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AT RISK: Children in Haiti

HUMAN RIGHTS groups have accused the United States of denying Haiti money for clean drinking water, to force political change in the country.

In a recent report, activists said the US has caused a delay in the release of US$54 million (£27.4m) in loans from the Inter-American Development Bank.

The Haitian government was to use the loans to overhaul the water and sanitation systems in two towns in desperate need, Les Cayes and Port-de-Paix.

Experts have warned that close to 70 percent of the population could be at risk from intestinal parasites and dysentery because they lack regular and direct access to potable water.

A New York Times newspaper report said the US Treasury Department holds significant influence over the bank.

The report said while the bank approved the loans in 1998 and made payments several years later, the water projects have yet to be started “largely the result of aggressive attempts by the US government to block the disbursement of these loans.”

It also blamed Haiti’s own political turmoil and financial difficulties for the delays.

The report was prepared by the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at the New York University School of Law; a Haiti-based health care provider called Partners in Health; the RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights; and Zanmi Lasante, a Haitian advocacy group.

The groups went to court to get access to internal government correspondence explaining why the US sought to prevent the loans from reaching Haiti in the years after their approval.

They said delays were linked to concerns of American officials about the administration of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was overthrown twice – first by a military coup in 1991.

He was returned to power in 2001 but was thrown out later with the encouragement of the Bush administration in 2004.

Published: 29 June 2008
Issue: 1327

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