HAITI: UNSC AND CORE GROUP COMMEND LATORTUE ON

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000349 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO UNSC HA SUBJECT: HAITI: UNSC AND CORE GROUP COMMEND LATORTUE ON ELECTIONS AND PRESS FOR INCLUSIVE GOVERNMENT REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 355 ¶B. SECSTATE 26031 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. During an open briefing to the UN Security Council and a subsequent meeting of the Haiti Core Group on February 22, Interim Government of Haiti (IGOH) Prime Minister Gerard Latortue commended his government and the Haitian people on the conduct of first-round elections on 7 February 2006 and defended the decision by the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to declare Rene Preval the winner of the presidential race. Latortue appealed to the international community not to abandon Haiti in the wake of its elections. In closed UNSC consultations preceding Latortue's address, Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Juan Gabriel Valdes warned that SIPDIS Haiti still faced significant challenges in its electoral process and beyond. He reported that President-elect Preval would likely accept a short postponement of his inauguration to accommodate a brief delay in the second round of parliamentary elections. The SRSG said he had strongly urged Preval to take an inclusive approach to governance, and that Preval had in turn agreed to offer the speakerships of both houses of parliament to the opposition. ¶2. (SBU) Summary cont'd. Longer-term, Valdes argued that Haiti's stability required a concerted effort by donors to address the country's extreme poverty. Valdes and Latortue agreed that the highest priorities facing the next government would be police and justice sector reform. Member states generally welcomed the first-round elections and Preval's victory, and called on Haitians to redouble their commitment to inclusiveness. Latin American delegations stressed the need for increased donor efforts, and China warned that it would not be able to continue its support for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) if Preval visited Taiwan. France, Canada, and the Organization of American States (OAS) joined the U.S. in emphasizing the importance of timely municipal and local elections. An official from the UN's Electoral Assistance Division (EAD) later confirmed that MINUSTAH would support early municipal and local balloting once certain logistical and funding issues are resolved. End Summary. Latortue: So Long, and Thanks for all the Electoral Support -------------- ¶3. (U) During his briefing to an open meeting of the UNSC, PM Latortue spoke extensively about how Haiti's elections on 7 February 2006 had met high standards of fairness and transparency. He praised MINUSTAH and Haitian National Police (HNP) efforts to ensure security, and emphasized that the IGOH had not tried to manipulate the election result. Latortue commended Haitians for their patience in waiting several hours to vote, but argued that these voters would not have remained in line for so long just to cast blank ballots. He explained the CEP's decision to declare Preval the winner on the grounds that Haitian law demands that blank ballots be counted, but does not specify how they should be apportioned. Latortue expressed hope that the current timetable for elections -- a second round on 19 March and the presidential inauguration on 29 March -- could be maintained. The Prime Minister concluded that despite the predictions of the international press, which he charged had consistently misreported events in Haiti, the elections on 7 February had been a clear triumph for his government and for the Haitian people. ¶4. (U) Turning to the post-electoral period, Latortue underscored that Haiti's nascent democracy would need the support of the international community for "some time" to come -- which he later clarified would be at least the next two years. He warned the Council not to repeat the mistake it made ten years ago when it prematurely withdrew from Haiti. Latortue said he had created a commission to prepare for the transition to the new government, and noted that Haiti would need assistance to train members of its parliament, municipal and local officials, and civil society. But he ascribed the highest priority to police and justice sector reform. He also argued that aid efforts would not be successful unless they addressed Haiti's extreme poverty and social inequality. In this next phase of Haiti's development, Latortue said his country would need fewer soldiers and more engineers. The PM commended Latin American states for demonstrating solidarity with Haiti, and he urged Spain and Morocco to reconsider their decision to withdraw from MINUSTAH at the end of March 2006. He expressed satisfaction that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) had normalized its relations with Haiti after a short estrangement. Valdes: Not Out of the Woods Yet -------------- ¶5. (SBU) During closed UNSC consultations, SRSG Valdes emphasized that significant challenges remain before Haiti can complete its electoral process. He called on the CEP to finish tabulating first-round results immediately, but argued that due to the delay in counting, the remaining electoral calendar would have to be "revised" (ref A). Valdes opined that CEP Director-General Jacques Bernard's presence in Haiti would be "essential" for the conduct of the second round, and he accused members of the CEP of launching unjustified attacks against the DG. Since the Haitian constitution calls for the president to be inaugurated along with the new parliament, Valdes said the postponement of second round voting would cause a slight delay in Preval's planned 29 March 2006 inauguration. He reported that Preval had promised, both privately and publicly, that he would adhere to constitutional requirements regarding the timing of his inauguration, but that the President-elect had emphasized that any delay should be brief. Inclusiveness is the Key -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Valdes predicted that neither Preval's party nor the opposition would command a majority in the parliament, which would make an inclusive approach to governance doubly important. He told the Council that he had advised Preval to make an "enormous effort" to include the opposition in his government as well as to commit in his first public speech to political reconciliation and a "government of unity." While seeming to reserve judgement on the degree to which Preval will promote inclusiveness, Valdes reported that Preval is prepared to offer opposition politicians the speakerships of both houses of parliament. Asked to assess the likelihood of Aristide's return to Haiti, Valdes observed in the closed session that the former president is a "man of the past." The SRSG pointed to public opinion polls rating Aristide the worst Haitian president ever as proof that ordinary Haitians do not want him back. Noting the hostility between the Preval and Aristide camps (he recalled that Preval campaign manager Bob Manuel was forced to flee Haiti under Aristide), Valdes argued that Preval was also opposed to his former mentor's return. Long-Term Stability Requires Fight Against Poverty -------------- -------------- ¶7. (U) Valdes argued that long-term stability and democracy in Haiti would not be possible without a serious international campaign to combat the country's extreme poverty. He touted a program underway in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Port-au-Prince as a model of civil-military cooperation, in which Brazilian troops secured the area and international aid agencies used quick-impact projects to improve living standards and create jobs. The same effort would have to be made soon in Cite Soleil. But he added that gang members expelled from Bel-Air had recently started returning to the area, with the message that while the Brazilian troops could give residents short-term relief, they could offer no long-term future. Noting the discussion at the February 21 donors, conference on Haiti in Washington, he called on donors to increase their efforts to support the new government by accelerating disbursement of past pledges. Valdes supported the Peruvian delegate,s proposal that the international community consider a long-term "Compact for Haiti," similar to the "Compact for Afghanistan" recently endorsed in London. ¶8. (U) In addition to the long-term fight against extreme poverty, Valdes argued that the new government's highest priorities should be reform of the police and the judiciary. He reported that PM Latortue signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between MINUSTAH and the IGOH on HNP reform on February 22, and that President-elect Preval had confirmed his intent to continue ongoing police reform efforts. Valdes also said Preval planned to keep HNP DG Andresol on the job. In terms of judiciary reform, Valdes said a UN assessment team was currently in Port-au-Prince to consider how MINUSTAH could better support efforts to reform Haiti's justice and corrections system. He suggested that the assessment mission would also consider how the mix between police and military personnel assigned to MINUSTAH could be adjusted to best achieve the UN's mission in Haiti. Member States Stress Reconciliation -------------- ¶9. (SBU) In both the closed UNSC consultations and the Core Group session, most member states welcomed the holding of first-round elections and congratulated Preval on his victory. They called on Haitians to intensify efforts towards national reconciliation and political dialogue in the coming months. The European Union and CARICOM representatives noted that their observers had characterized the elections as substantially "free and fair." Several delegations, including France, Canada, and the Organization of American States (OAS),joined the U.S. in underscoring the importance of timely municipal and local elections. Latin American delegations, including Brazil, Argentina, and Peru, repeated their call for increased donor support for Haiti's reconstruction. The Argentine PermRep argued the "time for words" for donor efforts in Haiti is over. In his remarks to the Core Group, DAS Duddy defended international aid disbursements, noting that since July 2004 donors had disbursed approximately USD 780 million in Haiti. DAS Duddy praised the Bel-Air model of stabilization and suggested that it could serve as a basis for future efforts in insecure areas such as Cite Soleil. Taiwan Still an Issue -------------- ¶10. (SBU) During the closed UNSC consultations, the Chinese PermRep noted that Preval had reportedly told Haitian media that he planned to make his first overseas trip to Taiwan. If this occurs, the Chinese delegate argued that the PRC would find it "very difficult" to continue to support MINUSTAH. Valdes replied that he had not heard reports to this effect, and that Preval had told him that he planned to visit the Dominican Republic first, followed by the U.S., Brazil, and Chile. Nevertheless, the SRSG undertook to convey China's concerns about a possible visit to Taiwan to the President-elect. UN Secretariat: Municipal and Local Elections Should be Held as Soon as Possible -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Following up on Core Group discussion of municipal and local elections and ref B demarche instructions, Poloff spoke with UN EAD Senior Political Officer Marco Carmignani on February 24 to gauge the Secretariat's views on when these elections could be held. Noting that donors had mistaken MINUSTAH elections chief LeChevallier's cautiousness about the timing of these elections for an unwillingness to support them, Carmignani agreed that these ballots should be held as soon as possible. He argued that municipal elections could be combined with second-round parliamentary elections, but noted that the CEP and MINUSTAH would need a few weeks to prepare for municipal balloting once challenges to first-round results have been resolved. If the second round is postponed because of delays in counting first-round ballots -- thereby delaying the presidential inauguration -- Carmignani cautioned that Preval might not countenance additional delays for the sake of the municipal elections. He said both UNHQ and MINUSTAH agreed that local elections should take place as soon as possible after the inauguration, but noted that additional funds would be required (he estimated the current funding gap at USD 13 million) and that the CEP would have to draw new districts to account for changes to Haiti's population distribution since the last time the country held local elections. Once these issues have been addressed, Carmignani averred, local elections should take place as soon as possible. BOLTON