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