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For Immediate Release
Contact: Diana Duarte, Media Coordinator,Phone: +1 212 627 0444,Email:,media@madre.org

"We've Been Forgotten"- IJDH New Report on Conditions in Haiti Camps 8 Months After the Earthquake

Human rights investigation finds desperate conditions in Haiti's tent cities

BOSTON, MA

The following comes from our friends at the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH):

Eight months after Haiti's devastating earthquake, more than 1.3 million
Haitians continue to live in makeshift tent camps without adequate
shelter, food or sanitation, according to a report released today by the
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH). The report, titled "We've Been Forgotten": Conditions in Haiti's Displacement Camps Eight Months After the Earthquake documents continuing desperation in Haiti's camps and recommends a rights-based approach to relief and reconstruction.

Despite
the international community's historic generosity following the January
12, 2010 earthquake, the support has not been translated into effective
assistance for the residents of approximately 1,300 makeshift tent
camps, where conditions for some are getting worse, not better. "The
basic needs of residents must be prioritized immediately. While the
Government of Haiti bears the primary duty to protect the economic and
social rights of its citizens, donor states and relief agencies must
also meet certain standards in carrying out assistance to Haiti. This
obligation arises from international law but also from the significant
role the international community assumed in providing relief services in
Haiti," said Nicole Phillips, Esq., IJDH Staff Attorney and the lead
editor and coordinator of the report.

The findings presented in
the report show that living conditions in the camps continue to violate
basic human dignity. In 75% of families surveyed, at least one family
member went an entire day without eating in the past week.

MADRE is an international women's human rights organization that partners with community-based women's groups to advance women's human rights, challenge injustice and create social change in contexts of war, conflict, disaster and their aftermath. MADRE advocates for a world in which all people enjoy individual and collective human rights; natural resources are shared equitably and sustainably; women participate effectively in all aspects of society; and all people have a meaningful say in policies that affect their lives. For more information about MADRE, visit www.madre.org.