S/PV.3397 Security Council

I should like to inform the Council that I have received letters from the representatives of Canada and Venezuela, in which they request to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the Council’s agenda. In conformity with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite those representatives to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them the report of the Secretary-General on the question of Haiti, document S/1994/742, and the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission in Haiti, document S/1994/765. Members of the Council also have before them document S/1994/776, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Argentina, Canada, France, the United States of America and Venezuela. I should like to draw the attention of members of the Council to document S/1994/686, which contains the text of a letter dated 7 June 1994 from the Permanent Representatives of Argentina, Canada, France, the United States of America and Venezuela to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council. There being no objection, it is so decided.

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 933 (1994). I shall now call on those members of the Council who wish to make statements following the voting.

Tonight the Council has adopted a necessary resolution. As suggested by the Secretary-General in his report, the Council has decided that the United Nations must now prepare for a rapidly changing situation in Haiti. We can and must be ready to act to support a restored democratic Government in Port-au-Prince. As all are aware, the humanitarian and human rights environment in Haiti has recently deteriorated. The cause of this deterioration is the refusal of the military authorities in Haiti to carry out their international obligations. Those military authorities must understand that the international community will not tolerate continued suppression of the Haitian people. Tonight’s resolution reaffirms the international community’s determination to provide assistance to restore democracy in Haiti and rebuild the country. It also reaffirms our message to the military leaders: It is time now for them to go. To reinforce this message, the United States has taken additional steps, increasing the pressure on the Haitian military and their supporters. My Government has recently imposed a ban on all United States flights to and from Haiti, frozen Haitian assets and revoked travel visas. We welcome the Council’s willingness to consider a strengthened United Nations mission. We look forward to the Secretary-General’s reporting as soon as possible to the Council on specific means by which the United Nations mission can assist a restored democratic Government in Haiti to assure public order and ensure the protection of both the international presence and the legitimate Government of Haiti. The military authorities cannot wait for or assume that the international community will turn away from the plight of the Haitian people. Their attempts to frustrate the deployment of the United Nations mission will not succeed. Rather, the international community will be resolute in its determination to return President Aristide and to restore the democracy and freedom of the Haitian people.

The Brazilian Government continues to follow the events in Haiti very closely. The military authorities in Port-au-Prince persist in their defiance of the will of the international community. Brazil strongly supports the role of the United Nations and of the Organization of American States (OAS) in assisting in the restoration of democracy in Haiti. It is a matter of great concern to us that, despite our efforts, the legitimate President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, has not yet been able to return to power. While we support the thrust of this resolution, which is a technical extension of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH), we would have preferred an extension for a period longer than one month. Sanctions against Haiti already imposed by the Council and by individual Member States would benefit from more time to be proven effective. The measures adopted by the United Nations and the Organization of American States have succeeded in putting strong pressure on the main target - the Haitian military authorities and their supporters. The Council should remain committed to the option chosen, while keeping under constant review the humanitarian situation. In view of the far-reaching implications and the serious challenge it is likely to face, the question of a possible reconfigured and strengthened UNMIH should be addressed in a careful way, once we have received the It is our strong belief that any decision regarding a modification in the original mandate of UNMIH should be carried out within the framework of a multilateral effort aimed at assisting the legitimate Government and the Haitian people in the transition period towards a normal life under constitutional rule. The presence of a reconfigured UNMIH would thus assist the Government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. We are looking forward to receiving the report to be presented by the Secretary-General, and we will be ready to continue to work with all delegations in an open, transparent and constructive way.

The Russian delegation has joined the consensus on the question of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH). But at the same time, we do have questions with regard to this mission. These relate in particular to specific recommendations regarding the strength, composition, cost and duration of the future activities of this mission. The listing of the problems that are proposed for inclusion with this recommendation also gives rise to problems in our mind. As one of the major contributors of the United Nations, we are also going to approach with great care the question of the financing of the measures proposed by the Secretary-General. We also understand that the current resolution does not provide a basis for any action whatever, except for the submission of a report, which is referred to in paragraph 3, without any preliminary decision by the Security Council on that score. We are grateful to the sponsors of the resolution for having taken that point into account in the resolution. We would like to stress that we shall insist on answers to all these and similar questions and on the removal of our concerns during the future consideration of the report of the Secretary-General and any further extension of the mandate of the mission.

The Security Council has renewed for one month the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH). The period of renewal, until the end of July, should be used constructively to define provisions concerning the renewal of the mandate and ensuring that I should therefore like to reiterate the unequivocal position of Argentina in favour of the return of democracy to Haiti and the restoration of the Haitian constitutional executive in the person of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. We hope that the authorities who seek to hold power unlawfully in Haiti will finally understand that, in conformity with the will of the international community and the international commitments they have undertaken, the only choice before them is to withdraw from the power they have usurped and which they continue unlawfully to usurp. Meanwhile, my Government, which has already contributed a naval vessel to help ensure the effectiveness of the economic sanctions imposed by this Council is of course prepared to give favourable consideration to possible participation in the United Nations force as expanded and reconfigured in accordance with its mandate. In addition, we will continue working constructively within the relevant group of Friends of the Secretary- General on Haiti, directing our efforts towards the quest for a definitive and lasting solution to the Haitian crisis.

The Chinese delegation is deeply concerned at the situation in Haiti. We note that the Secretary-General and his Special Representative, the Organization of American States (OAS) and other Latin American countries have made unremitting efforts for the political settlement of the Haitian problem. We hope these efforts on the part of the international community can contribute to the solution of the Haitian problem so that the Haitian people can enjoy life in peace. For various reasons, the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) has so far not yet been deployed on the ground. This is, of course, a matter for concern for the international community. It is the view of the Chinese delegation that our first order of business is to take effective measures to deploy UNMIH as soon as possible, as authorized by Security Council resolution 867 (1993) so as to enable it to play its mandated role. Accordingly, we support the Secretary-General’s recommendation that the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) be extended, and we voted in favour of the draft resolution that has just been adopted. Nevertheless, we must state emphatically that we have important reservations about the future expansion of the mandate and the scope of UNMIH provided for in the resolution. The Chinese delegation wishes to state clearly that its vote in favour of the resolution in no way implies that we are undertaking any obligations in advance in this respect.

There are no further speakers. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council will remain seized of the matter.