Haiti's current and aspiring leaders will be held to account for any crimes, Annan warns by UN News / BBC World News 11:04am 22nd Feb, 2004   Haiti's current and aspiring leaders will be held to account for any crimes, Annan warns. ( UN News).    28 February 2004 – As Haiti spiraled deeper into violence, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned the country's leaders - and those hoping to govern the turbulent nation - that they are not above the law.    “The Secretary-General is increasingly concerned at the alarming deterioration of the security and human rights situation in Haiti,” a spokesman for Mr. Annan said in a statement released late Friday in New York, calling on all Haitians to eschew violence and settle their differences peacefully.    “At this critical time, he reminds leaders, and those who aspire to leadership positions, of their responsibilities towards their fellow countrymen and that they will be held individually accountable for any breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law,” the spokesman said.    24 February 2004    "Violence in Haiti denies many children health care and education, UNICEF says" (UN News)    With malnutrition and disease the major causes of children's deaths in armed conflicts, the violence in Haiti is denying many children basic public services and threatening their lives, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today.    "Children are always the most vulnerable in conflict situations and Haiti's children were already extremely vulnerable," UNICEF representative Francoise Gruloos said in Port-au-Prince. "We need to make sure these children are protected and not forgotten amidst the civil disorder."    One child in 10 in Haiti dies before the age of five. One in 20 is born underweight and only half receive routine immunization. Meanwhile, schools are being closed in several areas, UNICEF said.    "Schools should be treated as zones of peace," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy, speaking from New York. "Especially in times of crisis, schools can provide a safe haven for children. Haiti's children are depending on adults to protect and preserve their future."    A UN inter-agency team that went to assess the humanitarian situation in Port-de-Paix and Cap Haitien on 19 February reported that both towns had severe shortages of fuel and essential medicines, while malnutrition was increasing and prices rising, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said at the daily press briefing.    Distributing food aid "has been complicated by the looting of 800 tons of produce from the World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Cap Haitien yesterday after rebel forces took over the city," he added.    21 February, 2004    Haiti Leader accepts Peace Plan. Opposition Rebels demand President Aristide Step Down.(BBC News).    Haiti's embattled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has agreed to a peace plan designed to end weeks of violence. "I accept the plan, publicly and entirely... In one word, yes," he said after meeting international mediators.    Under the proposal, Mr Aristide would remain in office with reduced powers as part of a new government. However, the plan does not have the support of the political opposition or armed rebels in the north. They want Mr Aristide to step down.    The plan would give the political opposition a stake in power, including a say in the appointment of a new prime minister. The proposal could lead to an international peacekeeping force being deployed to Haiti, with participation by France and members of the Organisation of American States.    Mr Aristide said that under the plan rebels would be disarmed, adding: "I will not go ahead with any terrorists," - a reference to armed groups which have lead the rebellion.    The US, meanwhile, has ordered all non-essential embassy staff and their families to leave the Caribbean nation and advised US citizens on non-government business there to leave the country as soon as possible.    The delegation of North American, European and Caribbean officials held a two-hour meeting with Mr Aristide before taking the plan to Haitian opposition politicians. Aristide has vowed to remain in office. However, representatives of the civil opposition have repeated that they will not accept any plan that leaves Mr Aristide in power.    The BBC's Stephen Gibbs, in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, says even if they do accept the arrangement, another group crucial to this conflict is not part of the negotiations. He says the armed rebels that now control a substantial part of northern Haiti are not being consulted, and they say that their uprising will continue until the day that President Aristide steps down.    More than 50 people have died in the two weeks since the uprising began against President Aristide, a former priest who is accused of rigging elections four years ago which saw him voted in as president until 2006. Friday saw clashes in Port-au-Prince as supporters of the president attacked protesters demanding he resign with shotgun fire, machetes stones and bottles. At least 20 people were injured.    Facing disaster    Aid workers have reported growing lawlessness as police abandon their posts in the north. There are reports of rape and rebel gangs are said to be going into schools to attempt to recruit children. The United Nations says it is vital to gain access to thousands of vulnerable people to stave off a humanitarian disaster. Visit the related web page
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