Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06USUNNEWYORK645
2006-03-30 23:35:00
UNCLASSIFIED
USUN New York
Cable title:  

UNSC OPEN DEBATE ON HAITI: ALL SMILES AND MANY

Tags:  PREL PGOV KPKO UNSC HA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0645/01 0892335
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 302335Z MAR 06
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8527
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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

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.
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