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Last Updated: Feb 6, 2017 - 2:32:04 PM |
Credit: Juan Manuel Herrera/OAS
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The
Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) today
received a report on the progress made by the government of Haiti four
years after the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010, during the
continuation of the regular meeting that began yesterday.
The Permanent Representative of Haiti to the OAS Duly Brutus,
described the tributes his country paid to the 200,000 victims of the
earthquake on its fourth anniversary. Although the consequences of the
disaster are still visible in the country, the Ambassador stated that
"the Haitian people are still looking to the future with determination."
Among the areas of progress made by the government of President Michel
Martelly, Ambassador Brutus stressed that "thanks to a policy of
building social housing," more than 90% of the people displaced by the
earthquake living in tents have already been relocated. Four years after
the earthquake, the Haitian Ambassador concluded, "a message of hope
and trust is what we want to convey to the Haitian people."
Following the intervention of Ambassador Brutus, the Council
watched a video on the many programs of the government of Haiti in the
construction of housing; the delivery school supplies and other
improvements in the education system; efforts to strengthen the
agricultural sector, the justice system, public security and elections;
developments in the supply of energy; tree planting efforts to protect
the environment; the rebuilding of the Toussaint Louverture
International Airport, and the construction of new hospitals, among
other projects.
The Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, Albert Ramdin, who
chairs the Working Group on Haiti and the Group of Friends of Haiti of
the OAS, said the country "can be seen as a place of opportunity, as a
country where perseverance has produced concrete results, improving the
lives of many Haitians.” He added that “the government and the people of
Haiti have worked tirelessly with local and international partners,
agencies and countries around the world to find opportunities to develop
the country and take it forward. Although there is still a lot of work
to be done we believe Haiti can demonstrate tangible results and its
achievements have been inspiring.”
In another item on the agenda, the Interim Representative of
Brazil to the OAS, Breno Dias, submitted to the Council a report on the
World Human Rights Forum, held in Brasilia from
December 10 to 13.
The Brazilian representative explained that participants in the Forum
discussed a wide range of topics, including Internet regulatory
frameworks, the violation of the right to privacy by national security
services, transitional justice and the rights of vulnerable groups,
among other issues. Ambassador Dias reported that the second forum will
be held in Morocco this year, and the third in Buenos Aires in 2015.
In other business, several permanent representatives expressed the
condolences of their countries to Argentina over the death of the poet
Juan Gelman, who in his writings constantly fought for the punishment of
those guilty of human rights violations during the military
dictatorship in Argentina from 1976 to 1983.
During today's session the representatives of Brazil, Mexico,
Argentina, Colombia, Haiti, Venezuela, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago,
Canada, the United States, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador,
Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay took the floor.
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