UNSC OPEN DEBATE ON HAITI: ALL SMILES AND MANY

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000645 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO UNSC HA SUBJECT: UNSC OPEN DEBATE ON HAITI: ALL SMILES AND MANY PROMISES REF: PORT-AU-PRINCE 459 ¶1. Summary. During an open debate on Haiti in the United Nations Security Council on March 27, UN Secretary-General Annan and representatives from 30 countries -- including Foreign Ministers or Vice-Ministers from Greece, Guyana, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Peru, Chile, and Brazil -- congratulated Rene Preval on his election as President and expressed their willingness to work with his government to support Haiti's reconstruction. Preval, in turn, welcomed their support but called for a long-term commitment by the international community to Haiti's future. Brazil declared that its troops assigned to the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) would stay "as long as necessary," while the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) said it would re-admit Haiti as a member once constitutional rule had been restored. Most speakers joined Ambassador Bolton in calling on Haiti to complete its political transition as soon as possible, to include holding early municipal and local elections. Latin American delegates tended to focus on Haiti's development needs to urge quick disbursements of pledged assistance and a larger role for MINUSTAH in reconstruction. Major donors, including the U.S., Canada, and the European Union, focused more on the need to ensure security and to reform the Haitian National police (HNP) and the justice sector. Preval agreed that police and judiciary reform were priorities, but in a reference to the recent controversy over a Haitian-UN agreement on HNP reform (reftel),argued these arrangements should be negotiated in a spirit of "mutual respect." At the conclusion of the session, the Council adopted a Presidential Statement (PRST) expressing its commitment to Haiti and outlining upcoming challenges. End Summary. ¶2. Summaries of all the remarks delivered during the session, as well as the text of the Council PRST, can be found at www.un.org/news/press/docs/2006/sc8673.doc.ht m. Haiti Should Complete its Political Transition -------------- - ¶3. Nearly all delegates welcomed Preval's election and expressed willingness to work with the new Haitian Government. Praising the "inclusive character" of Haiti's presidential election, SRSG Valdes joined many other representatives in urging the new government to pursue national reconciliation and dialogue with the opposition. �A;Ambassador Bolton called on Preval to honor his commitment to political inclusiveness and ensure that his government reflected the views of all Haitians. Most major donors, including Austria (for the EU),Canada, France, and the OAS, as well as Russia, China, and the UK, also joined Ambassador Bolton in urging that local and municipal be held as soon as possible in a way that ensures that technical issues that arose during the first round are addressed. Only Cuba struck a discordant note, charging that "foreign interests had conspired" to make the 7 February 2006 elections collapse, but that the Haitian people had thwarted the plot and defended their democratic prerogatives. Cuba decried continuing "international interference" in Haiti's internal affairs, which it said was evidence of "neo-imperialist" designs in the Western Hemisphere. While Venezuela expressed hope that the "political will of the Haitian people will be respected," it did not otherwise criticize the process or the involvement of the international community in Haiti's elections. Strong International Commitment to Haiti -------------- ¶4. Declaring that Haiti is "only beginning its long journey towards a stable and democratic future," UN SYG Annan was the first of many speakers to appeal for a sustained commitment to Haiti by the international community. Annan also noted that when the Security Council extended MINUSTAH's mandate in February 2006, it also expressed its intent to authorize further extensions. President-elect Preval echoed this theme by calling on the international community to "renew its commitment to provide long-term assistance to Haiti." Brazil declared its troops would remain in Haiti "as long as necessary," while several other delegations, including Chile, France, and Argentina, expressed support for MINUSTAH's long-term presence in the Caribbean country. Spain explained that while it could not continue its troop commitment to MINUSTAH, it was considering ways to increase support to MINUSTAH's police contingent and train Haitian security forces in Spain. Speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, Guyana delivered very positive remarks that expressed support for expanding MINUSTAH's mandate beyond peacekeeping to include a larger humanitarian and development component that would help address Haiti's long-term challenges. In a more measured intervention, the Bahamas -- on behalf of CARICOM -- said the regional organization was prepared to re-admit Haiti once constitutional rule had been restored. The Dominican Republic and OAS delegates welcomed Preval's regional travel as a sign of the new government's eagerness to work with hemispheric partners. China, while noting that it does not currently have diplomatic relations with Haiti (Note: Because Haiti currently recognizes Taiwan. End Note.),hoped that "the political conditions for MINUSTAH to stay on will always be present." Calls for Focus on Development... -------------- ¶5. One theme of the session -- which all the Latin American delegations emphasized -- was that the international community should focus on development efforts as a key to ensuring stability in Haiti. Preval led the charge, characterizing Haiti as a "country waiting to be built," and calling on all UN organs as well as donors to contribute to a post-electoral development program focusing on jobs, improved basic social services, and institutional capacity-building. SRSG Valdes agreed that Haiti would not achieve true stability until its "grinding poverty" and great income inequality were addressed, but SYG Annan cautioned that MINUSTAH could only tackle Haiti's most urgent needs and that "generous and coordinated" bilateral assistance would be necessary to supplement MINUSTAH's efforts. All MINUSTAH troop contributors, as well as several other delegations, called on donors to quickly disburse pledged assistance to Haiti. In his remarks, Ambassador Bolton noted that by the end of 2006, U.S. assistance to Haiti since 2004 will have totaled more than USD 500 million. Greece pledged Euro 100,000 in new reconstruction assistance to Haiti this year, in addition to its Euro 100,000 pledge last year. UNDP's Latin America Director noted that the agency had begun approaching donors to fund a post-electoral stabilization strategy. And Security Sector Reform -------------- ¶6. While Latin American representatives emphasized Haiti's development needs, other delegations -- including the U.S., France, Canada, and Austria (on behalf of the European Union) -- underscored the need to ensure security, reform the HNP and the justice sector, and proceed with disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of criminal gangs and former Haitian Army members. The discussion of HNP reform, in particular, revealed subtle differences of perspective caused by the Interim Government of Haiti's (IGOH) endorsement and subsequent repudiation of an agreement with the UN on police reform. While Preval agreed that reform of the police and the judiciary was "an imperative," he called for agreements in this regard to be negotiated "in mutual respect" and in accordance with Haitian constitutional provisions on the role of the police. SRSG Valdes, meanwhile, argued that "current efforts" to reform the HNP should continue. Canada averred that the strategic plan adopted in March 2005 by the HNP should serve as the basis for any comprehensive reform effort, and that Haitian leadership in the reform effort should be encouraged and respected. Peru suggested that Peruvian police offers could help train their Haitian counterparts in HNP training centers. Several delegations, including France, Austria (for the EU),and Greece, expressed concerns about human rights violations by the HNP and the large number of Haitians currently incarcerated without charge. BOLTON