A/HRC/4/3
page 21
76.
The transfer of the tasks of MINUSTAH to the Office of the Ombudsman could be
carried out in three stages, namely by:
(a)
Giving the Office a truly legislative status by adopting, as soon as possible, the
existing bill once it has been amended in the light of the observations and suggestions made in
December 2005 by the specialized services of the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights in order to bring it into line with United Nations norms in
this area (Paris Principles);
(b)
Strengthening the Office’s operational capacity by creating the post of
Deputy Ombudsman, which is not provided for in the Constitution, article 207-3 of which states
that a law sets the conditions and regulations for the operation of the Office. It should be
recalled that such a post had already been created de facto several years ago to assist the
Ombudsman and that, during her visit to Haiti, Louise Arbour, the High Commissioner for
Human Rights, supported this proposal. In this new arrangement, the Ombudsman would be
more particularly responsible for relations with the national authorities and for the Office’s
representation in international relations, while the Deputy Ombudsman would be responsible for
the supervision and coordination of the investigations conducted by his team and its regional
offices (protection function), and for providing human rights training, particularly in cooperation
with the University and NGOs (promotion function). The description of the post suggest that it
should be assigned to a prominent Haitian with recognized authority in the field of human rights
and who is recognized as being independent-minded, and above political divisions;
(c)
At the end of the MINUSTAH mandate, the Human Rights Section would be
maintained on a temporary basis, if necessary, in the form of an office of the
High Commissioner, as initially planned. This situation would last until the effective and
permanent handover of functions to the Office of the Ombudsman. This should not be difficult,
since virtually half (24 out of 49) of the personnel of the Human Rights Section is of Haitian
origin and could be transferred to the Office.
V. IMPORTANT PROGRESS TO BE CONSOLIDATED WITH REGARD
TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THE STATUS OF WOMEN
77.
The progress achieved since the ratification of the Convention of Belém do Pará owes a
great deal to the dynamism of the two successive ministers for the status of women and women’s
rights, and to the action taken by the National Round Table on the Prevention of Violence
against Women (Table de concertation nationale contre les violences faites aux femmes). This is
a coordinating body that gathers information about violence against women, and comprises, in
addition to representatives of the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women’s Rights, the
Ministry of Justice and Public Safety, the Ministry of Public Health and Population, and
specialized civil society organizations, including KONAP, URAMEL, GHESKIO, Doctors of
the World and Caritas, as well as the relevant agencies and bodies of the United Nations system,
including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNDP, World Health Organization
(WHO), and the Gender Unit of the MINUSTAH Human Rights Section.
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