A/75/PV.91 General Assembly

It is my sad duty to pay tribute to the memory of His Excellency Mr. Jovenel Moïse, President of the Republic of Haiti, who passed away on 7 July 2021. On behalf of the General Assembly, I request the representative of Haiti to convey our condolences to the Government and the people of Haiti and to the bereaved family of His Excellency. I will now deliver a statement on behalf of the President of the General Assembly from the rostrum. “It is with a heavy heart that I make this statement today. “I condemn in the strongest possible terms the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of the Republic of Haiti. I express this on behalf of the 193 members of the General Assembly, reiterating the statements made earlier by the United Nations community, including by the Secretary-General, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti. “I extend my sympathy to the Government and the people of Haiti. This is a tragedy that no country should ever have to endure. It is critical that a full and thorough investigation take place in order to ensure accountability and justice. We cannot allow fear and terror to prevail. There is no place for hatred, violence or racism in any society. “In the face of this brutal attack on democracy, I call on all Haitians to remain calm, exercise restraint, preserve the constitutional order and uphold the rule of law. I trust that all Haitians will engage in constructive dialogue moving forward. “We cannot allow this strategy to erase gains made or derail the future of Haiti. It is our responsibility to support the people of Haiti as they seek to uphold the rule of law and justice. This is the only way that we will ensure universal human rights, peace and security and sustainable development in Haiti. “We gather here today as nations united to pay our respects and express our steadfast solidarity with the people of Haiti. I assure the General Assembly that this body will continue to stand with the Government and the people of Haiti. “Finally, I wish Madam Moïse a swift recovery. I extend my deepest condolences to her, to President Moïse’s children and all family and friends who mourn a great personal loss. “In conclusion, I recall the words of President Moïse at the adoption of United Nations seventy- fifth anniversary declaration where he stated, ‘Haiti has always sought to promote and protect the values and principles of universal freedoms, peace and cooperation among nations‘ (A/75/PV.3). “Let us not forget our shared ideals as we seek to uphold the legacy of His Excellency Mr. Jovenel Moïse, President of the Republic of Haiti. May he rest in peace.” May I now invite representatives to stand and observe a minute of silence in tribute to the memory of His Excellency Mr. Jovenel Moïse.

In accordance with rule 70 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, I now give the floor to the Deputy Secretary-General, Her Excellency Ms. Amina Mohammed to deliver a statement from the rostrum.

I stand before the General Assembly, on behalf of the Secretary-General, with a heavy heart. We join the Government and people of Haiti in mourning His Excellency President Jovenel Moïse. Today we say goodbye not only to a Head of State, but to a friend, a father and a husband. We extend our condolences and pay our respects to his wife, first lady Martine, to his children, Jomarlie, Joverlein and Jovenel, Jr., and to all Haitians who see in this tragic loss an attack against the dignity and sovereignty of a people and against democracy. I visited Haiti in 2017, the year President Moïse took office. We travelled to the south of the country where he showed us with such pride the agricultural, infrastructure and energy projects he was rolling out across the country. With great enthusiasm he invited us to join him on a bulldozer that was being operated by a young woman to open a road for the village in the area. We saw and understood his vision of an electrified Haiti, with sustainable infrastructure and a flourishing agriculture sector. President Moïse’s understanding of the many complex and delicate challenges he faced greatly informed our efforts to advance conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peace consolidation in Haiti. Under his watch, the country saw the eradication of the transmission of cholera. The last recorded case was reported in February 2019. Next year, we will be able to announce the full eradication of the disease. We would have wanted to witness this achievement together with President Moïse. It was not to be. Haiti has had difficult times in the past. It is living through difficult times now. The United Nations stands with Haitians in a spirit of solidarity and partnership — a partnership that is grounded in helping moving Haiti from emergency approaches to long-lasting solutions, from assistance to investment and cooperation for sustainable development, democracy and opportunity for all. The Haitian people have never ceased to strive for dignity and justice. This proud nation has embodied these values since it became the first independent Caribbean State, by freeing itself from slavery and colonial control over 200 years ago. I firmly believe those values will see Haiti and its people through this trying time, and into a future of lasting peace and prosperity for all. Rest in peace, President. We will not forget.

I thank the Deputy Secretary-General for her statement. I now give the floor to the representative of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, who will speak on behalf of the Group of Asia-Pacific States.

On behalf of the Asia-Pacific Group, I would like to extend our deepest and sincerest condolences to the people of the Republic of Haiti, in addition to our dear colleagues at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Haiti to the United Nations, on the passing of their late President, His Excellency Mr. Jovenel Moïse, on 7 July 2021. It is with great sorrow and shock that we learned of the tragic passing last week of the late President. We join our dear colleagues at the Permanent Mission of Haiti and the people of Haiti in mourning this shocking loss, while wishing the First Lady a speedy recovery. As the leader of Haiti, President Moïse served his country with great pride and dedication, despite all the challenges he faced. I would like to conclude by reiterating once again the heartfelt condolences of the Member States of the Asia-Pacific Group to the late President’s family and loved ones. May his soul rest in peace. We call for peace and security for the people of Haiti.

I now give the floor to the representative of Serbia, who will speak on behalf of the Group of Eastern European States.

I am taking the floor on behalf of the Group of Eastern European States to express our deepest condolences to the Government and the people of Haiti on the horrific assassination of His Excellency Mr. Jovenel Moïse, the late President of Haiti. The perpetrators of this heinous crime must be brought to justice, and a thorough investigation must take place so as to ensure accountability. We hope that all actors in Haitian society will remain calm in order to avoid the escalation of violence. No political situation justifies criminal acts of violence. We strongly believe that a genuine dialogue among Haitians and constructive work to address the current political situation are the way forward towards strengthening democracy and bringing sustainable peace, prosperity and well-being to the people of Haiti. The Eastern European Group stands in solidarity with the Government and the people of Haiti in overcoming this difficult period in the country’s history. May the soul of the late President Moïse rest in peace.

I now give the floor to the representative of Cuba who will speak on behalf of the Group of Latin America and Caribbean States.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (GRULAC). We appreciate the convening of this solemn meeting of the General Assembly to pay tribute to the late President of Haiti, His Excellency Mr. Jovenel Moïse, who was assassinated at his residence in Port-au-Prince on 7 July 2021. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his loved ones, to the Haitian people and to the Haitian Government, while reiterating our full support and solidarity at this time to Haiti, a member of the GRULAC family. We condemn the cowardly assassination of President Moïse and trust that this crime will not go unpunished. We categorically reject violence in all its expressions. We urge dialogue and call for peace. We support the constitutional order, the rule of law and democratic institutions. We are confident that the Haitian people will be able to overcome this situation and continue to move forward on their path to sustainable development, which is an effort that the international community must continue to support.

I now give the floor to the representative of San Marino, who will speak on behalf of the Group of Western European and other States.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of Western European and other States. We are saddened and shocked by the violent assassination of His Excellency Mr. Jovenel Moïse, the late President of the Republic of Haiti, and for the attack on the First Lady, Ms. Martine Moïse. On behalf of the Western European and other States Group, I would like to extend our sincere condolences to the Moïse family and to the people of the Republic of Haiti. We also express our hope that the First Lady has a swift and full recovery. During this challenging time, we stand in solidarity with the Haitian people. We wish them a quick and peaceful return to stability, democracy and the rule of law. We firmly condemn the horrific act of President Moïse’s assassination and support efforts to hold its perpetrators accountable. Jovenel Moïse was an entrepreneur when he took office in 2017. Soon after he graduated, he left the capital to work in developing rural areas. He began a project to provide clean water to these areas and helped to develop Haiti’s first agricultural free-trade zone. In his political campaign, he promoted bioecological agriculture, which he believed could become an economic engine for Haiti, whose population is over 50 per cent rural, and create new jobs for Haitians. During his political career, he expressed support for universal education and health-care policies as well as for energy reform, environmental protection, the creation of sustainable jobs and the promotion of Haiti as a destination for ecotourism and agritourism. On behalf of the Western European and other States Group, I once again extend my heartfelt condolences to the Moïse family and to the Haitian people, while reiterating the strongest condemnation of the barbaric act that led to President Moïse’s death and expressing again our group solidarity with the Haiti as it works toward a peaceful exit from this crisis. We underline the important role played by the United Nations and the international community in supporting a peaceful solution to the crisis.

I now give the floor to the representative of the host country, the United States.

I am equally honoured and saddened to deliver this statement on behalf of the United States in its capacity as host country. I join my colleagues in the General Assembly Hall today in expressing our shock and sadness and strong condemnation at the horrific assassination on 7 July of President Jovenel Moïse and the attack on First Lady Martine Moïse. I only just met them in Ecuador in May. We wish the First Lady a full recovery and extend our sincere condolences to the Moïse family and to the Haitian people. We urge all political parties, civil society groups and other stakeholders to work together to prioritize calm and stability. At this challenging and most difficult time, I want to assure the Haitian people that our partnership with them will continue. In recent days a United States Government delegation travelled to Haiti in response to the Haitian Government’s request for security and investigative assistance following the assassination. Our delegation reaffirmed not only its close partnership with Haiti, but also its commitment to working in support of the Haitian people and democratic governance, peace and security. We encourage all parties to engage in open and constructive dialogue to reach a political accord that could enable free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections to be held. Preserving and reaffirming Haiti’s democratic institutions will be critical to restoring confidence and peace, and I want to underscore that the United States stands with the Haitian people as they strive to build a safer, more democratic country. After so many years of turmoil, this is what the Haitian people need, and this is what they deserve.

I now give the floor to the representative of Saint Kitts and Nevis, who will speak on behalf of the Caribbean Community.

It is with a great sense of humility that I accept this honour to speak on behalf of the 14 member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at this, the ninety- first plenary meeting of the General Assembly at its seventy-fifth session, to pay tribute to the late President of the Republic of Haiti, His Excellency Mr. Jovenel Moïse, who succumbed to a heinous act on 7 July 2021. The Republic of Haiti has long struggled with tragedy and turmoil, and the assassination of its President abruptly and illegally removed its leadership and further negatively affected the efforts to bring stability to the country. The late President Moïse was a part of the CARICOM family — and a family member that we hold dear to our hearts. We will forever be scarred by the tragic and brutal act that ended President Moïse’s life and which has brought sadness to the people of Haiti, to the people of CARICOM and to people across the world. Nothing can justify the act of inhumanity that took place on Haitian soil against President Moïse. It must therefore be condemned, and his perpetrators must be brought to justice, if we are going to avoid the collapse of civilization in Haiti. CARICOM has already pledged support for Haiti at this time of its rebuilding and of the strengthening of its political, democratic and legal institutions. We stand ready to ensure sustainable peace and development in our sister nation. CARICOM stands firmly with our sister country during this difficult time and extends condolences to the family of the late President Moïse as well as to the Government and the people of Haiti. They will remain in our thoughts and our prayers as they recover from the cowardly act of their President’s assassination. In closing, I implore us all to continue to pray for the full recovery of First Lady of Haiti, Ms. Martine Moïse, who, only a few weeks ago, addressed this body on behalf of CARICOM. In the interim, CARICOM remains willing to play a lead role in facilitating the process of national dialogue and negotiation in order to help the Haitian people and their institutions to craft an indigenous, long-term solution to this crisis and its ongoing challenges.

I wish to thank all present, on behalf of the Government and the people of Haiti and on my own behalf, for having set aside this special moment to pay tribute to the memory of the fifty-eighth President of the Republic of Haiti, his Excellency Jovenel Moïse, whose cowardly and barbaric killing on 7 July was appalling to all who knew him. The many messages of sympathy that reached us from all sides reflect the extent of the sadness caused by that hateful act, which was condemned in the strongest possible terms by the entire international community. I would therefore very sincerely like to thank all those who, in a spontaneous outpouring of solidarity, have come here on behalf of their country to pay one last tribute to that great Caribbean leader. I would also very sincerely like to thank all those who spoke this morning for their kind words and sincere condolences expressed to the Government and the people of Haiti and to the family of the late President, including his wife, who was seriously injured during the vicious attack but whose condition, thank God, is no longer cause for concern. Be assured that the people of Haiti were deeply touched. Allow me to take a little bit of time here to paint a picture of the man whose life was cut short just a week ago by the deadly bullets fired by his executioners. President Moïse, who was from a very modest background, was born on 26 June 1968 in Trou-du-Nord, a commune in the Nord-Est department. His father was a mechanic and a farmer, and his mother was a seamstress and vendor. Following primary studies in his hometown, he completed secondary school and university in Port-au- Prince, the capital of Haiti. Devoted to public service and to teaching, he took a degree in educational science. However, the freedom of action that characterized him owing to his entrepreneurial spirit led him towards a business career, and he went to live in Port-de-Paix, the capital of the Nord-Ouest department, one of the two least accessible departments of Haiti. With very little investment capital, Moïse created his first business in Port-de-Paix, JOMAR Auto Parts, which is still operational today. Subsequently, he worked in various fields, including a 10-hectare banana plantation in the Nord-Ouest, and a drinking-water purification and supply factory for rural areas. He also created the Société haïtienne d’énergie SA, which aims to provide solar and wind energy to 10 communes in the Nord-Ouest department. But his biggest project was the establishment of Agritrans, an organic agricultural production project that helped create the first agricultural free-trade zone in Haiti. That led to more than a dozen agricultural projects that created more than 3,000 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs. President Moïse also worked in the country’s Chambers of Commerce, becoming the Secretary General of the Haitian Chamber of Commerce, where he helped increase the representation of the regional chambers of commerce within the national organization. But his accession to the presidency was predestined. In 2015, he ran in the presidential election and won the first round. Following disputes, despite the views to the contrary of international observers, the elections were cancelled and held again a year later. Once again he won in the first round, and on 7 February 2017 he took office as the fifty-eighth President of the Republic. Once he was President, his political vision and his vision for sustainable development focused on seven priorities that he described as the prerequisites of development: building energy, road and port infrastructure; increasing agricultural output and improving the environment; strengthening water and sanitation infrastructure; reforming the State and maintaining political and social stability; transforming Haiti into an investment destination; improving infrastructure and the quality of education; and promoting stability through social projects. Determined to address the challenges of chronic underdevelopment that plagued Haiti, and with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in mind, he adopted his “caravan of change” strategy. That was a set of one-off, rapid interventions aimed at addressing infrastructure requirements, for example, the dredging and construction of irrigation and surface-water-removal channels, agricultural roadways, production blocs and measures to improve the quality of and access to education, the provision of drinking water and, last but not least, conducting institutional reforms that would allow Haiti to take to attract sustainable investments and to provide good-quality basic services for the people, whom he believed had suffered all too much. An authentic Haitian who identified himself with Henri Christophe, the builder king of the northern kingdom, President Jovenel was a head of State who focused on major projects. He had the aim of building 4,000 kilometres of roads during his five-year term in order to unblock isolated regions of the country. His ambition was to make Haiti an emerging country by 2030, in line with the Haiti strategic development plan that was drawn up following the 2010 earthquake. With his typical energy and spirit, he began work on major projects related to manufacturing, energy reform, corruption, constitutional reforms, diplomatic realignment and a policy aimed at the improved administration of official development assistance in the area of foreign relations. In politics, President Jovenel believed that the time had come for a new start. He bet on the possibility, which, alas, came to naught, that his brothers and sisters of the opposition would set aside their antipathy towards him out of a pragmatic sense of the need to once and for all do away with the hellish cycle of protests from all directions each time a citizen is elected President. When the death of President Moïse was announced, the Prime Minister, his Excellency Claude Joseph took over his responsibilities by exercising executive power until the election of another President, in accordance with article 149 of the amended 1989 Constitution, with the aim of avoiding the collapse of the State and ensuring its continuity. He called for calm from the population. The security situation in the country is under the control of the Haitian National Police and the Haitian Armed Forces. All measures have been taken to ensure the continuity of the State and protect the nation. A state of emergency/siege has been declared throughout the territory of the Republic for a period of 15 days from 7 to 22 July. National mourning was also decreed for the same period in tribute to the late President of the Republic, His Excellency Mr. Jovenel Moïse. The Haitian authorities are conducting an investigation into the attack, which has already produced results. The majority of the members of the commando that attacked the President’s residence were found thanks to the effective work of the Haitian National Police and the assistance of the population. Two perished in an exchange of fire with the Haitian National Police. Fifteen others are in the hands of the justice system, which is conducting investigations to discover the culprits and perpetrators of that heinous crime. In this troubled situation, Haiti needs now more than ever the international community’s assistance to support us given the challenge still facing us. That means the holding of an inclusive national dialogue, the holding of democratic, free and transparent elections and significant support for the Government’s capacity to meet the socioeconomic needs of the population. It is certainly saddening to find ourselves in this situation following that heinous crime only a week ago. However, those who know the twists and turns of the economic, political and social landscape in Haiti know that the mapou tree, that mystical and mythical tree in the Haitian imagination, will not be forgotten. We echo these words to quote Toussaint Louverture, the forerunner of all our national heroes, during his arrest to be transported to France and imprisoned at Fort de Joux, where he was killed: “They have cut down the tree of black freedom, but it will grow back from the roots, because they are deep and numerous.” I would like to commend President Jovenel Moïse’s commitment to the difficult fight that he led to change things in Haiti, which we must continue in his memory. The greatest tribute that we Haitians can pay to His Excellency the late Mr. Jovenel Moïse is to work together to restore harmony, peace, security and stability to Haiti. May his soul rest in peace.

I would like to thank the Deputy Secretary-General for her participation and to inform members that she will need to leave at this time for another engagement.

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft decision A/75/L.110, entitled “General debate of the seventy-sixth session”. May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to adopt draft decision A/75/L.110?

Before giving the floor for explanations of position after the adoption, may I remind delegations that explanations of position are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats. I now give the floor to the representative of the Russian Federation.

Russia has consistently advocated a return to the traditional United Nations working methods. We are pleased to note that this year’s general debate of the seventy-sixth session will take place in an in-person format. The General Assembly will show the world that the pandemic is receding and that the activities of all United Nations bodies are returning to effective meetings with the physical presence of delegations. We believe that it is important to recall that the rules of procedure of the General Assembly remain unchanged and should continue to guide our work in all circumstances. Russia joined the consensus on decision 75/573, which we have just adopted, as a number of countries are still experiencing flight restrictions. At the same time, we take the position that this decision does not set a precedent for the future and is to be regarded as an emergency measure caused by the extraordinary circumstances. We also note that the decision does not address the issue of how the list of speakers will be drawn up for the general debate. Last year, the General Assembly adopted a similar approach. However, there was no problem in that regard, since the leaders of all countries were in the same position and addressed the General Assembly through pre-recorded video presentations. This year the situation has changed. There will be high-level representatives of a number of States in the Hall. The question is whether they should cede their places on the list of speakers to those who will speak via video. We assume that such a scenario would not only be unfair but also contradict the rules of procedure. According to the current rules of procedure, the representatives of States participating in the work of the General Assembly are considered to be participating only if they are physically present in the Hall. A different approach could have unpredictable consequences for the working methods of one of the main organs of the United Nations. In that regard, we urge the Secretary-General to instruct that, when compiling the list of speakers, priority should be given to the level of persons represented in the Hall rather than those addressing the General Assembly by video recording.

We have heard the only speaker in explanation of position after the adoption. The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 7.