HAITI MONTHLY: DECEMBER, 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 002031 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR S/CRS INL FOR KEVIN BROWN AND ANGELIC YOUNG SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: HA PGOV PHUM PREL KCRM KWMN KTEX SUBJECT: HAITI MONTHLY: DECEMBER, 2007 PORT AU PR 00002031 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified -- please protect accordingly. ¶2. (U) Summary: This is a monthly report on various topics of interest which do not merit a full reporting cable. End summary. ¶3. (U) PARLIAMENT TO CONSIDER NEW WOMEN'S RIGHTS LAWS. The Ministry of Women's Affairs presented to Parliament December 11 three pieces of legislation aimed at institutionalizin women's rights. The draft laws cover equal rigts for domestic workers, rules and rights for coples in common law marriages, and "responsible ftherhood" - codifying the idea that men have some responsibilities when it comes to parenting, even f the are not married to the mother. Minister f Women's Affairs Marie Laurence Jocelyn-Lassegu noted that the laws are the result of more thanten years of consultations between women's organzations and the parliament. Ministry Director Geeral Myriam Merlet told Poloff December 5 tat the support for the laws in Parliament is "very good," and that the only opposition comes from some religious fundamentalists opposed to common law marriages. Senator Cemephise Gilles, President of the Senate Committee on Women's Affairs, told Poloff December 20 the Senate strongly supports the laws and will likely pass all three in January. ¶4. (SBU) PRIME MINISTER WARNS CHIEF PROSECUTOR AND CHIEF OF POLICE. After a hearing before the Senate Committee on Public Security, PM Alexis told the press that Port au Prince Chief Prosecutor Claudy Gassant and Haitian National Police (HNP) Director Mario Andresol must resolve their differences, or else the government would intervene with "administrative measures." Alexis also disputed contentions from certain Senators that the dispute between the two had contributed to an increase in crime including kidnappings in the capital over the last few months. Alexis, who appeared with Justice Minister Magloire and Secretary of State for Public Security Eucher-Luc Joseph before the Senate committee, thus attempted to put a stop to a long-standing rivalry that has intensified in recent months. The most recent incident in that dispute was the convocation by an investigative judge, acting with the support of Chief Prosecutor Gassant, of HNP DG Andresol to answer questions about the 2000 murder of journalist Jean Dominique. Gassant in November released over one-hundred long-term detainees with the justification that many of them had not been charged or that they faced health issues. Human rights groups charged that some of those released were dangerous criminals, and Andresol promptly rearrested at least one of them, whom Gassant then immediately ordered to be re-released. ¶5. (U) PRESIDENT PREVAL PRESSES FOR U.S. HELP TO IDENTIFY AND PROSECUTE FINANCIAL CRIMES CASES. In a December 18 meeting with U.S. Treasury financial crimes advisors, President Preval emphasized his interest in obtaining "quick results" on cases involving corruption and money laundering. Preval said that although corruption is widespread in Haiti, most of the cases that are identified represent minor crimes, such as favors for services. A concentrated focus on rapidly identifying and prosecuting egregious cases is greatly needed, Preval said. He encouraged the advisors to get to work quickly to train GoH financial crimes analysts, investigators and prosecutors. ¶6. (U) U.S. CBP HOPE TRAINING FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief of Textile Operations Branch Bob Abels, sponsored by USAID, on December 13-14 trained representatives from the public and private sectors on Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act (HOPE) implementation. In a two-day workshop-style setting, Abels trained over a dozen representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, Haitian Customs and several members from the private sector (mostly apparel factory representatives). Abels, for a day and half with the public sector, focused mostly on circumvention and PORT AU PR 00002031 002.2 OF 002 transshipment issues, HOPE visa regulations and clarifying CBP requirements. For a half day, Abels gave an abbreviated presentation to the private sector clarifying the often-interpreted ambiguous wovens versus knits HOPE requirements. Representatives from both the public and private sector wholly appreciated the training and requested additional HOPE training in the future. ¶7. (SBU) DEPORTEES ARRESTED ON KIDNAPPING CHARGES. On December 20, the Haitian National Police arrested two Haitian deportees from the U.S., Pierre Emmanuel and Patrick Fenelon, in connection with the December 18 kidnapping of Vanessa Paul, a German citizen and employee of the World Bank. Despite the strong anti-deportee sentiment in Haiti, Yves Stanley Joseph, the chief of staff at the Ministry of Interior that handles the deportee portfolio, told Poloff on December 21 that he does not believe that the GoH will resume incarcerating criminal deportees upon arrival to Haiti. ¶8. (U) KIDNAPPERS THREATEN VICTIMS WITH DEATH IF THEY GO TO THE POLICE. Yves Stanley Joseph, the Chief of Staff at the Ministry of the Interior, on December 21 told Poloff that kidnappers were threatening their victims and their families with murder if they contacted the Haitian National Police. Joseph claimed that this is especially the case among victims from the elite or industrial class. Stanley claimed to know personally four kidnapping victims who were threatened in this way by kidnappers who appeared to have mapped out their travel routines and family relationships. These threats contribute to the underreporting of kidnappings that are currently plaguing the capital. ¶9. (U) FORMER HEAD OF ANTI-KIDNAPPING UNIT CLEARED OF KIDNAPPING AND MURDER CHARGES. Judge Jean Carvesse cleared Michael Lucius, the former commissaire of the HNP's anti-kidnapping unit, of all charges of being an accomplice to kidnapping and murder. The December 3 order was made official by the Port-au-Prince parquet on December 21. Lucius, who is in Paris, implicated two members of the government prosecutor for Port-au-Prince's (Claudy Gassant) security detail in the September 25 assassination attempt against him. ¶10. (U) HAITI SIGNS EPA WITH THE EU. Minister of Commerce Maguy Durce at a lunch debate entitled "European Union Economic Partnership Agreements and Caribbean Countries: Opportunities and Challenges for Haiti" on December 17 confirmed that CARIFORUM countries, including Haiti, on December 16 signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU. The EPA offers duty- and quota-free treatment for all CARIFORUM goods, excluding rice and sugar, entering Europe as of January 1, 2008. The EU allowed Haiti to be a signatory country to full EPA benefits with the understanding that the GoH has six months to fulfill its partnership requirements. TIGHE