STATEMENT OF THE OAS ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL AT THE TECHNICAL PREPARATORY CONFERENCE ON HAITI

March 17, 2010 - Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Your Excellency Leonel Fernandez, President of the Dominican Republic
Your Excellency Jean Max Bellerive, Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti,
Distinguished Ministers,
Heads of Delegations,
Ambassador Edmond Mulet, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General,
Representatives of the Private Sector of Haiti,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I thank you for the opportunity to share with you the perspectives and efforts or the Organization of American States regarding Haiti. I also would like thank the Government of Dominican Republic, as well as all other organizing entities for convening this important conference in preparation for the upcoming international donor conference on Haiti’s reconstruction needs, to take place at the end of this month in New York.

I am also pleased to acknowledge the Special Envoy of the Caribbean Community, the Most Honorable Percival J. Patterson, former Prime Minister of Jamaica and his delegation for his longstanding support to the people and government of Haiti. As Haiti is a full fledge member of the Caribbean Community, I believe this sub-regional entity needs to continue to play a leading and important role in the process of reconstruction of Haiti.

I am pleased to note that the Caribbean Community, during its recent Heads of Government meeting in Dominica, discussed the reconstruction efforts towards Haiti with the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Development Bank. As a result of these discussions, a joint statement by the three organizations was issued yesterday recognizing the budgetary constraints of the Haitian Government and the need to provide enhanced financial support to the Government.

Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister,
The relationship between the OAS and the Government and People of Haiti has been long-standing. For decades, now, the Organization has been providing support and technical assistance to Haiti, often in collaboration with our affiliated development partners, such as the Pan-American Development Foundation. I am pleased to say that the OAS is committed to continue it support in the most practical and direct way. We are ready to work with our international partners within the hemisphere and sub-regionally to the benefit of the Haitian people.

In this context, I believe, it is important to share with you the parameters under which the OAS has built this relationship.

First, the OAS strives to maximize resources and thus works hard to avoid duplication, overlap and replication of efforts in Haiti. Our support and intentions are based on our own strength, experience and expertise. In light of the current task we are undertaking here, today, I believe that this principle is an important one and the only way to effectively make optimal use of available resources. We must continue working in this same manner at the donor conference in New York on the 31st of March.

Second, our actions and initiatives towards Haiti have always been inspired and directed by the needs, the priorities and the vision for development as established by the Haitian authorities. The many declarations, resolutions and action plans which have been adopted during the numerous meetings of the General Assembly and the Permanent Council reflect this important guiding principle.

Third, we strongly believe in an inclusive approach of support to Haiti. This cannot be and should not be an exercise of a small group of countries and entities. There is so much to be done, that there is enough space for all to contribute, small nations, sub-regional groups, the private sector and the Haitian Diaspora. Not to mention many others who over the past months have demonstrated not only solidarity but also commitment in real terms to the Haitian people.

These parameters, and others as agreed in the international meeting on Haiti in Montreal at the end of January, are very important in terms of the collaboration, consultation and the coordination of all our efforts. However it must be based on the vision and projection of the Haitian Government and its stakeholders at large. Ultimately Haiti’s ownership is critical to making the reconstruction and the building of a new Haiti a reality.

Having said this, Mr. Chairman, allow me now to share with this important audience, the primary initiatives of the Organization of American States in support of Haiti.
The OAS is in the process of transforming the existing Haiti Task Force mechanism (established in October of 2007) into a Haiti Coordinating Office. The primary objective will be to manage the efforts, programs and activities of the OAS and its partners in Haiti. We will continue with the monthly meetings of the Haiti Group of Friends, which have become an important platform for the exchange of views and information between OAS member states, Permanent Observers, and the multilateral and international financial organizations in Washington DC.

The OAS, based on its track record and experience in Haiti, will focus in the medium and long term on assisting the Government of Haiti in the strengthening of democratic governance and institutions. In our view, this will be critical to creating the conditions and an environment conducive for effective governance and for the delivery of social and economic goods and services. It is clear that without political stability and safe environment, the Government could be distracted from its primary mandate, which is to foster social and economic growth.

So in terms of governance and institutional strengthening we will focus on the following three areas:
1. Assistance to the electoral process and the relevant institutions;
2. The registry of citizens in Haiti;
3. Cadastre
In terms of the elections, we received the observations of His Excellency Rene Preval and Prime Minister Bellerive in the past weeks. In this regard, the Organization of American States stands ready to provide the necessary support to the CEP and to the Government for the holding of elections.
Two weeks ago, a needs assessment mission from the OAS visited Haiti and concluded that there are three important issues to be addressed and decided upon by the Haitian authorities. Which elections need to be organized, when and how!

The Mission’s technical experts believe that it is possible to organize Presidential, legislative and local elections in one ballot. Furthermore, the OAS believes that these elections can be held between February and March 2011, and depending on the level of preparation needed, the elections could possibly be held two weeks earlier in mid-January 2011. This time frame would facilitate the constitutional date of February 7. With regard to the “how”, I believe it is important to study this issue in greater detail, as this timetable may not allow the restarting of the electoral process and completion of the re-registration, re-issuance of lost ID cards, etc. In principle, the process may have to revert back to the basics in terms of electoral preparation, which is the registration of voters, independent of the location in Haiti and publication of a new voters list, as the basis for the elections.

I intend to visit Haiti and meet with Haitian authorities in the second week of April and, if so requested by the Haitian Government, begin coordinating the process of support for the holding of the elections.

The civil registry project, which was earmarked for completion in 2013, will continue and will be handed over to the Office for National Identity of Haiti soon thereafter. The civil registry project will be adjusted in order to take account of the new circumstances. This emergency registration component will have the following components: promotion and awareness raising on civil registration, registration of children in shelters, registration of the deceased, infrastructure support through the provisional offices, replacement, production and distribution of lost or damaged ID cards, the acceleration of the construction of an electronic database, the consolidation of the registration data on one database.

It is clear that an updated and well organized civil registry will be valuable to the Haitian authorities for the planning, implementation and monitoring of the reconstruction and development plans.

I take the opportunity to publicly express our appreciation to the donor countries, who have facilitated this flagship project, especially the Government of Canada.

A logical step in the follow up to the civil registry is the establishment of a cadastre. The OAS is committed to assisting the Government of Haiti, in collaboration with other international partners in this endeavor. A technical team of the OAS with the collaboration of the Haitian National Office of Cadastre recently concluded a first assessment of the needs and objectives in this regard.
The general objective is to modernize the cadastral system, securing land rights to all Haitians and foreign investors through a comprehensive program that will also strengthen the institution responsible for undertaking a national multifunctional cadastre. The aim is to increase the percentage of properties cadastre from the current 5% to 100% in five year period.

The Organization will also continue to implement its development-related assistance in tourism, trade and investment promotion, facilitate cooperation between Haitian universities and the University of the West Indies, promote specific programs to provide scholarships for Haitians and in the area of sustainable development, especially in water and energy management and the natural disaster risk reduction and mitigation.

I also wish to highlight the efforts of the OAS with respect to safeguarding human rights and providing assistance to persons with disabilities. I believe that these areas are not receiving the required attention and these needs must be addressed in the short term.

Mr. Chairman, before making my final remarks, I want to bring to the attention of this meeting that the Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Western Hemisphere, during the April 2009, Summit of the Americas adopted a decision to establish a Hemispheric Development Fund for Haiti. This continues to be a mandate of the Organization of American States, and the Organization had been instructed to undertake a study of the modalities to create such a fund. It will be important to place this mandate in the context of the proposed multilateral trust fund, in order to mobilize and channel resources from the international community to Haiti.

Additionally, in follow up to the decisions emanating from the Montreal Conference on Haiti earlier this year, the OAS, in close collaboration with member states and the Haitian Diaspora is organizing on the 21, 22 and 23 March at the Organization’s headquarters, in Washington D.C., a Haitian Diaspora Conference. Close to 300 representatives from Haitian Diaspora organizations from the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, France and other countries have registered to take part in the discussions through plenaries and six thematic workshops. Designated representatives from this Conference will be presenting the main conclusions of their deliberations to the attendees at the International Donor Conference on 31st of March 2010.

Let me finally share with you that within the Inter-American System we have been working closely and in a coordinated manner with our partners, a process which began before the earthquake of 12 January. The OAS, PAHO, IICA, IDB, IADB and PADF have been sharing information on each other’s activities and are seeking to coordinate as much as possible in order to create synergies. We hope to be able to present our efforts through the newly established Inter-American Program of Support to Haiti. Over the past years, these organizations have not been able to agree on an effective coordination mechanism, but I am hopeful that the very positive experience within the inter-American system in support of Haiti could possibly be an example of coordination at the global level.

Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister and distinguished delegates,

This brings me to some concluding remarks on what I believe should be the outcome of the planned donor conference on the March 31st in New York.

I believe that there is already a perception in the media and within the larger audience of Haitians and interested citizens of the Americas on the importance for a concrete outcome.

In this regard, I believe that the conference should provide assurances for the provision of the necessary tents or temporary housing to the hundreds of thousands of Haitians without or with limited shelter, especially in light of the upcoming hurricane season.

Furthermore, in light of the severe reduction in revenue for the Haitian Government, I believe that financial support through a specific arrangement should be provided immediately. A call which has been supported by CARICOM, IDB and the OAS.

I strongly believe that we should ensure that the upcoming donor conference in New York, for which we express our appreciation to the United Nations and the United States government, provide a clear and agreed mechanism of consultation, coordination and monitoring of Haiti’s reconstruction efforts.

It would be extremely useful, and here I support the views of Ambassador Edmond Mulet, to have a clear division of labor within the international community on the specific support to the Republic of Haiti. Just as the OAS has committed to working on the basis of its expertise and experience in the strengthening of governance and democratic institutions, it will be important to know how each organization and donor plans to support Haiti: in what area, when and with whom. This information will also be valuable in terms of monitoring and evaluation and possibly facilitate internal coordination for the Haitian authorities.

In the same light, we should promote strong and structured collaboration among donors on the ground in Haiti. This will facilitate building synergies and making more effective use of resources and expertise.

Finally, of principal importance will be the ownership and leadership of the Haitian Government and the Haitian people. It is about their future and their destiny and, in this regard, I want to commend the resilience of the Haitian authorities and the Haitian people over the past months.
The Organization of American States reaffirms its commitment to the People of Haiti in their quest for a better, more peaceful and prosperous life. We will ensure that the OAS agenda has as one of its top priorities the interests and needs of the Republic of Haiti.

I thank you for your attention and for the opportunity provided to the Organization of American States today.