Mennonite Central Committee Haiti is part of the Coordination Committee of NGOs – Haiti (CCO), a consortium of NGOs operating in the sectors of humanitarian aid and development in Haiti. This piece was written by David Kroeker-Maus, originally published here, and is based on a French-language press release recently issued by the CCO.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, August 5, 2015 (AMG) — A group of over 40 non-governmental organisations in Haiti has today called on the government there to not let elections overshadow the plight of Haitians still living in camps and tent cities after the 2010 earthquake.
The statement released by the Haiti NGO Coordination Committee (known by its French acronym CCO-Haiti) calls on the Haitian government to ensure that residents in camps and other informal settlements are still provided with basic services and are not subjected to forced evictions later this year.
Background: More than five years after the devastating earthquake of 12 January, 2010, at least 60,000 people are still living in 45 camps in and around Port-au-Prince, according to the figures used by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Although this is a significant reduction since the height of post-earthquake displacement in 2010, when 1.5 million people were living in tent cities, the situation of those still living in the camps remains bleak.
The Haitian government has committed to a goal of closing all camps by the end of 2015, but many civil society organisations are worried that, without any permanent housing in place, the closure of the camps will result in forced evictions of camp residents with nowhere else to go. Indeed, the IOM estimated that at least 23,000 residents being threatened with evictions had not yet been targeted for relocation assistance.
Moreover, COO-Haiti noted that several programmes which provide basic services such as water and sanitation, as well as help with relocation, will come to an end between June and September this year. The group notes that, with little or no basic services, the day-to-day life of camp dwellers is “characterised by extreme vulnerability.”
A matter of human rights: Recognising the current electoral campaign, the statement says “even though elections are currently the priority of the Haitian government, it remains no less of an obligation for the state to work for the respect and promotion of the human rights of everyone within its territory.”
The NGO group is calling on the Haitian government to respect and apply laws and international obligations that protect internally displaced persons, to ensure that the regularisation of informal settlements does not translate to forced evictions.
The statement makes several appeals to the Haitian government to respect its international obligations to protect internally displaced persons, and to guarantee access to sanitation services, housing and legal aid to protect home ownership and promote security of tenure.
The statement can be read in its entirety (in French) here.
Image Credit: EU Humanitarian Aid
[…] In Haiti, Haitians from a variety of different organizations commemorated five years of cholera, introduced by United Nations troops, by displaying photos of victims online and in front of the UN offices in New York, Geneva and Port au Prince. They are demanding an apology and reparations, alone with the removal of UN troops. Other organizations are monitoring elections and still others are involved in advocacy around post earthquake housing. […]
[…] Port-au-Prince, like many large cities in the Global South, is ill-prepared for this kind of growth. Municipal infrastructure is non-existent in some neighborhoods. Port-au-Prince also lacks space. It is bound by the ocean and a mountain chain limiting the land available for expansion. Newcomers inevitably stay with family or seek low-rent houses built in areas prone natural disasters. This type of unregulated growth contributed to the destruction witnessed on January 12, 2010 when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Port-au-Prince and killed more than 220,000 people, leveled 300,000 homes, and sent 1.5 million people into makeshift displaced-persons camps. […]
[…] Port-au-Prince, like many large cities in the Global South, is ill-prepared for this kind of growth. Municipal infrastructure is non-existent in some neighborhoods. Port-au-Prince also lacks space. It is bound by the ocean and a mountain chain limiting the land available for expansion. Newcomers inevitably stay with family or seek low-rent houses built in areas prone natural disasters. This type of unregulated growth contributed to the destruction witnessed on January 12, 2010 when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Port-au-Prince and killed more than 220,000 people, leveled 300,000 homes, and sent 1.5 million people into makeshift displaced-persons camps. […]