Haiti is a presidential republic with a bicameral parliament, according to the Constitution adopted in 1987, the validity of which was suspended on several occasions due to political violence. In particular, this occurred after the military coup of 1991 and crisis of 2004 which forced the United Nations to intervene through the deployment of the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). The latter still has a presence in the Caribbean country and its behaviour has given rise to considerable questioning. The President of Haiti is elected by direct universal suffrage for 5-year terms, with no opportunity for an immediate re-election or to opt for a third party.
The last elections were held on 28th November 2010 under difficult circumstances (the consequences of the earthquake of that year, the hurricanes which regularly hit the island and the cholera epidemic). The electoral campaign was staged and elections were held amid constant accusations of corruption and manipulation. At the end of an election day, marked by violence and reports of fraud, 12 of the 18 presidential candidates, among them the favourites Mirlande Manigat and Michel Martelly, denounced in a joint statement a conspiracy of the Government and Provincial Electoral Council-PEC to benefit the governing partys candidate Jude Celestin and requested the voting be annulled. No candidate obtained the majority needed to avoid a run-off, scheduled for 16th January 2011. The apparent disagreement between international observers and leaders of MINUSTAH ended up undermining the delicate and slow electoral process.

Earthquake of 12th January 2010: the phenomenon was recorded at 16.53 (local time). Its magnitude was 7.1 Mw and its epicentre was located 15 Km from the capital, Port-au-Prince. This was a terrible blow for the population of the poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean and one of the poorest in the world. A country where the average life expectancy does not exceed 59 years old for men and 63 for women and where just over 50% of the population has access to fresh water. In Haiti, 80% of the population lives below the poverty line and over half lives on less than US $1 per day. These deplorable conditions combined with the severity of earthquake have caused Haiti to experience one of the most serious humanitarian catastrophes of recent years. The event resulted in more than 250,000 deaths, an undetermined number of missing persons and more than 1,500,000 homeless persons, who months later are still living in highly precarious conditions, in improvised tents.
No disaster is completely natural. The devastating earthquake that shook Haiti was no exception. The levels of extreme poverty and inequality exacerbated the devastation and determined who were most vulnerable. The absence of the State, one of the most serious problems suffered by Haiti, revealed the full severity of the tragic circumstances that followed the earthquake. It is true that a substantial part of the governmental infrastructure, precarious for decades, remained under rubble, while several members of the Government had perished. However, it is not possible to ignore the role played by a fragile State unable to provide a response to the disaster. Despite the fact that international aid was instrumental in alleviating the painful consequences of the phenomenon (particularly in the first few months), distribution has been chaotic and there are many allegations of manipulation and bad management. Thousands of Haitians are still waiting for the benefits of international solidarity to reach them.

Cholera outbreak: in October 2010, a cholera outbreak began a disease which has not been recorded in Haiti for decades. For something like this to occur, two conditions must be met: (1) there must be a significant lack of water, sanitation and hygiene and deficiencies in the infrastructure used by people, allowing exposure to water and food on a large scale (2) the bacteria that cause the illness must be present in the population. It is still not clear how cholera was reintroduced to Haiti, but now both conditions prevail. According to the WHO/PAHO the key challenges for a response are: the proper management of dead bodies, correct disposal of medical waste and allocation of places where health centres may be established, improved processes for reporting cases and presence of suitably qualified healthcare personnel. All these conditions are difficult to fulfil given the current circumstances in Haiti. In November 2010, 72,017 cases of cholera-related illnesses and 1,721 deaths were reported. The epidemiologists calculate that in the coming months 200,000 cases could occur, of which 20% may be serious.

In the long and difficult years involved in the reconstruction of Haiti, long-lasting and sustained international cooperation shall be required. It is also necessary for the Haitians to experience the reconstruction process as their own, for them to take leadership and take on a commitmentnot only the Government, but also the civil population, NGOs, academics, groups of young people, unions, groups of displaced persons and the private sector to steer this process, to ensure that the aid is distributed fairly and equally, responding to the populations real needs. In this scenario, the establishment of a quality public education system for everyone is fundamental.

Education in Haiti was in an extremely critical position a long time before the earthquake of 12th January 2010 seriously affected the educational institutions. It should be remembered that 15,000 primary schools and 1,500 secondary schools were flattened. According to the UNDP Human Development Report , of the 6.8 years of learning envisaged for 2010, only an average of 4.9 would be achieved.

Haiti is characterised by the existence of a private education system, where around 90% of the services were provided by institutions in that sector. The majority of schools have not been accessible for those who live outside of Port-au-Prince. 25% of the districts located in rural areas have no school.

Only 38% of Haitians over 15 years old know how to read and write, and literacy is significantly lower among women. Although they have been paid to be educated, many young people have received low quality education, often incomplete and segregated. The cost of enrolment, books, materials and uniforms has been unaffordable for most families and the schools subsist under deplorable conditions, with insufficient staff. The health and nutrition conditions of Haitian children were already considerably difficult before the catastrophes that devastated the country in 2010. Only 26 % of births were attended by skilled personnel. The prevalence rate for HIV/AIDS in pregnant women is the highest in the region, and mortality of children under 5 years old, according to recent estimates, was 75%. All of the disasters suffered throughout 2010, including the effects of the hurricane season, have increased Haitian childrens vulnerability, where more than 4 out of 10 children live in situations of absolute poverty. In almost all regions of Haiti, the prevalence rate for chronic malnutrition in children under age of 5 has reached 25%.

Furthermore, the living and working conditions of Haitian teachers has also been extremely difficult: lack of initial and in-service training, low wages and subsequent suspended payments, lack of teaching resources and materials are all factors which all jeopardise the quality of the education provided. Additionally, there have been frequent episodes of persecution against the teaching unions, as has been repeatedly reported by the member organisation EI, the National Confederation of Teachers of Haiti - CNEH. In the 2010 earthquake, 1,100 people working in education lost their lives. EI and its member organisations have launched a special Solidarity Fund which is helping to support affected teachers and their families.

The establishment of a quality public education system, for all Haitians, is today more than ever an absolute priority for Haiti. Without it, reconstruction shall lack one of its fundamental pillars. Education for girls in particular demands a concerted action and strong political will to change existing behaviour and practices with regard to domestic work. Keeping them in school once they have reached puberty poses another series of problems, given the frequency of the marriages and de facto unions at an early age, as well as early pregnancies.

The three-year ECE programme starts at age 3.

Education is compulsory for children aged 6 to 11. Primary education starts at age 6 and lasts for 6 years.

Secondary education starts at age 12 and lasts for 7 years.

In addition to the students who attend higher education in Haiti, 2,994 Haitians study abroad, in particular in the USA (1,089), Cuba (654), Costa Rica (57) and El Salvador (34).

According to the law, people who live with a disability must receive the necessary means to ensure their autonomy, education and independence. However, the reality is the established rules are far from complied with and no provision has been approved that ensures the application of the constitutional guarantees. As a consequence of the extreme poverty in which the majority of the population lives, disabled people have traditionally had a very hard existence. This includes children with special needs. Currently, another serious consequence of the earthquake is the large number of children who are ill, mutilated, injured, or suffering psychological damage from having been trapped under rubble for hours or even days. The medical and educational needs of these highly vulnerable groups are being attended to mainly by the NGOs.

The law provides for the granting of refugee status or asylum with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol of 1967. The Government has taken some measures to protect refugees, although the majority are Haitians who have tried to leave the country and have become refugees for political and economic reasons.

95% of the population is of African ancestry, with a minority of mixed-race and whites.

Academic freedom is not legally restricted, but criticism of Government authorities or talking about public activities continues to be penalised. There have been reports of supporters of different political factions attacking students and professors. The police usually obstruct students who protest against the Government. The gangs that support the political groups also tend to attack university students.

The law establishes a formal equality, but no effective mechanisms exist to apply or enforce these provisions. Women do not enjoy the same social and economic status as men and tradition limits their possibilities in terms of personal and professional development. Female heads of household in urban and rural areas are very poor and have few opportunities for education and employment. But it is they, particularly in the informal and service sectors, who have sustained the Haitian family economy throughout the dictatorships, military coups and subsequent catastrophes. There is no legislation against gender violence or sexual harassment, a frequent practice in the workplace. Since the times of the Duvalier dictatorships (Papa Doc and Baby Doc) groups of armed gangs have existed, repressing opponents and dissidents. Gang members are extremely violent and often attack and rape women and girls from the slums as one more mechanism to intimidate the population. They are very rarely arrested and sometimes the victims also suffer further harassment from the police and reprisals from the gangs.

One of the most serious issues that affect Haitian girls in particular is the tradition of the restaveks. According to recent UNICEF calculations, in Haiti around a quarter of a million girls and boys are restaveks. The poorest families, particularly in rural areas, send their children to families in the city to work as domestic servants, supposedly in exchange for education. Restaveks are in fact servants who do not receive education, nor any payment, and live practically as slaves. The majority are girls, their situation remains hidden and the consequences of their work tend to be extremely serious in terms of health, lack of education and protection. When they become adolescents they are dismissed and abandoned.

The high number of girls forced into prostitution from an early age should also be mentioned.

Furthermore, the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that in Haiti there are at least 120,000 people living with the virus, more than half of whom are women. This has very serious consequences during pregnancy and is connected to the high number of AIDS orphans in Haiti.
The reconstruction programme provides a great opportunity to significantly improve the situation of Haitian women and make use of their energy and potential. In a profoundly unequal society, women are subjected to all kinds of gender violence, including an alarming level of sexual assault. The evaluations carried out by Oxfam and other NGOs present in Haiti suggest that women are still more susceptible to violence in the displaced persons camps. International cooperation and the Government contribute by increasing womens participation in reconstruction, from the community to the highest governmental level, and boost womens economic capacity through projects that allow them to participate on a par with men, for example; ensuring they have access to education and healthcare.

The minimum legal age for employment is 15, except for domestic service, where children legally begin working at age 12. Children aged 12 to 16 can be hired as apprentices. In this case, as in others, there are few mechanisms in place to ensure compliance with the law. The competence of adults to find a job limits child labour in the reduced formal sector of the work market. A large number of children live on the streets of Port-au-Prince. They work in the informal sector as street traders, although they are also used by drug traffickers as small-scale distributers.

Children are the object of human trafficking within the country and abroad. UNICEF reported that a large number of orphans took advantage of the instability of the country after the earthquake and crossed the border into the Dominican Republic. The Haitian State institutions limited capacity to respond to the human trafficking was weakened further by the monumental damage caused by the earthquake.

Despite the Haitian Governments successive promises of reform, labour and trade union rights are not sufficiently guaranteed in practice or by law. While the Constitution establishes the freedom of association, the Labour Code excludes many categories of workers. Any association that unites more than 20 individuals must receive prior authorisation from the Government to be recognised. Agricultural workers and civil servants are not covered by the Labour Code, and foreign workers are not authorised to occupy roles as union leaders. While the law prohibits anti-union dismissals, it does not provide for reincorporation.

The ILO Committee of Experts has asked to Government to recognise, by law, the right of public servants to trade-union organisation. The high level of unemployment and employers anti-union sentiment seriously limit organisations development possibilities. Collective bargaining is almost non-existent, companies set wages unilaterally. Workers have the legal right to strike, but when they exercise this right, they tend to be penalised. Forced or compulsory labour is prohibited but the law is not enforced, and many restaveks fall within this category. The legal minimum wage, set arbitrarily, does not provide a decent standard of living for workers and their families.

Since the earthquake in January 2010, EI has kept in regular contact with the member of the Executive Board of the National Confederation of Haitian Teachers (NCHT) to evaluate the impact on schools, teachers and students and is working with its Development Cooperation members to contribute to the alleviation of the humanitarian crisis and strengthening of the unions role.

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