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<font size=3><br>
</font><font size=4>Why are UN troops in Haiti, and why have they been
there since they replaced US Marines after the 2004 coup that overthrew
Haiti's democratic government? Put simply, a system that exploits the
majority of Haiti's people to benefit foreign investors and Haiti's tiny
elite can only be maintained by force. Haiti's grassroots movement has
consistently opposed MINUSTAH (current annual cost = $3/4 billion) since
its inception.<br>
</font><font size=3> <br>
</font><font size=4>A recent article published by the
<a href="http://www.cepr.net/">Center for Economic Policy &
Research</a> highlights MINUSTAH's significance to US foreign policy, and
its cost to the Haitian people. For more background on MINUSTAH, see
"<a href="http://www.haitisolidarity.net/section.php?id=30">U.N.
Watch</a>" on Haiti Action Committee's website. <br>
</font><font size=3> <br>
</font><font size=4>MINUSTAH by the Numbers <br>
Thursday, 08 December 2011<br><br>
</font><font size=3><i>The United Nations Peacekeeping operation in
Haiti, MINUSTAH by its French acronym, has been the target of recent
popular protests and a source of controversy because of its role in
re-introducing cholera to Haiti, the sexual assault of a young Haitian
man and other past abuses. On November 3, 2011 the Institute for Justice
and Democracy in Haiti and Bureau des Avocats Internationaux filed a
legal complaint on behalf of over 5,000 cholera victims seeking damages
from the United Nations. The UN has so far not responded or given a
timetable for a response.<br><br>
</i></font><font size=4>Here is MINUSTAH, by the numbers:<br><br>
Percent of worldwide UN peacekeepers that are in Haiti, despite it not
being a war zone: 12.5<br><br>
Number of MINUSTAH troops (military and police) currently in Haiti:
12,552<br><br>
Rank in size among the 16 UN peacekeeping operations worldwide:
3<br><br>
Rank in size of Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo,
respectively: 1, 2<br><br>
Percent of Haiti’s annual government expenditures to which MINUSTAH’s
budget is equivalent: 50<br><br>
Percent of Haiti’s GDP to which MINUSTAH’s budget is equivalent:
10.7<br><br>
Total estimated cost of MINUSTAH since the earthquake:
$1,556,461,550<br><br>
Percent of UN peacekeeping operations worldwide funded by the United
States: 27<br><br>
Percent the U.S. has disbursed out of its $1.15 billion pledge at the
March 2010 donor conference: 18.8<br><br>
Percent of the U.S.’ contributions to MINUSTAH since the earthquake that
this represents: 41<br><br>
Factor by which MINUSTAH’s budget exceeds the amount of funds the UN’s
cholera appeal has raised: 8<br><br>
Percent of MINUSTAH’s budget it would take to fully fund the UN’s cholera
appeal: 1.7<br><br>
Number of days operating expenses it would take to fund a cholera
vaccination campaign that would cover the entire country: 18<br><br>
Percent of a single day’s MINUSTAH budget that the cholera vaccination
pilot program will use over its multiple-week lifespan: 40<br><br>
Minimum number of people killed from cholera in Haiti since October 2010:
6,908<br><br>
Number of people killed by homicide in Haiti in 2010: 689<br><br>
Number of people, per 10 million (roughly the population of Haiti),
killed by homicide in Brazil, the largest troop contributor to MINUSTAH:
2,270<br><br>
Number of cholera victims who filed a claim with the UN seeking damages:
5,000<br><br>
Number of cholera victims: 513,997<br><br>
Rate per minute that Haitians were falling ill with cholera in July 2011:
1<br><br>
Amount by which MINUSTAH’s budget exceeds the UN’s 2012 humanitarian
appeal for Haiti: $562,517,100<br><br>
Number of MINUSTAH personnel who were repatriated this year after a cell
phone video emerged showing troops sexually assaulting a young Haitian
man: 5<br><br>
Number of successful prosecutions against over 100 MINUSTAH troops
repatriated to Sri Lanka after allegations of involvement in child
prostitution surfaced in 2007: 0<br><br>
Number of standing claims commissions set up by the UN under Status of
Forces Agreements so that local population may have means of redress from
peacekeepers, historically: 0<br><br>
Years MINUSTAH has been in Haiti: 7<br><br>
Shortfall in trained national police officers that are supposed to take
over for MINUSTAH: 10,000<br><br>
Rank among Haiti’s top donors, including governments, that MINUSTAH would
be if its budget went towards relief and reconstruction efforts:
3<br><br>
Date on which cholera was discovered: October 21, 2010<br>
Date the head of MINUSTAH was reported saying it was “really unfair” to
accuse the UN of bringing cholera to Haiti: November 22, 2010<br>
</font><font size=3> <br>
</font><font size=4>Distance, in miles, from the Nepalese MINUSTAH base
to the location of the first reported case of cholera: .1 <br><br>
Date on which scientific paper confirmed that Haitian and Nepalese
samples of cholera were "almost identical": August 23,
2011<br><br>
Days since the cholera outbreak it has taken for the UN to accept
responsibility: 413 (and counting)<br><br>
Date on which MINUSTAH’s mandate was extended through 2012: October 14,
2011<br><br>
Percent of Haitians in a recent survey who said they wanted MINUSTAH gone
within a year: 65<br><br>
</font><font size=3>Sources: 1. According to the United Nations there are
currently 99,329 uniformed peacekeeping troops across the World. In Haiti
there are 12,552. 2. MINUSTAH. 3. United Nations Peacekeeping. 4. United
Nations Peacekeeping Fact Sheet. 5. IMF data and MINUSTAH. 6. IMF data
and MINUSTAH. 7. The 2009/10 budget was $611,751,200, the 2010/11 budget
was $853,827,400 and the 2011/2012 budget is $793,517,100. To reach the
total since the earthquake, half of the 2009/10 total was added to the
entire 2010/2011 total and to half of the 2011/2012 total. Data from UN
Peacekeeping. 8. U.S. and Europe fight over cuts in peacekeeping, from
Foreign Policy’s Turtle Bay blog. 9. UN Office of the Special Envoy for
Haiti. 10. See 7 and 8, above. 11. According to the United Nations Office
of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, $95 million has been contributed
to the cholera appeal. 12. The cholera appeal is seeking $109 million,
leaving a shortfall of $14 million. 13. Estimated cost of a cholera
vaccination program covering the entire country is $40 million. 14. The
cost of the pilot cholera vaccination program is about $870,000. 15.
Ministère de la santé publique et de la population. 16. United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime. 17. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
18. Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. 19. Ministère de la
santé publique et de la population. 20. Jake Johnston and Keane Bhatt,
Not Doing Enough: Unnecessary Sickness and Death from Cholera in Haiti.
CEPR. 21. The UN’s 2012 Humanitarian Appeal for Haiti is for $231
million. 22. UN peacekeepers to be deported from Haiti, UN Media. 23.
Greg Grandin and Keane Bhatt, 10 Reasons Why the UN Occupation of Haiti
Must End. The Nation. 24. Amy Lieberman, Haiti Cholera Case Raises
Questions About U.N. Accountability. World Politics Review. 25. MINUSTAH
26. It is estimated that Haiti needs 20,000 trained police, they
currently have around 10,000. 27. UN Office of the Special Envoy for
Haiti. 28. Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. 29. Jessica
Desvarieux, TIME: At the Heart of Haiti's Cholera Riots, Anger at the
U.N. 30. Final Report of the Independent Panel of Experts on the Cholera
Outbreak in Haiti. 31. The UN continues to deny responsibility. 32.
MINUSTAH. 33. Gordon and Young, Columbia University. Although the
headline reads “Survey Shows 60% of Haitians Support Troubled
Peacekeeping Mission”, the data shows that 30% want immediate withdrawal,
10% want withdrawal within 6 months and an additional 25% want withdrawal
within a year.<br><br>
<br>
Haiti Action Committee
<a href="http://www.haitisolidarity.net/">www.haitisolidarity.net</a> and
on FACEBOOK<br><br>
<br>
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