Advocating for the right to water: Haiti, the US and the IDB

In June 2008 the RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU School of Law, Partners In Health and Zanmi Lasante, released a report titled: Woch nan Soley: The Denial of the Right to Water in Haiti. This report documents interference by the United States resulting in the delay of loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to Haiti to implement water and sanitation improvements. It also demonstrates the violation of Haitian citizens' right to water and the resulting poor water quality and access in one of the key cities where the projects were to be implemented. After the report was released, the authors developed a strategy to raise awareness of this egregious violation of Haiti's rights, but also to prevent such a travesty from occurring again. Advocacy targets were U.S. Members of Congress and the Senate, IDB representatives in Washington and Haiti and Haitians affected by the halted projects. A few congressional offices were engaged which led to meetings with IDB representatives which clarified the status of the loans and projects and to continued involvement of civil society in the US and Haiti to monitor the loan progress and project implementation. A report launch in Haiti is scheduled for Spring 2009. Progress in engaging Haitians in monitoring project implementation and protecting their right to water will be presented as well as that made in Washington D.C. to prevent further obstruction of Haitian's rights to water.