PRESS BRIEFING ON SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION TO HAITI

 

The United Nations Security Council will visit Haiti from 13 to 16 April, in an attempt to demonstrate its support for the creation of a secure and stable environment there, as well as assess the country’s long-term needs, the Permanent Representative of Brazil, Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg, told correspondents at a UN Headquarters briefing this afternoon. 

The 15-member mission, set to leave tomorrow, would have a “loaded” programme, he said, involving meetings with the President and Prime Minister, as well as representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Electoral Council, humanitarian agencies and civil society. 

Among the Council’s goals would be to look into the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), whose mandate was set to expire at the end of May; discuss the disarmament of all illegal armed groups; support national dialogue, which was the only way to free and fair elections; express concerns on the human rights situation; and focus on long-term development and poverty-reduction strategies.  The mission would be working within the framework of Council resolutions 1542 and 1576, both adopted in 2004.

Asked if Haiti was a “failed State”, Mr. Sardenberg replied that the United Nations did not use that term.  He recalled that Haiti was the first country in Latin America to be independent; a goal achieved by Brazil 19 years later.  Many of the hopes of the Haitian people had not been achieved.  The country was poor and continued to face many problems.

“This is the third effort of the UN to organize a peace effort in Haiti”, he remarked, adding that it hoped not to fail this time.  The situation in the country was divisive, and urgently required a national reconciliation process.   National dialogue was vital for creating a better climate for holding elections.  The basis for that dialogue was for all actors to renounce violence.  All forces renouncing violence should be able to participate in the national political process.

Responding to a question on what the Council could realistically do to ensure that the United Nations didn’t fail this time around, Mr. Sardenberg said the Council was calling for the creation of a secure and stable environment, a process in which MINUSTAH was assisting the Government, and condemning all violence regardless of the source.  Also, it was making all efforts to establish a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme, which should lead to the disarmament of all illegal armed groups.

What was needed was a democratic, free and transparent process in the country, with elections by the end of the year, so a new democratically elected government could take office next February, he added.  The issues of development and poverty were also important.  For development efforts to succeed, the full participation of the Haitian Government was needed, as was the acceleration of the disbursement of funds by donors.  He acknowledged there was a problem in terms of national bureaucracy, and it was not just a problem of donors.  It was vital to get quick impact projects up and running as soon as possible.

The situation in the country was dire, he said, with unimaginable levels of unemployment -- some 85 per cent were not employed -- and enormous migration from rural to urban areas.  A strategy for long-term development was essential.  A military and political solution would have to be complemented by some sort of a development solution.  He was also convinced that the long-term survival of Haiti also depended on the recovery of its environment, which had been destroyed.

On whether it would be necessary for the peacekeepers to be more aggressive, he said the troops had only been deployed last September.  The troops were gradually becoming more active.  Key to that effort was seeking to disarm illegally armed persons.  There was no need for further forces, he said.  There were other possibilities in terms of training police, and creating a temporary electoral corps to provide security during the electoral process.  He was not concerned at the moment with whether MINUSTAH was aggressive or not.

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