THIRTY-FIRST REGULAR SESSION OEA/Ser.P
June 3, 2001 AG/INF.264/01
San José, Costa Rica 3 June 2001
Original: English
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL ON THE OAS MISSION AND
OF
THE JOINT OAS/CARICOM MISSION TO HAITI
JUNE 3, 2001
REPORT OF THE
SECRETARY GENERAL ON THE OAS MISSION AND OF THE JOINT OAS/CARICOM MISSION TO
HAITI,
JUNE 3, 2001
BACKGROUND
At a special meeting of the Permanent Council on
July 13, 2000, the Chief of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) in
Haiti, Ambassador Orlando Marville, made an oral presentation on the findings
of the EOM in respect of the May 21, 2000 legislative and municipal elections
in Haiti. In his report, the Chief of Mission highlighted the deficiencies and
difficulties of those elections and mentioned, in particular, the flawed
methodology that was used by the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) in the
allocation of seats for certain members of the Haitian Senate. In view of the
failure of the CEP to correct the deficiencies identified, the EOM did not
observe the second round of the legislative and municipal elections, which were
also boycotted by several political parties in Haiti. A stalemate ensued.
These elections were considered vital for the
democratic consolidation of Haiti, which had not had a working parliament since
January 1999. Hundreds of millions of
dollars of much needed development assistance had been held up as a
consequence. The holding of credible
legislative and municipal elections was considered to be a precondition for the
release of funds from the international donor community. Therefore, the failure
of the authorities to correct the deficiencies identified in the May 21
elections created, not only a crisis of legitimacy, but a significant political
impasse in Haiti.
Against this background, the Permanent Council, at a
special meeting on August 4, decided in resolution CP/RES. 772 (1247/00), to:
To accept the
invitation of the Government of Haiti and to promptly send to Haiti a mission
led by the Secretary General, on which the Group of Friends of the United
Nations Secretary-General shall be represented, to identify, together with the
Government of Haiti and other sectors of the political community and civil
society, options and recommendations for resolving, as expeditiously as
possible, difficulties such as those that have arisen from differing
interpretations of the Electoral Law, and for further strengthening democracy
in that country.
In fulfillment of this mandate, Secretary General
César Gaviria and Assistant Secretary General Luigi Einaudi traveled to Haiti
from August 17 to 20, 2000, accompanied by the Ambassadors, Permanent
Representatives to the OAS, of Argentina, H.E. Juan José Arcuri, of Chile, H.E.
Esteban Tomic Errazuriz, and of Venezuela, H.E. Virginia Contreras. Also
accompanying the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General was the
Assistant Secretary General for Foreign and Community Relations of the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, Albert Ramdin.
REPORT OF THE MISSION OF THE
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES TO HAITI
The first report of the Mission is contained in
CP/doc.3349/00 dated August 24, 2000.
In this report, the Secretary General observed: “There was
acknowledgement that the aftermath of the May 21 elections had served to
exacerbate an existing political and democratic-institutional crisis in the
country rather than beginning to resolve it, as it had been hoped. The sense of
the urgent need for political dialogue now coexists with doubts about whether
such a dialogue is possible.”
Subsequently, Assistant Secretary General Einaudi,
in an effort to facilitate and promote a climate of dialogue, visited Haiti on
three occasions between September 15 and October 23, 2000. On October 11, 2000,
the Assistant Secretary General reported orally to the Permanent Council,
indicating that major differences remained to be overcome and that time was
rapidly becoming a common enemy for all concerned. He stressed that in the
absence of a political accord on how to resolve the differences arising from
the May 21 elections and how to ensure legitimacy for the presidency and the
Senate, it seemed clear that the current electoral schedule with voting on
November 26--a mere six weeks away--was going to be kept.
During his October 13 to 23 visit, the Assistant Secretary General succeeded in promoting and facilitating a series of meetings among representatives of the political parties and with civil society organizations in Haiti. Indeed, the hallmark of this initial dialogue was the presentation by the Assistant Secretary General of a document titled “Elements of Reflection for a National Accord,” on which there was significant agreement by all involved on a number of points outlined in that document.
In presenting the Second Report on the Mission of the OAS to Haiti, (CP/doc.3371/00 of November 9, 2000), the Assistant Secretary General noted that, in spite of these efforts, there was “no consensus broad enough to achieve the OAS’ objective: namely, the negotiation of a national accord among all parties that would resolve the political crisis and do so in a manner that would elicit the support of the international community.”
Thereafter, consultations continued, both within and outside
of Haiti. Meetings were held with the OAS’ collaborators, specifically with the
Group of Friends on Haiti of the Secretary General of the United Nations and
with CARICOM, in an attempt to correct the deficiencies prior to the November
26 presidential elections. Regrettably, this was not done, and the presidential
elections proceeded without correction of the deficiencies of
the May 21 elections. The OAS did not observe these elections. On November 27,
the OAS issued a press release stating, among other things:
The
decision of the Haitian authorities to proceed with the elections on November
26 despite the absence of such an accord avoids an interruption in the
timetable for presidential succession established by the Constitution of Haiti,
but does not alter the need to ensure the broad political representation and
citizen participation critical to the development of Haitian democracy.
January to March 2001
On January 12, 2001,
the Prime Minister of Haiti, H.E. Jacques Edouard Alexis, visited OAS
Headquarters and met with Assistant Secretary General. Prime Minister Alexis
had come to Washington both at the request of the President of the Republic of
Haiti, His Excellency, Rene Preval, and of the President–elect, Jean-Bertrand
Aristide in order to revitalize the dialogue, with the support of the OAS, with
a view of reaching a consensus on the pending issues identified in the document
“Reflections Regarding the Components of a National Agreement (Eléments de
Reflexion).” The Prime Minister and the
Assistant Secretary General reviewed the work of the OAS Mission to Haiti,
following the mandate contained in Permanent Council Resolution CP/RES. 772.
During the meeting, the Assistant Secretary General noted that broad political
representation and citizen participation are critical to Haitian stability.
Noting the consensus reached on these points during his October 13-21, 2000
mission to Haiti, the Assistant Secretary General expressed strong concern over
the need to improve security for all Haitians. He also expressed his belief
that the document "Éléments de Reflexion,” presented to the Fanmi Lavalas
and the Convergence Démocratique on October 19, 2000 could serve as a basis for
renewed dialogue, particularly if the Haitian government implemented the points
covered by President-elect Aristide in his letter of December 27 to the
President of the United States.
Subsequently,
Assistant Secretary General Einaudi visited Haiti from February 6 to 10, in
representation of the Secretary General at the ceremony marking the assumption
of office of the new President of Haiti on February 7 and to keep the lines of
communication open to all involved with a view of determining the extent to
which conditions had been met for continued efforts by the OAS, together with
the Government and other sectors of the political community and civil society
of Haiti, to identify options and recommendations to overcome the political
impasse. The opportunity was also taken to assess possibilities for putting
into effect such other measures as may be deemed appropriate for further
strengthening democracy in Haiti, in keeping with CP/RES. 772 and with the
eight commitments expressed in December 2000 by the incoming President, as
previously stated above. He visited again from March 8 to 10, 2001.
Information on these
visits by the Assistant Secretary General is contained in the Third Report of
the Mission of the OAS to Haiti (CP/doc.3419/01 corr. 2) that was issued on
March 13, 2001. This report concluded that Haiti had “taken certain definite
steps but much more remains to be done. The steps taken thus far fall short of
assuring the strengthening of democracy in Haiti.” The report also made
reference to indications which had been received from President Aristide that
his Foreign Minister, Joseph Philippe Antonio, would present to a meeting of
the Permanent Council, scheduled for March 14, 2001, a proposal for the
establishment of a special OAS commission to support democracy in Haiti. The
report suggested that, should such a Commission be established, as requested by
the Government of Haiti, it would be prudent to focus, at least initially, on
fresh steps related to political dialogue, perhaps using a format similar to
the Dialogue Procedure in Peru involving the government, opposition, and civil
society, with OAS as Observers. The report further noted that should the
dialogue process begin to bear fruit, the OAS would require the collaboration
in critical areas of the United Nations, of the international financial
institutions and of individual members of the international community.
In his address on
March 14, the Haitian Foreign Minister sought the Permanent Council’s support
for the establishment of a special OAS commission on Haiti. Having considered
the request, the Council approved CP/RES. 786 (1267/01) corr. 1, in which it resolved:
1. To
express the conviction that the resolution of the crisis arising from the
Haitian elections of May 21, 2000 is essential to the strengthening of
democracy and respect for human rights in Haiti.
2. To
request the Secretary General to undertake the necessary consultations with the
Government of Haiti and other sectors of the political community and civil
society, bearing in mind the statement by the Haitian Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Worship, on the potential for a dialogue to resolve the crisis
arising from the elections of May 21, 2000 and the strengthening of democracy
and respect for human rights in Haiti.
3. To
instruct the Secretary General to present to the Permanent Council, no later
than 2 May 2001, a report on his consultations, and, as appropriate, to propose
other measures that could contribute to the strengthening of the democratic
process in Haiti.
April to May 2001
At the request of the
Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary General again visited Haiti from
April 2 to 4, to assess what tangible action had been taken by the authorities
and the political community as a whole, in furtherance of the commitments that
had been previously made and of the undertakings given by the Foreign Minister
at the March 14 meeting of the Permanent Council. The visit and follow up
consultations occurred against the background of preparations for the Third
Summit of the Americas to be held in Quebec City, Canada, from April 18 to 22,
2001. At that time, many member states expressed growing concern about the on
going political difficulties in Haiti and possible repercussions for democracy
in the Hemisphere.
In Quebec City, both
the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General met with the Haitian
authorities who, in turn, interacted with many leaders from the Hemisphere,
including particularly those from CARICOM. Extensive consultations took place
on this occasion and various options for resolving the political impasse were
discussed. In closing the Quebec City
Summit, Prime Minister Chrétien of Canada stated that the case of Haiti had
been paid particular attention by the Heads. He acknowledged the efforts that
President Aristide had made to resolve the problems that continue to limit his
country’s democratic, political, economic and social development and the
efforts of Haiti’s other political parties and other sectors of political life,
notably members of civil society. Prime Minister Chrétien further stated:
To
facilitate the achievement of these goals, we have asked the Secretary General
of the OAS, César Gaviria, to work with CARICOM, to hold consultations, to
visit Port-au-Prince in the near future, to report his findings to the OAS
before the next General Assembly, and to ensure adequate follow-up.
The Secretary General
informed the Permanent Council on April 25, noting that the report called for
by May 2 would be provided to the General Assembly following completion of his
consultations.
JOINT OAS/CARICOM INITIATIVE ON HAITI:
On May 9, 2001, as
a direct response to the request articulated by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien,
Prime Minister Owen Arthur of Barbados, Chairman of the
Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the
Secretary General agreed to combine efforts of the OAS and CARICOM on Haiti
into a Joint Mission to be led by the Secretary General and the former Prime
Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Dame Eugenia Charles.
To this end, a joint
exploratory mission comprising the OAS and CARICOM Assistant Secretaries
General and accompanied by advisors from the Carter Center, visited Haiti from
May 10 to May 13. Extensive consultations were held with President Aristide,
with representatives of his political party, Fanmi Lavalas, with
representatives of Convergence Démocratique, with representatives of civil
society and with the local representatives of the group of Friends of the
Secretary General of the United Nations.
Representation was also received from other political parties and
groups.
PL05021E01
At the conclusion of the exploratory mission,
Ambassadors Einaudi and Ramdin noted that conditions for a comprehensive
solution did not exist. Given the Mission’s mandate, the gravity of the
situation, and the position of a number of member states and of the Chairman of
the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, the Secretary General and
Dame Eugenia Charles traveled to Haiti from May 29 to 31, meeting with
President Aristide, the major political parties, and a broad gambit of civil
society representatives.
The Mission was deeply concerned over the mutual lack
of trust and the lack of an atmosphere of negotiation in which the political
crisis suffocating the country could be resolved.
President Aristide gave the
Mission a letter to the President of the thirty-first regular session of the
OAS General Assembly presenting the steps he is taking to end the crisis and
asking for international support.
Upon leaving Haiti, the Secretary General stated
that the international community should increase its participation and
impress upon those involved the need to arrive at an agreement at the earliest
opportunity. International pressure on
the government to correct the serious irregularities has been helpful, but the
outlook for the Haitian people will be entirely too grim if the country is
isolated from the international financial community. He pointed to the need to
strengthen OAS-CARICOM mediation efforts and to bring into the process, as
friends, certain countries that have decisive influence in Haiti. It is hoped that the fulfillment of
President Aristide’s announcements
would pave the way for a process of negotiation, with our facilitation, aimed
at overcoming this crisis and strengthening democratic institutions, respect
for human rights, and justice.
The Haitian people are the
primary victims of this polarization affecting all sectors of national
society. This burden prevents the
country from embarking on the economic growth and social development all its
citizens so urgently need and hope for.