African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
17 p., This commentary explores possible reasons for the disproportionate donor response to the Haitian earthquake and to Pakistan's floods, but it also explores other similarities -- and differences -- between the two cases that deserve further attention. This short article seeks to provide some comparisons between disasters in Haiti and Pakistan by looking first at the difference in the nature of the disasters, followed by comparison of housing needs, displacement, and the international response.
Forman,Johanna Mendelson (Author) and White,Stacey (Author)
Format:
Pamphlet
Publication Date:
Nov 2011
Published:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
23 p., Discusses how in the immediate aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Dominican Republic launched a massive cross-border emergency assistance mission, providing critical medical assistance, logistics support, and humanitarian aid. In so doing, the Dominicans served as vital first responders to the crisis, reaching earthquake victims well before the arrival of any other international actors.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
13 p., When the January 12, 2010 earthquake hit Haiti, the country was in the midst of a second round of security and justice system reforms supported by the international community. The quake killed hundreds of thousands of people, including some who played a critical role in implementing these reforms. Damaged infrastructure and casualties in key justice and security positions hindered the existing security institutions' ability to respond to the problems caused by the destruction. This paper examines how the security and justice reforms were affected by the earthquake, and the new security challenges faced by the population in the post-earthquake period.
Real Instituto Elcano de Estudios Internacionales y Estrategicos
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
6 p., This paper analyses the US military deployment in Haiti after the earthquake of 12 January, which caused catastrophic damage in the poorest country in the Americas. Haiti's request, the US took the lead in directing rescue operations and coordinating an aid campaign with the United Nations and the international community. The US also had its own reasons for coming to the rescue of the Haitian people. However, its military deployment has not been without criticism inside and outside the region.
Real Instituto Elcano de Estudios Internacionales y Estrategicos
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
6 p., As well as being one of the worst natural disasters in history, the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010 exposed the developmental shortcomings of the poorest country in America and had repercussions on its foreign relations and internal policy. As the damage is still being assessed and the debates carry on regarding the reconstruction agenda, this report looks at the international response to the humanitarian catastrophe and its effects on the country's domestic political agenda.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
55 p., Following immediate relief efforts after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Congress provided 1.14 billion dollars for reconstruction in the Supplemental Appropriations Act. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has allocated about 268 million dollars and other funding to construct a power plant and port to support the Caracol Industrial Park (CIP) in northern Haiti and permanent housing in several locations. This report examines USAID's (1) funding obligations and disbursements and State's reports to Congress on funding and progress; (2) USAID's progress in two CIP-related activities -- a power plant and port; and (3) USAID's progress in constructing permanent housing.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
58 p., On January 12, 2010, a powerful earthquake struck Haiti, resulting in an estimated 230,000 deaths, including more than 16,000 Haitian government personnel, and the destruction of many ministry buildings. Congress appropriated 1.14 billion dollars in supplemental funds for reconstruction, most of which was provided to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of State (State). This report addresses infrastructure construction activities, including (1) USAID and State obligations and expenditures; (2) USAID staffing; (3) USAID planning; and (4) potential sustainability challenges USAID faces.
Heinzelman,Jessica (Author) and Waters,Carol (Author)
Format:
Pamphlet
Publication Date:
Oct 2010
Published:
United States Institute of Peace
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
16 p., Examines the role of Ushahidi, a crisis-mapping platform, in the disaster relief effort following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Explains that Ushahidi provided the international community with access to actionable intelligence collected directly from the Haitian population via text messages and through social media sources, allowing responders to quickly and effectively target resources in the rapidly changing disaster environment. Ushahidi provided a way to capture, organize, and share critical information coming directly from Haitians. Information was gathered through social media (e.g., blogs, Twitter, and Facebook) and text messages sent via mobile phones.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
33 p., Warns that without an inclusive national pact on critical priorities, President Michel Martelly faces the spectre of a failed presidency, and Haiti risks international abandonment. To finally start the long-promised transformation, Martelly should build on the tenuous Christmas Eve 2012 agreement for a credible electoral body to hold much delayed Senate, municipal and local polls quickly. He also should bring key actors into a national dialogue on selecting the Constitutional Council and resolving credibility questions about the appointment of the president of the Supreme Court and the Superior Judicial Council, as well as on pursuing other critical short- and longer-term public policies. Figures, Appendixes, References.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
32 p., Suggests that the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti needs a gradual reconfiguration of its operations prior to a withdrawal, to avoid a security vacuum and give Haiti the chance for sustainable development. The real debate is not whether MINUSTAH should leave but when, and what to change in Haiti and in the mission's mandate, structure and behavior to ensure that a phased withdrawal is linked to stronger institutions and progress toward lasting stability and development. Figures, Appendixes, References.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
19 p., Warns that a dysfunctional justice system continues to pose significant obstacles to the democratic process in a post-earthquake Haiti where security and stability remain fragile.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
19 p., Discusses how Haiti's porous land and sea borders remain susceptible to drug trafficking, smuggling and other illegal activities that weaken the rule of law and deprive the state of vital revenue. Post-quake insecurity underscores continued vulnerability to violent crime and political instability. Overcrowded urban slums, plagued by deep poverty, limited economic opportunities and the weakness of government institutions, particularly the Haitian National Police (HNP), breed armed groups and remain a source of broader instability. If the Martelly administration is to guarantee citizen safety successfully, it must remove tainted officers and expand the HNP's institutional and operational capacity across the country by completing a reform that incorporates community policing and violence reduction programs.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
22 p., Discusses how a year and a half after a deadly earthquake devastated its capital, 650,000 victims still wait for permanent housing in more than 1,000 unstable emergency camps across Haiti as a new hurricane season arrives. If reconstruction is to right the many imbalances that have made Haiti poor and prone to disasters, violence and conflict, it is paramount that the Martelly government set out a resettlement policy rapidly that engages the victims and is less about closing the camps, more about building stable, less violent communities and not only in the capital. The pilot plan for closing six camps and resettling their residents his administration has put forward is an important first step that deserves support, but the most vulnerable camps should be added to it quickly.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
26 p., Argues that if the electoral process is to be as transparent, non-violent and widely participated in as it needs to be, the Haitian government must meet a higher standard than ever before, and the UN, regional organizations and donors like the U.S., Canada, the EU and Brazil must urgently press for this and expand support.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
23 p., Argues that now is the moment to lift Haiti from under the dust and rubble and transform it into a less vulnerable and more equitable nation. The opportunity must not be lost.
Johnston,Jake (Author) and Main,Alexander (Author)
Format:
Pamphlet
Publication Date:
Apr 2013
Published:
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
14 p., The U.S. government pledged $1.15 billion for relief and reconstruction projects in Haiti. Key U.S. actors, like the State Department's Cheryl Mills, acknowledged a "unique opportunity to build back better" and "an obligation to ensure that aid is actually effective." Over three years have passed since Haiti's earthquake and, despite USAID's stated commitment to greater transparency and accountability, the question "where has the money gone?" echoes throughout the country. It remains unclear how exactly the billions of dollars that the U.S. has spent on assistance to Haiti have been used and whether this funding has had a sustainable impact. With few exceptions, Haitians and U.S. taxpayers are unable to verify how U.S. aid funds are being used on the ground in Haiti.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
4 p., This issue brief reviews a draft report [PDF] on Haiti's November 28, 2010 presidential elections from the Organization of American States' (OAS) "Expert" Mission - which recommends changing the result of the first round of the election. It finds the OAS Mission's report to be methodologically and statistically flawed, and its conclusions to be arbitrary. The brief notes that over 1,300 tally sheets, or about six times the amount thrown out by the OAS, were missing or quarantined; and that these tally sheets would very likely have given a different result from that of the OAS mission. Also, the OAS Mission's report is based on an analysis of just 919 vote tally sheets - without any reported statistical inference -- whereas CEPR counted and analyzed all 11,181 tally sheets from the first round of elections.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
15 p., This report describes the results of an independent recount of vote tally sheets from Haiti's November 28 presidential election. These 11,181 election tally sheets from across Haiti were posted online by Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP). It finds that for some 1,326 voting booths, or 11.9 percent of the total, tally sheets were either never received by the CEP or were quarantined for irregularities. This corresponds to about 12.7 percent of the vote, which was not counted and is not included in the final totals that were released by the CEP on December 7, 2010 and reported by the press. It also found many more tally sheets that had irregularities in the vote totals that were sufficient to disqualify them, and a large number of clerical errors that further undermines the credibility of the vote count. The report finds that based on the numbers of irregularities, it is impossible to determine who should advance to a second round. If there is a second round, it will be based on arbitrary assumptions and/or exclusions.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
2 p., This fact sheet profiles the health status of Haiti prior to the devastating earthquake that hit the island nation on January 12, 2010. It reviews the major US government global health and development programs operating in Haiti and examines the US response to the quake and the future health challenges as the nation rebuilds.
Katz,Ethan (Author) and Boscov-Ellen,Daniel (Author)
Format:
Pamphlet
Publication Date:
2010-04-14
Published:
Council on Hemispheric Affairs
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
12 p., Over the last few months there has been a surfeit of talk in the international community over what should be done for Haiti. However, in almost all of these discussions Haiti's historical context is completely excised -- It is almost as if the country had only come into being as a result of January's earthquake. This collective amnesia is damning since the devastating nature of these natural disasters cannot be understood apart from over two centuries of Haiti's colonial and postcolonial subjugation, foreign occupation, economic exploitation, and the degrading conditions faced by most of its population.
Klasing,Amanda M. (Author) and Brody,Reed (Author)
Format:
Pamphlet
Publication Date:
Apr 2011
Published:
Human Rights Watch
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
47 p., This report examines the legal and practical questions surrounding the case of Jean-Claude Duvalier and concludes that Haiti has an obligation under international law to investigate and prosecute the grave violations of human rights under Duvalier's rule. This report also addresses Haiti's capacity to carry out the trial, the question of the statute of limitations, and Duvalier's personal involvement in alleged criminal acts. Tables, Figures.
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
46 p., In the aftermath of the disastrous earthquake of January 12, 2010, Haiti will receive unprecedented aid for reconstruction and for its promising economic strategy; but given the country's legacy of corruption, massive aid could simply result in another massive Haitian failure. As explored in this paper, success hinges on facing corruption squarely and developing a hard-headed, politically sensitive anticorruption strategy.
Margesson,Rhoda (Author) and Taft-Morales,Maureen (Author)
Format:
Pamphlet
Publication Date:
2010-02-02
Published:
Congressional Research Reports for the People
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
56 p., The largest earthquake ever recorded in Haiti devastated parts of the country, including the capital, on January 12, 2010; and an estimated 3 million people, approximately one third of the overall population, have been affected by the earth quake, leaving an estimated 112,000 deaths and 194,000 injured. President Barack Obama assembled heads of US agencies to establish a coordinated response to the disaster; and Congressional concerns include budget priorities and oversight, burden-sharing, immigration, tax incentives for charitable donations, trade preferences for Haiti, and helping constituents find missing persons, speed pending adoptions, and contribute to relief efforts.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
4 p., Haiti has been a broken country at the best of times; and the devastating January 12, 2010, earthquake has thrown the drastically poor nation under the world spotlight once again, but for all the wrong reasons. With the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince, now in ruins and the vestiges of health care infrastructure all but destroyed, little care is available to those who need it most, especially those requiring specialized assistance, including the 120,000 Haitian people currently living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
47 p., US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has been cited as having mature interagency processes and coordinating mechanisms, but as evidenced by the earthquakes that shook Haiti in January 2010, the challenges that SOUTHCOM faces require coordinated efforts from US government agencies, international partners, and nongovernmental and private organizations. This report (1) assesses the extent that SOUTHCOM exhibits key attributes that enhance and sustain collaboration with interagency and other stakeholders and (2) evaluates SOUTHCOM's approach for developing an organizational structure that facilitates interagency collaboration and positions the command to conduct a full range of missions.
Ramachandran,Vijaya (Author) and Walz,Julie (Author)
Format:
Pamphlet
Publication Date:
Feb 2013
Published:
Center for Global Development
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
4 p., An estimated $9 billion of public and private funding has been spent on disaster recovery in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. Of that, $2.25 billion in public funding has been disbursed by the United States alone. But despite the large amount of public money involved, it is nearly impossible to track how it has been spent and what has been achieved. The transparency and accountability of US spending in Haiti needs to be improved. The authors suggest three steps to do so: Require prime contractors to report subcontracting data, Adopt the International Aid Transparency Initiative, and Require systematic, and publically available evaluations by NGOs and contractors.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
6 p., David Roodman testifies before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade about supporting Haiti's private sector.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
14 p., This paper has to do with a question that is important for the future of the Hemisphere: namely, what to do about the Organization of American States (OAS)? On February 23, 2010, heads of state from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean met in Cancun and formed a new organization: the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). It has the same membership as the OAS, but without the United States and Canada, and it includes Cuba.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
7 p., A US nongovernmental organization has filed a lawsuit against the United Nations (UN), seeking compensation on behalf of victims of a cholera outbreak in Haiti, as well as funding to support programs to eradicate the disease and improve sanitation. Haitians deserve great sympathy for their plight, but a successful lawsuit could invite similar lawsuits, regardless of merit, thereby making the US and other UN member states vulnerable to significant financial costs, while leaving those actually responsible largely or entirely unpunished.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
10 p., On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti. As of January 20, 2010, 72,000 had been confirmed dead with hundreds of thousands more in need of assistance. The earthquake has left an estimated 1.5 million Haitians homeless. As discussed in this report, Congress has passed legislation with the goal of promoting charitable donations for the earthquake victims in Haiti. Tables, Figures.
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
14 p., In the months before the January earthquake, Haiti and its criminal justice institutions were the subject of an unprecedented effort by two UN agencies to measure the state of the Rule of Law. Drawing on the results of that pre-quake assessment as well as on post-quake assessments of the justice sector, this paper raises four questions that should guide recovery and further development of the police, courts, and prisons in Haiti -- questions that focus attention on the meaning of justice sector reform for the people of Haiti, especially the poor. Tables.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
20 p., Haiti has concluded its latest election cycle, although it is still finalizing the results of a few legislative seats. The US provided 16 million dollars in election support through the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Like many of the previous Haitian elections, the recent process has been riddled with political tensions, violence, allegations of irregularities, and low voter turnout. Other issues include the destabilizing presence of former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier and former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the newly elected government's ability to handle the complex post-earthquake reconstruction process and its relationship with the donor community.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
11 p., This study by a team from the Center for Emerging Market Enterprises (CEME) at the Fletcher School at Tufts University explores the ubiquity of gambling practices in Haiti and their implication for financial services. As findings indicate, the Haitian lottery, known as the borlette, appears as a historical and cultural response to economic and social marginalization, as well as a manifestation of undeterred hope for a transformational lump sum. Tables.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
8 p., Targeted at some of Haiti's poorest and most vulnerable women, the Free Obstetric Care project offers free assisted childbirth and consultations to those who cannot afford to pay. This booklet looks at the impact of the project after its launch in 2008. Following the devastation caused by the January 2010 earthquake, the project will need to rebuild -- but its record documented in these pages, makes a compelling case not just to reestablish but to extend it to the whole country. Indeed, the experience of the SOG project demonstrates how free obstetric care can help to build the future health of women and newborns across Haiti.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
9 p., The US has historically provided assistance to support development in Haiti. Over the last several years, Congress has attempted to promote Haiti's economic development through the use of trade preferences for Haitian products. In 2000, Congress extended preferences under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to allow for duty-free treatment of apparel through the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA). This report responds to a mandate in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, which requires GAO to review Earned Import Allowance Program (EIAP) annually and conduct an evaluation of the program.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
30 p., The Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act of 2010 amended the Earned Import Allowance Program (EIAP), reducing the qualifying fabric requirement from three to two; and the amended Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act (now HOPE II) also mandated GAO to review the effectiveness of the EIAP and to look for potential improvements. GAO examined (1) the extent to which the program has been used, (2) how US government agencies implemented it, and (3) how the program could be improved.
11 p., This publication is Caribbean Export Development Agency’s contribution to the WTO/OECD Aid for Trade Case Story project as set out in the Call for Case Stories in July 2010
1. It reflects on the contribution of the Agency to export development and trade promotion on behalf of CARIFORUM States during the period 2008‐2010.
Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
4 p., The growing violence and instability in Mexico and the Caribbean will clearly demand greater attention from the United States in the future. This conference, held at the University of Pittsburgh campus on October 28-30, 2009 offered an important opportunity to assess these threats, and to consider what can be done to counter them. Includes chapter "Perspectives on the Caribbean."
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
16 p., The record of countries coming out of war or chaos is dismal: roughly half of them fall back into crisis. Among the other half, most end up highly aid dependent. The author of this Special Report was invited to develop her proposal for reconstruction zones as a way to jump-start the economies of conflict- and disaster-affected countries in a dynamic and inclusive way, by improving aid effectiveness and accountability. References.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
7 p., Six months after the devastating Haitian earthquake left more than 200,000 people dead, more than a million homeless, and a massive reconstruction task ahead, this short article comments on one particular aspect of response to the Haitian earthquake which has received little attention in the media and which bridges the immediate relief and long-term reconstruction efforts: the question of temporary shelter and permanent housing.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
23 p., The Caribbean Basin has benefited from multiple preferential trade arrangements, the first being the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), passed by Congress in the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act of 1983 followed by the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) of 2000, which provides tariff preferences for imports of apparel products, and the Haiti HOPE Act of 2006 (amended in 2008 and 2010), which gives even more generous preferences to imports of Haitian apparel.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
10 p., At the G20, world leaders agreed on the need of a concerted and coordinated response to the financial crisis, and at the same time committed to lay the foundations to move beyond the crisis to a sustainable recovery. However, Latin America and the Caribbean still lack adequate and efficient institutional mechanisms and instruments to tackle long-term common development challenges at the regional level. The Annual Meeting of the Finance Ministers of the Americas and the Caribbean provides an opportunity to fill this gap.
Jenkins,Rhys (Author) and Peters,Enrique Dussel (Author)
Format:
Pamphlet
Publication Date:
May 2007
Published:
Brighton, United Kingdom: Institute of Development Studies
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
34 p., The rapid growth of China and its increased integration with the global economy is having both direct and indirect effects on the Latin American and Caribbean region. This report identifies the main channels through which China's growth is affecting the region and undertakes a preliminary analysis of the impacts that it is having on development.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
6 p., Argues the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians -- and particularly the redesignation of the eligibility period -- demonstrates the best of what the Administration can do using its executive branch authority to improve the quality of people's lives. It demonstrates a commitment to good immigration policy and to "good government" policies such as greater transparency and coordination. In the Haitian context, the Department of Homeland Security should also implement a program to grant humanitarian parole to the estimated 105,000 Haitian already approved as beneficiaries of family-based visa petitions, just as has been done for Cubans under the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program.
Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
25 p., Charitable donations from mobile phones have grown more common in recent years. Two thirds (64%) of American adults now use text messaging, and 9% have texted a charitable donation from their mobile phone. The first-ever, in-depth study on mobile donors, which analyzed the "Text to Haiti" campaign after the 2010 earthquake -- finds that these contributions were often spur-of-the-moment decisions that spread virally through friend networks.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
16 p., The environmental, social, and political conditions in Haiti have long prompted congressional interest in US policy on Haitian migrants, particularly those attempting to reach the US by boat. Migrant interdiction and mandatory detention are key components of US policy toward Haitian migrants, but human rights advocates express concern that Haitians are not afforded the same treatment as other asylum seekers. The devastation caused by the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti has led Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians in the US at the time of the earthquake. Tables, Figures.
