US and UN must guarantee Haiti emergency assistance
If you're interested in donating to emergency relief in Haiti here's a list of agencies that our supporters regularly donate to:
US authorities and UN agencies in Haiti must urgently resolve the lack of access to emergency aid for those in desperate need following last week's earthquake, Amnesty International warned.
According to reports from official sources and relief organisations in Haiti, food, water, sanitation and vital medical supplies have arrived in the country but are still not reaching those in most need in many parts of the capital Port-au-Prince and in outlying areas equally severely affected.
There are reports from some areas, for example the town of Gressier, that distribution of essential supplies has still not started.
Amnesty International has also urged the US authorities and UN agencies to ensure protection of the most vulnerable in Haiti, especially unaccompanied children, which must be a top priority along with the distribution of food and water.
"Haitian children are at risk of being seized by people-trafficking networks, of being abused and used as child slaves, as well as suffering pervasive sexual violence. Special measures need to be taken quickly to protect those at risk," said Kerrie Howard, Americas Deputy Director at Amnesty International.
Special measures need also to be urgently established to receive thousands of displaced peoples fleeing the crisis to other parts of Haiti in need of water, sanitation, food and shelter.
More than 100,000 Haitians are feared dead after a 7.1 earthquake struck on Tuesday 12 January. Thousands of people are still unaccounted for and survivors await relief efforts from international donors to provide them with access to drinkable water, food and medical care.
Comments
Michael Wild | Posted on 28 January 2010, 10:20PM | Report comment
I very much doubt the US, UN or anyone else needed telling that all Haitian earthquake victims should receive aid. It’s just proving extremely difficult to get it to them because of massive damage to roads, bridges and infrastructure. It’s not a moral problem/human rights problem; it’s a technical problem. It’s not like torture, executions or legal persecution when governments WANT to do what’s wrong. This statement is an embarrassing example of AI wanting to show it’s got something worth saying on Social/Economic Rights when it actually doesn’t and it’s inability to see the difference between moral arguments (what’s right) with technical one’s (how do we achieve this). We were never this silly with civil and political human rights.