25317: Hermantin(News)Here is a presentation before the Organization of American States (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>


Posted on Tue, Jun. 07, 2005



Here is a presentation before the Organization of American States' General...




Here is a presentation before the Organization of American States' General 
Assembly in the civil society dialogue with members states, conducted Sunday by 
Jean-Robert Lafortune, chairman of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, a 
registered civil society organization with the OAS:

Honorable Secretary of the Organization of American States, his excellency 
Insulza, Honorable Members of the Organization of American States, and members 
of Civil Society Groups, good afternoon.

The Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition accepts thankfully the invitation to 
participate in the OAS General Assembly XXXV Session in Fort Lauderdale. We 
believe that the participation of Civil Society in this forum, even as a 
special guest, is a positive step toward establishing long-term dialogue 
between member states and nongovernmental organizations in the hemisphere on 
issues and challenges of mutual interest.

We are here today to bring forth the plight of Haitian Refugees and Haitian 
Migrants in the context of the Inter-American Charter on Human Rights and urge 
all the member states that have not ratified the Convention on Human Rights to 
request their government to do so.

For over a decade now, due to chronic political unrest in Haiti, many Haitians 
have sought safe haven in several countries in the region: the United States, 
the islands of the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica.

In the United States, our government has implemented dual immigration policies 
targeting Haitian nationals. For instance, the former United States Attorney 
General John Ashcroft has implemented the indefinite detention policy vis-a-vis 
Haitian refugees as part of the preemptive doctrine of the Justice Department 
to discourage potential refugees from seeking political asylum in the United 
States. Haitian refugees in Guantánamo have been waiting for three years now to 
be resettled in a third country. As civil war and natural disaster ravaged the 
island nation of Haiti last year, despite public outcry for the U.S. government 
to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitian nationals, it was to no 
avail. As Haiti continues to spiral into insecurity, the Department of Homeland 
Security continues to apprehend and deport forcibly Haitian nationals to their 
homeland.

In the Dominican Republic, the government has instituted domestic policies that 
do not grant citizenship to children of Haitian migrants born in this country. 
Repatriation of migrants is routinely conducted without due process.

In the island of the Bahamas, the government has also instituted a domestic 
policy that does not grant citizenship to children of Haitian refugees or 
migrants born in that country. Repatriation of Haitian nationals is also 
routinely conducted without due process.

In Jamaica, Haitian refugees are being quarantined for a long period of time. 
Long-term detention has taken a heavy toll on their physical, emotional, and 
spiritual well-being. Close to 1,000 were repatriated last year despite their 
fear of persecution because they could no longer support the conditions at the 
camp.

In Haiti, public safety is almost [nonexistent] as armed confrontations 
continue between paramilitary groups and government forces.

Haitian migration has reached such a dimension that it is in the best interest 
of all the member states to assist Haiti in getting out of its current 
quagmire.