For Immediate Release
Diana Duarte, Media Coordinator
(212) 627-0444; email: media@madre.org
MADRE to Haiti Donors: Respect Women's Human Rights in Recovery Policies
NEW YORK - In advance of a crucial donors' conference on Haiti, 300 organizations
today joined together and submitted a two-page letter of principles to
participating states. MADRE, an international women's human rights
organization, participated in this effort to ensure that human rights
principles are embedded in the international community's response to
January's devastating earthquake in Haiti.
Donor countries will meet at the United Nations (UN) in New York on
March 31, in a gathering to be chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Yesterday, the
Haitian government released a needs assessment that estimated $11.5
billion would be required for the country to rebuild and expand its
infrastructure, social programs and more.
MADRE Policy and Communications Director Yifat Susskind said today,
"Rebuilding Haiti on a more sustainable, equitable and
disaster-resilient foundation will require using human rights standards
to guide the recovery process. The women of Haiti must play meaningful
roles in this process along with other sectors of Haitian civil
society. Their priorities and perspectives, and not the financial
interests of corporations, should be the starting point for discussion
among donors."
The letter of principles submitted today underscores that assistance
must be accountable to all Haitian people and must respect their human
rights. Assistance projects must be driven by Haitian leadership and
must invest in building long-term capacity. The letter emphasizes the
role of the government of Haiti as a key partner for the international
community and for non-profit organizations.
Furthermore, the letter recommends specific mechanisms to ensure that
information is provided transparently to the Haitian people and to
allow for feedback from the community level.
To read the full text of the letter, click here:
http://www.madre.org/index/
This is the world we live in. This is the world we cover.
Because of people like you, another world is possible. There are many battles to be won, but we will battle them together—all of us. Common Dreams is not your normal news site. We don't survive on clicks. We don't want advertising dollars. We want the world to be a better place. But we can't do it alone. It doesn't work that way. We need you. If you can help today—because every gift of every size matters—please do.