Corruption by ‘Peacekeeping’: The Lure of Foreign Exchange

By Staff, AsiaOne | Editorial comment by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Bangladeshi UN “peacekeepers” have sent home nearly $1.24 billion during the past three years. In 2010 Bangladesh sent its first female MINUSTAH contingent, a group of 110, to Haiti.

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Privatization of Water: Benign as Lucifer

By Richard Raznikov, The Rag Blog | Democracy Center | Haiti Chery. About 20 years ago, it dawned on the bankers and some major corporations that if oil was a lucrative commodity, water would be even more so…. The trick was how to take it away from the people and sell it back to them.

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Brazilians Push to Prosecute Military Junta’s Human Rights Crimes, Pushed Back by Judge | Crece movimiento jurídico para burlar ley de amnistía en Brasil | Cresce movimento jurídico para evitar a lei de anistia no Brasil

By Fabiana Frayssinet, IPS | Colin M. Snider, Americas South and North. In the first serious move by Brazil to confront the horrors of its junta years, Transitional Justice plans to prosecute the forced disappearances during the 1964-1985 dictatorship. Brazilian federal prosecutors announced they would first try retired Col. Sebastião Curió Rodrigues de Moura for aggravated kidnapping for his alleged role in five enforced disappearances in Pará state in 1974. (English | Spanish | Portuguese)

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6,060 Years for Guatemalan Ex-Soldier Who Massacred Indigenous and Fled to California

By Staff (sc/jg/jsr/mgt/jf), Prensa Latina | By Rachel Rickard Straus, Daily Mail. Pedro Pimentel, a former instructor of an elite Guatemalan military force called kaibiles, extradited from the US last July, has been sentenced to 6,060 years in prison for his role in killing 201 indigenous people in the Dos Erres massacre of December 6 to 8, 1982.

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Haitian Senate Resolution: UN Soldiers Accused of Rape Should Be Tried In Place | Le Sénat vote une résolution réclamant que des soldats de l’ONU accusés de crimes soient jugés en Haïti

By staff, AHP | Commentary by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. The Haitian Senate has strongly condemned the latest rape of a boy on Jan 20, 2012 by Pakistani UN soldiers and noted that in such cases it is the law of the place where the crime is committed that should prevail. (English | French)

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U.N. Tightens Belt: No More Cruise Ship Hotels | La ONU se ajusta el cinturón : No mas barcos de crucero

By Thalif Deen, IPS. Compared to the $5.4 B U.N. budget for 2010-11, the 2012-13 budget will be cut by $260 M. This is a cut of less than 5%, but the news are still significant because, since its inception over 50 years ago, the U.N. has expanded every year, except for one instance 14 years ago. (English | Spanish)

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Former Guatemalan Dictator Rios Montt to Stand Trial for Genocide

By Danilo Valladares, IPS. A Guatemalan court has ordered former dictator Efrain Rios Montt to stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity. If convicted, he faces 30 years in prison. Hopefully the members of the army who perpetrated the crimes will also be brought to justice. (English | Spanish)

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Nicaragua’s Antidote to Violent Crime | El antídoto nicaragüense contra la inseguridad

By Danilo Valladares, IPS, with Jose Adan Silva. Crime rates are much lower in Nicaragua than in its northern neighbours El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, because Nicaragua follows a Cuban model of policing that is focused on community and trains its police to serve the society. (English | Spanish)

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Argentina Invokes Universal Jurisdiction for Crimes Against Humanity | Argentina invoca la jurisdicción universal para crímenes contra la humanidad

By Marcela Valente, IPS, Periodistas En Español | Princeton Principles of Universal Jurisdiction, Univ. Minnesota Human Rights Library. A judge in Argentina has begun to investigate human rights crimes committed during Spain’s civil war and the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco (between 1936 and 1975). The case is invoking the principle of universal jurisdiction for crimes against humanity and has landed in Argentina because Spain’s justice system is not effectively taking action. (English | Spanish)

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Full Text of the Open Letter from Oscar Arias Sanchez to Michel Martelly | Texto completo de la Carta abierta de Oscar Arias Sánchez a Michel Martelly

By Oscar Arias Sanchez, Acento | Translated by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. In this open letter from December 9, 2011, Oscar Arias Sanchez, the Nobel laureate and former President of Costa Rica (1986-1990, 2006-2010), urges Martelly to focus on social programs rather than reestablish the armed forces that were disbanded on January 6, 1995 by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. (English | Spanish)

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Leaders of the CELAC Countries | From UNASUR to CELAC | Los mandatarios de los países de la CELAC | De UNASUR a CELAC

By Staff, Cuba Debate | CCS | Translated to English by Haiti Chery. CELAC is made up of 13 member nations from the Caribbean, 13 from South America, 6 from Central America, and 1 from the southern part of North America, whose leaders have agreed to promote an organization that will form a block in addressing the world’s challenges. (English | Spanish)

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Deaths of U.S. Immigration Detainees, ACLU Reports

By Staff, Granma | By Will Matthews, ACLU. In the last eight years, 126 undocumented immigrants have died while in detention centers operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities. Complete ACLU detention report included.

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Favela Rocinha Occupation by Haiti-Trained Troops, Photo Essay

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery (text) | Marcelo Sayao (photos). The attack on Brazil’s Rocinha slum illustrates a peacetime merger of military with police to make war on their country’s poor. If your country has contributed troops to UN (de)stabilization missions, sit up and take notice.

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Rainwater Harvesting Ideal Source of Freshwater for Haiti

By Jose Pavero and others, In: Source Book of Alternative Technologies for Freshwater Augmentation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Rainwater harvesting is not used in Haiti, but over half a million people in the Caribbean get at least some of their water by this method. Rain-catchment systems are easy to build and operate and cost little to run.

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