HAITI MOVES TO EXPEDITE HUMANITARIAN AID ENTRY

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 001336 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR JTILGHMAN, S/ES-O/CMS, S/CRS, INR/IAA SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR, OFDA TREASURY FOR ERIN NEPHEW SANTO DOMINGO FOR FCS GIMENEZ AND PORTORREAL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AEMR ASEC EAID ETRD PGOV PREL ECON HA SUBJECT: HAITI MOVES TO EXPEDITE HUMANITARIAN AID ENTRY Summary -------------- ¶1. Under an emergency plan enacted September 15 following devastation wrought by successive hurricanes, the Government of Haiti (GOH) authorized measures to temporarily suspend certain customs regulations and facilitate the entry of supplies intended for victims of recent hurricanes. End summary. ¶2. Haiti's Customs Administration (under the purview of the Ministry of Economy and Finance) and the Bureau of Civil Protection (Direction de Protection Civile -DPC- a department within the Ministry of the Interior) are empowered to suspend certain administrative procedures to expedite customs processing of humanitarian items imported to Haiti for a period of three months. The DPC is the only office authorized to receive, clear and coordinate distribution of the imported products. Any such package or container should be shipped to the DPC. ¶3. If the imported product is nevertheless addressed to an individual or institution other than the DPC, the bill of lading should be endorsed payable to the ''Direction de Protection Civile.'' The list of imported products should also be attached to the endorsed bill of lading and sent to the Direction de l'Inspection Fiscale (Bureau of Fiscal Inspection) at the Ministry of Economy and Finance. ¶4. For items intended to help a specific family or group, the lists of imported products and beneficiaries, as well as their respective addresses, should be attached to the endorsed bill of lading and sent to the Direction de l'Inspection Fiscale at the Ministry of Economy and Finance. ¶5. For additional information on procedures to import items under the emergency plan, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Bureau of Civil Protection (Ministry of Interior) should be contacted. Note contact information, which follows: --Ministere de l'Economie et Finance (Ministry of Economy and Finance) Telephone: (509) 3676-0625/0645/0897 E-mail: mefcyclone@mefhaiti.gouvt.ht --Direction de Protection Civile (Bureau of Civil Protection) Telephone: (509) 2223-4491; 2222-8231; 3461-2228 E-mail: altajeanbaptiste@yahoo.com ¶6. Comment: Embassy has been informed that the international donor sector lead for logistical coordination, the World Food Program (WFP),recommends that organizations which desire information or assistance in transporting relief supplies, after arrival, from Port-au-Prince to affected areas of the country note the following contacts : --Logistical Cluster Coordinator Jean Francois Milhaud Telephone: (509) 3701-2340 --Logistics Cluster Officer Baptiste Burgaud Telephone: (509) 3701-2337 --Logistics Cluster Officer Michel Tomaszek (World Health Organization) Telephone: (509) 3816-9883 End comment.