press conference by Secretary-General’s special representative for haiti

Rather than leave Haiti, this was the moment for the United Nations to reinforce its presence, maintain current troop levels, consolidate the extremely fragile security situation, and support the new President, Juan Gabriel Valdés, the Secretary-General’s outgoing Special Representative in that country, said today.

At a Headquarters press conference where he gave correspondents an update of the situation in Haiti, he said that each time the United Nations had been in the country, it had left at the moment when the situation had begun to change.  The Organization should stay the course, said the former Chilean ambassador, who was appointed Special Representative in July 2004, adding that, while there might be some changes in the nature and composition of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), that time had not yet come.

Peacekeeping operations today were confronted by the most basic poverty, destitution and marginalization of masses of people and that failure to address those problems could keep peacekeepers in a country forever, he said.  All stakeholders, including the donor countries, should make all possible efforts to promote stability and development in Haiti.  The transition had begun following the brief tenure of the Provisional Government, which had allowed the international community and the Haitian people to initiate a reorganization of State and government institutions so as to confront problems concerning poverty, security and national development.

He said that President René García Préval had inspired some hope, and society had been mobilized in his favour, as had the business sector, civil society, and political parties.  Hopefully, next Tuesday’s meeting in Brasilia would spur that process.  The President had indicated his wish to see MINUSTAH continue for the period of his tenure in office, and until a professional police force and a reformed judiciary were in place.  He had been very supportive of the Mission, and, hopefully, Edmond Mulet of Guatemala, the new Special Representative, would find the Mission well organized in terms of its work in the security sector and in social development, especially in the poorest areas.

Asked for more details about next Tuesday’s meeting, Mr. Valdés said two meetings were planned, the one in Brasilia and one in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, in July.  Next week’s meeting was to be held at the invitation of the Brazilian Government and sought to reunite donors with the Core Group on Haiti –- European Union, Canada, United States and Latin America.  The Port-au-Prince meeting had been called by the World Bank and would reunite all financial institutions and donor countries.  That was where new aid pledges would be made.

Elaborating further, he said the Brasilia meeting sought to confirm to President Préval the commitment of troop-contributing and donor countries and to accelerate the contributions promised in 2004.  Hopefully, new pledges would be made in favour of the President’s programmes, which included combating corruption, controlling Haiti’s seaports and ending all illicit traffic, particularly of weapons.  The MINUSTAH was participating in all those activities and wished to help in the social development programme, which the President was also organizing.

In terms of contributions from donors, he said $1.2 billion had been committed for Haiti in 2004, of which some $800 million had been disbursed for Haiti, according to the donor countries.  It was important for the Haitians to clarify how that money had been spent, particularly with respect to strengthening infrastructure.  It was absolutely urgent that the international community provide Mr. Préval with budgetary support during the first six months of his presidency or he would face a very difficult economic situation.

He said that a team sent to Haiti two weeks ago had recommended that aid be sent in three phases.  The first period was to shape the first six months of the new Government, the second period would comprise the first two years, and the third phase would encompass the entire presidency of Mr. Préval.  However, it was urgent now to mobilize funds in support of the initial six months.  The President had to present a concrete programme, which must be financed.  The World Bank had approved budget funds for Haiti that would be released after October.

In response to a further question, he said the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank had shown a good level of flexibility.  He voiced support for President Préval’s idea of establishing an international task force for Haiti, or some sort of international advocacy group through which to mobilize resources.

Asked what was next for him, Mr. Valdés said he wished to return home to Chile and his family, whom he had “left aside for too long”.  Having served the United Nations, however, one could not leave it, so he would always be at the disposal of “this institution and the Secretary-General”.

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For information media • not an official record