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OAS Secretary General Calls for Continued Support in the Reconstruction of Haiti

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today urged Member States and the international community to continue supporting the reconstruction of Haiti, a process with methods and objectives that will have to be adjusted to take into account the priorities set by President-elect Michel Martelly. “The work that needs to be done in Haiti remains great, and hopefully we will successfully face it.”

“With the greatest optimism we are capable of and with great confidence, we must overcome together the huge obstacles that lie ahead,” he said, underlining “the tenacity, efforts, and courage of Haitian people in confronting these situations.” He later recalled that “this optimism is tinged with realism because the flow of resources is not as quick as we would like it to be.”

The highest representative of the OAS included his assessments in a report to the Permanent Council of the Organization on his participation on April 6th in the high-level open debate of the UN Security Council over “The Situation in Haiti,” convened by the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, as chairman of the council. (A press release on Secretary General Insulza’s intervention at the UN is available here: http://www.oas.org/es/centro_noticias/comunicado_prensa.asp?sCodigo=C-606/11 )

Addressing the OAS Permanent Council, the Secretary General explained that “the debate at the heart of the Security Council revealed the existence of an agreement about the international community’s duty to reevaluate its methods of cooperation and make an effort to bring more tangible benefits to the Haitian people.” In this sense, he emphasized the importance of “adjusting” reconstruction operations “to take into account the priorities of President-elect Martelly”; and that the Reconstruction Fund “receive all resources and the entirety of funds promised by donors after the earthquake.”

Internally, Secretary General Insulza added that “constant political dialogue among all relevant stakeholders” is necessary, as well as “a consensus between the Executive and the Legislative that leads to stability and the success in reconstruction.” In support of that consensus, the head of the OAS expressed his will to collaborate especially with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Insulza mentioned that the countries and bodies present at the meeting in New York also reaffirmed “the commitment of the international community to the sovereignty and integrity in Haiti,” and reiterated “their duty to help the country overcome many more challenges, the interconnected nature of which is acknowledged.” He said the Security Council especially recognized the “important contribution” of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the work of the Joint Electoral Observation Mission OAS-CARICOM “for their determination to keep the electoral process on the right track and bring it to a positive end.”

Secretary General Insulza concluded his intervention by recognizing the “merits of the Haitian President, René Preval, who, despite difficulties, firmly insisted that the elections take place on the set dates, because that is how democracies work.”

After the presentation by the Secretary General, the Permanent Representative of Haiti to the OAS, Duly Brutus, thanked the OAS Secretary General and all Member States for “their contributions to the development of the Haitian people.”

“I am very optimistic about the future of Haiti and I have no doubt about the ability of Haitians to win this fight. We are certain that better times in the history of our nation lie ahead,” Ambassador Brutus added.

During today’s celebration of the National Day of the Haitian Diaspora, the OAS Assistant Secretary General, Albert Ramdin, made a call to Member States to support “financially or otherwise” the work already underway to celebrate the new meeting in Washington, DC of the Diaspora organizations, similarly to last year’s meeting hosted by the OAS.

During the session, representatives from the following countries also took the floor: Colombia, Guatemala, Canada, the United States, Peru, Paraguay, Brazil, and Antigua and Barbuda (on behalf of CARICOM). They all reaffirmed their commitment with the reconstruction of Haiti and supported the points made by the Secretary General in his report.

Reference: E-368/11