A/HRC/14/44 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ of his team to discuss with them the question of economic and social rights in Haiti and the possibility of collaboration under the two mandates. II. The earthquake and its impact on rights A. Threats to rights in the humanitarian crisis 15. In Haiti there is a “before” and an “after” 12 January 2010, a circumstance which will also have had a direct impact on the exercise of rights. The earthquake, which completely destroyed Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other Haitian towns, was felt by and had repercussions for the whole country, as well as for the diaspora and the entire international community, which mobilized itself as never before to help Haiti in the turmoil of the humanitarian aid effort and to participate in the country’s reconstruction. 16. It must be kept in mind that Haiti was making progress and it is important to reaffirm that the upsurge experienced by the country for several months had only been interrupted, not ended. Tangible progress had in fact been made with civil and political rights, even if there was still far to go before Haiti would have a penal system consistent with the requirements of the rule of law. The security situation had improved, the number of kidnappings had declined, and the main gang bosses had been arrested; all of these developments made up a picture in which encouraging signs could be perceived. The appointment of Bill Clinton as Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations was a clear symbol of the increase in jobs-creating investment in Haiti. Of course, the situation is now more precarious, especially as the earthquake interrupted this process: at the time of writing this report some of the gang bosses are again at large, the police force has been hit by the disaster, and the justice system in Port-au-Prince now depends partly on the reconstruction of buildings. However, the Government, under the authority of President René Préval, has taken the measure of the problem, and the President is endeavouring, with the support of the international community, to deliver responses to it, asserting among other things that “it’s a long-term undertaking. It would be a mistake to rebuild the country on the same mistakes. Today it is not a question of rebuilding but of refounding the country. We have to rethink Haiti as a different country”.4 17. The international community’s response to the humanitarian crisis was immediate and massive, with a clear determination on the part of all countries to do their best to furnish speedy succour to the people. It was only gradually that the magnitude of the disaster and the numbers of direct and indirect victims were realized. Even though the coordination of the international aid has been criticized, it is too often forgotten that the international community was confronted with an unprecedented situation and had to adapt itself gradually to the country’s parameters. 18. Leaving aside the humanitarian issue, experience in other situations has shown that human rights come under immediate threat in crises and emergencies. The MINUSTAH human rights units and Haitian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with human rights quickly issued warnings about the human rights violations which they had witnessed or which had been reported to them. Much testimony concerning infringements of human rights in the context of the humanitarian operations was addressed to the independent expert. At the time of writing the present report three human rights NGOs5 were on mission in Haiti to document the violations of rights and formulate recommendations. Their disquieting findings and evidence were communicated to the independent expert. 4 5 6 Interview in Le Point magazine, 16 February 2010. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and International Federation for Human Rights. GE.10-13204 (EXT)