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172. U.S. Congress Should Make New Year's Resolution for Haiti
- Author:
- Brian Concannon
- Publication Date:
- 12-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- New Year's Day has a history of hope for former slaves in the hemisphere: Haiti freed its slaves and declared its independence on New Year's 1804; 59 years behind its southern neighbor, President Lincoln issued the U.S. Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. But since then hope has been scarce in Haiti. This year the island nation rang in the New Year with a toll of alarm. A massacre in the urban settlement of Cité Soleil on Dec. 22 left over 20 dead and many wounded by gunfire from UN troops. In this article, human rights lawyer Brian Concannon discusses the need to clear up the past in order to move toward future peace. In particular, he urges the U.S. Congress to thoroughly investigate the role of the United States in the 2004 coup d' etat in Haiti. For more information on Haiti, see related articles (below). For more information on the Institute for Justice Democracy in Haiti, a member of the IRC Americas Program U.S.-Latin America Relations Network, see http://americas.irconline. org/am/3673.
- Topic:
- Government and Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- United States, Caribbean, and Haiti
173. In Plain Sight? Human Trafficking and Research Challenges
- Author:
- Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick
- Publication Date:
- 04-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Human Rights Human Welfare (University of Denver)
- Abstract:
- The recently released exploratory work, In Modern Bondage: Sex Trafficking in the Americas, edited by David E. Guinn and Elissa Steglich, is a helpful analysis of the state of trafficking for sexual exploitation in Central America and the Caribbean. The book makes two things clear: how far researchers have been able to come given the scarcity of reliable data; and how much work remains to be done before a clear picture of the nature and magnitude of trafficking and the best means for its eradication is obtained.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Human Rights, and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- Central America and Caribbean
174. Access to Information: Jamaica: Building a Culture of Transparency
- Author:
- Alicia Athié
- Publication Date:
- 06-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- In passing and implementing the Access to Information Act 2002, Jamaica has established a new and more open form of governance and accomplished what many other countries are still attempting. The Act, which provides citizens an enforceable right to official documents held by public authorities, is key to enhancing democracy, ensuring citizens' participation, and building greater trust in Government decision making. Access to public documents can assist citizens in exercising their other fundamental socioeconomic rights, such as the right to housing, appropriate health care, and a clean and healthy environment, and it can serve to make government more efficient and effective.
- Topic:
- Government, Human Rights, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom, South Africa, and Caribbean
175. Why Foreign Aid to Haiti Failed: (and How to Do It Better Next Time)
- Author:
- Terry F. Buss and Adam Gardner
- Publication Date:
- 02-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The National Academy of Public Administration
- Abstract:
- Haiti—an island [shared with the Dominican Republic] country of 8 million people about the size of Maryland just 600 miles off the coast of Florida—is an extreme case: it has received billions in foreign assistance, yet persists as one of the poorest and worst governed countries. Haiti is strategically important to the United States because of its location; perpetual state of violence and instability affecting the region; support for drug trafficking; potential as a trading partner; strong ties to a large Haitian-American diaspora; counterbalance to Communist Cuba; and relationship with the Latin American and Caribbean community.
- Topic:
- Economics, Poverty, Bilateral Relations, Foreign Aid, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- United States, Cuba, Latin America, Caribbean, and Florida
176. Can Haiti Hold Elections in 2005?
- Publication Date:
- 08-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Massive technical, political and security obstacles must be overcome very quickly or Haiti's elections -- municipal and local in October, parliamentary and presidential in November -- will have to be postponed. In particular the UN mission (MINUSTAH), other international actors and the transitional government need to move faster at registering voters, persuading the failed state's citizens that the exercise is meaningful, and disarming both urban gangs and former military. Otherwise, turnout is likely to be unsatisfactory, credibility of the outcome will suffer, and the government's legitimacy will be in question.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United Nations, Caribbean, and Haiti
177. The Role of Perceived Opportunity in Fertility Choice: Evidence from Latin America
- Author:
- Louise C. Keely and Margaret MacLeod
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- We hypothesize that the perceived returns to human capital and to income uncertainty are important determinants of recent cross-sectional variation in Latin American fertility. An empirical study of cross-country individual level data supports the hypothesis. In particular, we find that a higher perceived return to human capital and higher income uncertainty both lead to higher fertility, all else equal. We interpret the evidence to suggest that increasing economic opportunity in Latin America should be accompanied by institutions that provide social protection in order to promote further decreases in fertility toward the replacement rate.
- Topic:
- Economics, Gender Issues, and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- South America, Latin America, Central America, and Caribbean
178. WMD in Iraq: Evidence and Implications
- Author:
- George Perkovich, Joseph Cirincione, Jessica T. Mathews, and Alexis Orton
- Publication Date:
- 01-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- If history is any guide, the war and subsequent occupation and reconstruction of Iraq will shape U.S. relations with the Arab world—and perhaps with the whole Muslim world—for decades, just as prior military occupations altered U.S. relations with Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. What happens in Iraq is also likely to profoundly affect whether and with what degree of effort and success states choose to work together to constrain the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The war and its aftermath will affect U.S. foreign relations, influence U.S. policies regarding future armed interventions, and alter the international struggle against terrorism. It is a massive understatement, then, to say that a great deal is at stake, on the ground in Iraq, around the world, and in the lessons for the future that will be drawn here at home.
- Topic:
- Security, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Arabia, Latin America, and Caribbean
179. The Dominican Republic: Resolving the Banking Crisis and Restoring Growth
- Author:
- Steve H. Hanke
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- After a decade of rapid economic growth, the Dominican Republic entered a downward spiral in 2003. The economy shrank for the first time since 1990, the inflation rate quadrupled, the Dominican peso collapsed, government debt more than doubled, interest rates soared, and the central bank incurred large losses.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Caribbean
180. U.S. Military Bases in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Author:
- John Lindsay-Poland
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- The United States maintains a complex web of military facilities and functions in Latin America and the Caribbean, what the U.S. Southern Command (known as SouthCom) calls its "theater architecture." U.S. military facilities represent tangible commitments to an ineffective supply-side drug war and to underlying policy priorities, including ensuring access to strategic resources, especially oil.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States, Latin America, and Caribbean