One hundred and fifty two Haitian migrants have been detained after their boat ran aground off the coast of the Bahamas during this weekend’s Tropical Storm Isaac.

The island’s National Emergency Management Agency said the boat grounded Saturday near Mangrove Cay, Andros Island as Isaac churned southwest of the Bahamas. The storm is believed to have caused the accident because of the rough seas.

Immigration Director Jack Thompson told the Associated Press that 152 Haitians have been detained but the number could be higher as the exact number of people onboard is still unknown. Some Haitians on the sloop told investigators there were at least 170. They also said they left Cap Haitien, in Haiti, a week ago on 18 August.

A search has been ordered for the water around the coast of Andros Island to look for possible survivors and the bodies of the drowned. However, rough water from the storm has so far kept all boats firmly docked. Investigators will wait until calmer weather to look for the missing people.

Unfortunately this is not the first incident of its kind. Many Haitians travel illegally to the Bahamas in order to accept low-wage jobs or to eventually make their way to the United States.

In June 11 Haitians died after their boat capsized off the Bahaman island Abaco. In December 2011, 38 migrants were found dead when their boat sank off the eastern tip of Cuba. The worst case was in 2009 when a search for 70 Haitian migrants was called off with out any success. Their boat capsized off the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Tropical storm Isaac hit the Caribbean this weekend, leaving 19 people dead in Haiti, five in Dominican Republic, and flooding in Cuba. It is now heading towards the south of the United States, where it is expected to strengthen into a hurricane as it hits the coast of the state of Louisiana.

The Haitian government informed today that 19 people died in the country as a consequence of the tropical storm. Whilst they did not release much information about the deaths, it has been reported that some of victims died as their houses collapsed on them. Six Haitians are still missing, and 22 injured. Haiti has so far been the most affected country, as flooding and landslides are aided by massive deforestations.

In Dominican Republic, the death toll rose to five after two young men were washed away and drowned when a river burst its banks. Officials have informed that over 900 houses were destroyed by the storm.

In total, almost 30,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Haiti and Dominican Republic, which are both located on the same island of Hispaniola.

There were no reported casualties in Cuba, which was also in Isaac’s path, though there were damages to agriculture, houses, electricity lines, and roads. The worst affected area was the city of Baracoa, in the east of the country, where 89 houses were partially or totally damaged. The storm also had a positive effect, by increasing the water levels on the island’s dams by 74.4 million m³.

Isaac is currently making its way up the Gulf of Mexico and moving towards the US state of Louisiana. US oil companies have closed down their off-shore rigs in the gulf and stopped activities in their coastal refineries. This, together with this weekend’s explosion at an oil refinery in Venezuela, has led analysts to predict a possible spike in the price of oil.

HAITI- A new constitution, which came into effect on Tuesday, gives the four million citizens living abroad the right to own land and run for office.

The amendments to the constitution were approved last year; however, Haitian President Michel Martelly prevented them from taking effect because of unspecified errors.

Martelly made the announcement shortly before departing Haiti for Brazil where he will represent his country at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20).

“All Haitians are Haitians,” he said in a press conference yesterday on the grounds of the presidential palace at the announcement of the new constitution.

The international Haitian community is behind the new constitution, but many citizens who remain in Haiti have been resistant to it. Those against argue that the process in amending the constitution was flawed, and suggest there may be discrepancies between the constitution approved last year and that which came into effect yesterday.

Many have focused on the rights granted to citizens abroad overlooking the other, more technical, amendments. The new constitution includes the creation of the Permanent Electoral Council (CEP) to conduct future elections. Yet, experts suggest that the CEP is unworkable as there are currently not enough Senators to form the majority required by this amendment.

That said, the new constitution also paves the way for Senate elections that would give Martelly a chance to bolster his small bloc of supporters in the legislature. In December, the Haitian President fired the nine members of a provisional electoral council by decree

Nonetheless, the new constitution remains popular, at least with the Haitian community outside of the country.

Marleine Bastien is a leader of the Haitian community in the US. She was quoted by the AP news agency stating she was pleasantly surprised by the decision. “I think it was overdue,” said the founder of Haitian Women of Miami. “It shows that he understands the great positive impact that the diaspora can play in the future of Haiti.”

Three Pakistani United Nations soldiers have been convicted of raping a 14-year-old boy in Haiti. Despite previous reports of abuses, it is the first time U.N. peacekeepers had ever been prosecuted in the country.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky confirmed the local reports in a press briefing.

“A senior Pakistani official visited Haiti on March 8 and 9 to meet with Haitian authorities,” he said. “[The] three individuals were found guilty of sexual exploitation and abuse through a court martial proceeding undertaken in accordance with the national laws of Pakistan.”

The men have been dishonorably discharged, and for now will be incarcerated for one year upon their return to Pakistan. However, various protesters have demanded that the guilty parties carry out their prison sentence in Haiti.

When asked by CNN if a one-year sentence was fitting given the severity of the crime, Nesirky responded that the matter was between the two countries, not the U.N.

“The United Nations will not comment on the terms of the punishment under the member-states, the judicial procedure,” he said. “But, as we stated from the outset, the United Nations considers this to be a case of the most serious sexual exploitation and abuse.”

U.N. spokeswoman Sylvie van den Wildenberg announced that Pakistan is seeking to compensate the victims, although no amount has yet been determined. She additionally confirmed that on Friday, Islamabad withdrew its 150-member peacekeeping mission, according to various news sources. It is unclear whether the country plans to reinstate forces in the future.

Human rights organizations in Haiti and the United States demanded the UN Security Council take responsibility for the spread of cholera in the Caribbean nation.

They claim the cholera epidemic was introduced into Haiti by Nepalese troops belonging to the United Nations Mission for Stabilization in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

A technical report commissioned by the UN confirmed the allegations. According to the report, the cause of the disease spread was a sewage spill produced by the Nepalese contingent. More than 7,000 people lost their lives because of the epidemic, while around 1.5 million people got infected with the bacterium.

The request was made during of a visit by a delegation of the Security Council of the United Nations (UN) to Haiti.

The United Nations blamed a “confluence of factors” for the spread of the disease. Among them, poor health and sanitation.

Additionally, the International Lawyers Association (BAI after its name in French) and the Institute for Justice (IJDH) and Democracy in Haiti presented a letter of complaint to the UN Security Council.

A complaint has been filed to assess the damage to Haiti given the loss of lives of many Haitian people and, finally, to the multinational organization’s reputation itself.

The UN released a statement that said the Security Council delegation will further assess implementations of the resolutions related to the MINUSTAH.

The UN Security Council delegation visit is intended to assess the situation in the Caribbean country, together with local authorities and representatives of political, economic and humanitarian groups.
The commission will remain in the country for four days. Its members have already met with the prime minister of the nation, Gary Conille.
The mission is also scheduled to meet up with Haitian President Michel Martelly before visiting a refugee camp—a medical centre which specialises in curing people affected by cholera and the surrounding areas devastated by the earthquake in January 2010.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar AMARC-ALC news agency.

The dispute over the South Atlantic islands has taken a Hollywood twist as Sean Penn last night expressed his support for Argentina’s cause.

The actor from the United States is in Argentina in his role as ambassador at large for Haiti and met with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner at the Casa Rosada yesterday. He urged Argentina and the United Kingdom to engage in discussions.

“It’s necessary that these diplomatic talks happen between the United Kingdom and Argentina,” he said. “I think that the world today is not going to tolerate any kind of ludicrous and archaic commitment to colonialist ideology.”

In a strong sign of support for his host nation, he also used the Argentine name for the islands.

“I understand that it’s a very sensitive moment [in terms] of diplomacy related to the Malvinas for Argentina and the United Kingdom,” he said.

Both Penn and Fernández de Kirchner reiterated that the purpose of the visit was to discuss Argentina’s aid for Haiti, but his comments about the Falklands have unfortunately grabbed the headlines.

This is just the latest in a long line of news stories related to the islands in the run up to the 30^th anniversary of the Falklands war.

Argentina has voiced their disapproval over the apparent militarisation of the islands, while the UK is maintaining that no discussions need to take place as long as the residents of the Falklands want to remain British.

The diplomatic row has escalated to such a level that it has caused UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon to express “concern about the increasingly strong exchanges.”

According the human rights organisation, Amnesty International, Haitian authorities have begun forced evictions from refugee camps in public spaces around Port au Prince. The decision was made earlier this month.

Hundreds of people affected by the earthquake of 2010 will now effectively be homeless. Compliant evicted residents receive a sum between US$25 -250.

Amnesty has reported extensive violence during the evictions and Haitians have reported bribes and threats from various sectors of the security forces who are forcing them out.

Social organisations are in outrage and have appealed to the Haitian courts, but a ruling has agreed that none of the security forces are responsible for the rehabilitation of the displaced families.

Amnesty International has called for the Haitian authorities to abide by national and international laws of relocation, providing adequate housing alternatives rather than the current illegal evictions.

Earlier today, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decided to downsize the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

The proposal to pull out troops was made by Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the UN. The UNSC consists of 15 members agreed unanimously on the decision.

Recognising that “the security situation in Haiti has improved,” UNSC members have decided to reduce the 12,242 uniformed personnel of MINUSTAH by 1,600 soldiers and 1,000 police.

The mandate of the mission however is to be extended until 15 October 2012 due to the difficulties Haiti is facing in establishing a government.

Hervé Ladsous, the new head of UN peacekeeping, assures that the cut to troops has no relation to the recent charges against MINUSTAH for causing the cholera epidemic in Haiti earlier this year. Nor is it connected to alleged sexual abuse of a young Haitian by Uruguayan peacekeepers.

Spain’s queen Sophia arrived in Haiti on Friday and plans to spend her 2-day trip in the impoverished country checking the efforts of the Spanish government’s aid project as well as those of her own charity.

Today the queen went to one of the country’s poorest neighbourhoods to visit an educational project run by a church, toured a waste treatment plant and went outside the capital to the site of a project that aims to build 1,500 shelters for people that were made homeless because of last year’s earthquake.

Queen Sophia was invited to the country by president Michel Martelly, who told The Associated Press that he did what he was “supposed to do: Portray a new Haiti, bring confidence in our partners, our friends — let them know that this is no longer a country that wants to beg for money.”

Martelly hopes to strengthen ties with Spain with this visit.

The five Uruguayan Marines accused of abusing a young Haitian man while participating in a United Nations Peace Mission appeared before the Uruguayan civilian courts on Friday.

The Marines faced the civilian courts to testify to their version of the events before judge Guido Alejandro.

This was the first stage of the civilian court proceedings to be faced by the soldiers. The civilian court is the only place with the capacity to judge the soldiers for the crimes which they are accused of committing.

In spite of these proceedings, the case could be shelved due to a lack of evidence. According to judicial sources, this will happen if the victim himself refuses to give a statement.

The officers also face trial before the military court, where they will be judged on military offenses related to the case including disobedience and dereliction of duty.

Haitian president, Michel Martelly, has previously condemned the act, labelling it as one of “collective violation”. The Uruguayan vice-president, Danilo Astori, also talked of his anger at the incident last Monday during the 66^th United Nations General Assembly, calling the act “shameful and unacceptable”.

Story courtesy of Agencia Pulsar, the news agency of AMARC ALC.