing Mr. Neptune. Thierry Fagart said he hopes that the decision of Judge Cluny Pierre Jules will be reversed on appeal or by the Court of Cassation. The UN official asked the authorities to do all they can to correct the situation because, he said, Haiti is experiencing a catastrophic situation at the approach of the elections scheduled for the end of this year. (Read all on ‘Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti‘).
Some articles writing about Haiti and its problems:
Haiti’s Political Prisoners: Not Preval’s Fault, But His Problem, Sept. 5, 2006, Univ. of Pittsburgh’s School of Law.
‘Five years later’, Sept. 10, 2006, The Jamaica Observer.
On May 4, 2005, Thierry Fagart, the chief of the human rights division at the UN’s Haiti mission, called Neptune’s detention illegal.
« Haiti’s Political Prisoners Exemplify Challenges of Democratic Transition », on PINR, September 11, 2006. Three months into Haitian constitutional President Rene Preval’s term, his government has released most of the high-profile political prisoners jailed by the Interim Government of Haiti (I.G.H.) that was in power from 2004-2006. The releases have been lauded by the international human rights community and are popular with most Haitians. Yet nothing is easy in Haiti, and the release of the more numerous low-profile political prisoners has become entangled in larger class conflicts and poses a serious challenge to the new government. PINR.
Lavalas has been used in the name of two political parties in Haiti. Lavalas is the Kréyòl word for « avalanche » or « flash flood ». The word Lavalas was used as the name of the political party to demonstrate the need for a flood to purge Haiti of the evils of its past and to clean up the mess that had been caused by prior conflict and corruption within the country. (Read all on this wikipedia page).
Economy of Haiti: Since the demise of the Duvalier dictatorship in 1986, international economists have urged Haiti to reform and modernize its economy. Under President René Préval, the country’s economic agenda included trade and tariff liberalization, measures to control government expenditure and increase tax revenues, civil service downsizing, financial sector reform, and the modernization of state-owned enterprises through their sale to private investors, the provision of private sector management contracts, or joint public-private investment … (read the whole article on wikipedia). More on wikipedia: Haiti, Haiti’s external dept.
Links:
The CIA world factbook, Haiti;
American Jewish World Service;