2. Haiti has experienced recurring natural catastrophes in the past which have strongly dented the country's development. Haiti is the third hungriest country in the world after Somalia and Afghanistan The poorest country in the western hemisphere One of the poorest countries in the world Ranks Haitians live on less than $2 US per day.

3. The Government of Haiti consists of a semi-presidential republic, multiparty system where the President of Haiti is the head of state directly elected by popular vote. The Prime Minister acts as the head of government, and is appointed by the President from the majority party in the National Assembly

5. Martelly has been in power since 2011 when he won the Haitian general election for his party Repons Peyizan. Martelly came in third in the first round of the election, until the Organization of American States forced Jude Célestin to withdraw due to alleged fraud. Martelly assumed his position as the President of Haiti on May 14, 2011

6. The Results of the first round in the 2010 – 2011 election placed Jude Celestin in the lead which resulted in violent protests by Martelly's supporters, who said the result had been fixed by the government to ensure Celestin - who was backed by outgoing President Rene Preval - went through to the second round. This caused experts from the Organization of American States to analyze the results and both the US and UN called on Celestin to pull out of the race http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin- america-12293917 Voter Fraud

7. Dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier fled into exile in 1986 which marked a special time in Haiti's history, bidding farewell to tyrannical dictatorships. It set the stage for democratic governance. In 1990 the people of Haiti voted in their first truly democratic election in generations.

8. The Constitution of Haiti was modeled after the constitutions of the United States and France. The document was approved by Parliament in March 2011 and came into effect on June 20, 2012 Re-legalizes dual citizenship, allows for Haitians living abroad to own land and run for Haitian political office (except for offices of president, prime minister or senator) and that 30 % of government jobs be held by women The Constitution of Haiti was modeled after the constitutions of the United States and France. The document was approved by Parliament in March 2011 and came into effect on June 20, 2012 Re-legalizes dual citizenship, allows for Haitians living abroad to own land and run for Haitian political office (except for offices of president, prime minister or senator) and that 30 % of government jobs be held by women

9. According to the Constitution and written laws, Haiti meets human rights standards. In practice, however The government’s human rights record is poor with a number of kidnappings The Constitution mandates an independent judiciary and the right to a fair trial The Constitution guarantees freedom of speech many journalists, however, practice a measure of self- censorship in order to protect themselves from retribution According to the Constitution and written laws, Haiti meets human rights standards. In practice, however The government’s human rights record is poor with a number of kidnappings The Constitution mandates an independent judiciary and the right to a fair trial The Constitution guarantees freedom of speech many journalists, however, practice a measure of self- censorship in order to protect themselves from retribution

10. http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2009 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/default.stm http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/country/home/tags/haiti http://www.refworld.org/cgi- bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=country&category=&publisher=FREEHOU &type=&coi=HTI&rid=&docid=4c0ceaefc&skip=0