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ORGANISATION DES ETATS AMÉRICAINS 
ORGANIZAÇAO DOS ESTADOS AMERICANOS 
ORGANIZACION DE LOS ESTADOS AMERICANOS ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

PRESS RELEASE

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ADVISORY BOARD ON REPARATIONS IN HAITI

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States, César Gaviria, announced today the establishment of the Advisory Board on Reparations, following the approval by the Permanent Council of the Organization on January 16, 2002, of the resolution "The Situation in Haiti" [CP/RES. 806 (1303/02) corr. 1].

In that resolution, the Permanent Council asked the Government of Haiti for "reparations for organizations and individuals who suffered damages as a direct result of violence of December 17, 2001."

In keeping with the composition agreed to for the Advisory Board, the Government of Haiti appointed Mr. Harry Clinton, Minister of Public Works, and the Secretary General selected Mr. Fritz de Catalogne, President of the Haitian Insurers' Association, from a list of prominent figures recommended by private sector organizations and the churches of Haiti. Mr. Jean-Michel Arrighi, a Uruguayan national and Director of the Department of International Law of the OAS General Secretariat, was chosen by the Secretary General as his personal representative to the Board.

The Advisory Board will begin its work in Port-au-Prince on May 13 and hopes to submit its recommendations as soon as possible. Among other things, the Board is to "make an assessment of any and all physical injuries, loss of life or other physical detriment suffered as a direct result of the violence on December 17, 2001 and continued for several days thereafter and to make an inventory of the physical damage stemming from the attack on the National Palace, the ransacking and burning of the headquarters of political parties of the opposition, of the private residences of leaders of Convergence Démocratique, and of cultural and academic centers, foreign or national, in Port-au-Prince and in other cities and localities.''

The establishment of the Advisory Board brings to three the special OAS activities under way in Haiti. On April 5, the Commission of Inquiry examining the events of December 17, 2001, began its work in Haiti, and on April 20 the Special Mission to Strengthen Democracy initiated its work with the arrival of Mr. David Lee, the Chief of Mission.

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