PRESS BRIEFING BY EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR

PRESS BRIEFING BY EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR

The United Nations $35-million emergency humanitarian appeal for Haiti, which was launched today, aims to meet the immediate needs of the population affected by the political crisis and establish the basis for recovery, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press briefing today.

“We appeal to the world to respond immediately”, said Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, who stressed the need to quickly restore social services and provide relief to more than 3 million of the country’s most vulnerable people.  Public security and access to the population in need constituted immediate priorities.

"Humanitarian activities can only serve as short-term measures and must be accompanied by a broad set of long-term policies to address the problems of governance and poverty", he said, emphasizing the need for a committed international response.  The initiative aimed not only to provide assistance in the areas of food aid, education and security services, but also to kick-start rehabilitation through infrastructure repair, capacity-building, human rights initiatives, disarmament and conflict resolution.

The six-month Flash Appeal addressed the programmes to be carried out in addition to the “Integrated Emergency Response Programme” (IERP), launched last April, which appealed for $84 million to address the urgent need for food security, improved water and sanitation, access to health and education, and the mitigation of natural disasters.  Almost a year later, the Programme had only received some $38.5 million in contributions.

Following recent strife, the situation in Haiti remained extremely volatile, Mr. Egeland said.  The current crisis was characterized by armed violence throughout the country, human rights violations, widespread looting and destruction of the basic infrastructure and social services.  Malnutrition, widespread HIV/AIDS prevalence, destruction of the health sector and easy access to small arms were among the problems that must be addressed.  The most affected regions included Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien, Port-de-Paix, Hinche, Gonaives and Los Cayes.

About a dozen of humanitarian agenciesparticipated in the appeal,

Mr. Egeland said.  The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had sent in emergency staff and planned to send more when security improved.  It was envisioned that assessment teams would identify the regions and areas most in need and put together a comprehensive programme to determine which agency was most competent to respond to particular requirements.

Mr. Egeland added that, following his meetings with about 20 main donors and representatives of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), several countries and entities, including Canada, the United States, Norway and the European Union, had indicated that they would respond immediately to the appeal.  Cuba and Mexico had also promised assistance.

Regarding the role of the Multinational Interim Force in Haiti, he said it had been asked to deploy rapidly outside the capital.  The Security Council had called for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to vulnerable people after the breakdown in law and order in Haiti and asked the Force to help establish humanitarian corridors to facilitate the provision of assistance.

In response to a question about security, he said that a large part of the problem was a “black economy” that had led to a proliferation of small arms, criminality and violence, which must be addressed immediately.  It was also important to prevent unemployed youth to turning to crime and acquiring arms. 

Responding to another question, he said it was necessary not only to address the immediate needs of feeding the population and keeping people alive, but also to pay attention to the future.  For that reason, a comprehensive humanitarian response programme should take into account both economic and political issues, including law and order and recovery needs.  “We cannot again make a mistake of making an investment in the country and neglecting the follow-up”, he added.

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