(2015-05) Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Chaloka Beyani - Addendum: Mission to Haiti (A/HRC/29/34/Add.2)
Summary — Report of a June-July 2014 mission to Haiti by the UN Special Rapporteur on internally displaced persons, assessing durable solutions for people displaced by the 2010 earthquake and warning that camp closures do not equal solutions.
Key Findings
- By 30 June 2014, 103,565 displaced persons in 28,143 households remained in 172 camps, down from a peak of 1.5 million in 1,555 camps, yet the Rapporteur stresses that camp closures do not mean durable solutions have been found. About 75 percent of displaced persons lived on private land and faced eviction; 146 households were forcibly evicted from a Port-au-Prince camp on 15 July 2014 and 400 families were displaced when Camp Teleco was demolished. A September 2014 change in eligibility criteria risked excluding some 20,000 households from resettlement programmes. Sanitation had worsened: 43 percent of camps had no latrines and camps with latrines averaged one per 106 people, while a 2014 survey found a 12.5 percent global malnutrition rate among displaced persons.
Full Description
The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Chaloka Beyani, visited Haiti from 29 June to 5 July 2014 to assess the situation of people displaced by the 12 January 2010 earthquake. The quake destroyed an estimated 105,000 houses and severely damaged more than 188,000; at the peak, 1.5 million displaced persons lived in 1,555 camps. By 30 June 2014, IOM counted 103,565 displaced persons (28,143 households) in 172 camps or sites, about 75 percent of them on private land and exposed to eviction. The report reviews international and national responses, including the 16/6 programme and rental subsidies, and examines housing, livelihoods, basic services, civil documentation, access to justice and the growth of informal settlements such as Canaan. The Rapporteur recommends shifting from a humanitarian approach to rights-based development, warns that camp closures do not amount to durable solutions, and urges a housing policy, an end to forced evictions and nationwide profiling of displaced populations.
Notes
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