S/PV.3429 Security Council

I should like, at the outset of the meeting, to acknowledge the presence at the Council table of the distinguished Minister of External Relations of the Federative Republic of Brazil, His Excellency Mr. Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim; the distinguished Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, His Excellency Mr. Pavel Bratinka; the distinguished Minister for Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, His Excellency Mr. Alain Juppé; the distinguished Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand, His Excellency The Right Honourable Donald Charles McKinnon; the distinguished Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, His Excellency Mr. Yousef Bin Al-Alawi Bin Abdulla; and the distinguished Secretary of State of the United States of America, His Excellency The Honorable Warren Christopher. On behalf of the Council, I extend a warm welcome to all of them. Adoption of the agenda

I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of Haiti in which he requests 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 that representative 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 is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them document S/1994/1107, which contains the text of a letter dated 27 September 1994 from the Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council, transmitting the text of the report of the multinational force in Haiti. I should like to draw the attention of the members of the Council to the following other documents: S/1994/1051 and S/1994/1054, letters dated 13 September 1994 from the Chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Permanent Mission of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, respectively; S/1994/1077, letter dated 20 September 1994 from the Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, transmitting the text of a declaration by the European Union on Haiti issued on 19 September 1994; and S/1994/1097, letter dated 26 September 1994 from the Permanent Representative of Haiti to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council, transmitting the text of a statement by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide dated 25 September 1994. The first speaker is the distinguished Secretary of State of the United States of America, His Excellency The Honourable Warren Christopher. I invite him to make his statement.

Mr. President, distinguished members of the Security Council, Mr. Secretary-General, colleagues and friends, I am particularly honoured by the presence of each of you this morning and thank you for your attendance and attention. I am pleased to have an opportunity to review with you the status of our joint efforts in Haiti. The Security Council, of course, continues to play a vital role in giving Haiti and the people of Haiti a chance to take back their destiny. Our shared determination is to deliver tangible results: The Haitian military leaders will step down. Legitimate government will be restored. The people of Haiti will have a chance to rebuild their country The multinational coalition in Haiti is the culmination of three years of intensive, coordinated efforts by the United Nations, the Organization of American States and the friends and neighbours of Haiti. Since the 1991 coup, this Council has viewed the overthrow of democracy in Haiti as a threat to regional security and to international norms. We recognized our responsibility to stand together for stability and the restoration of democratic government in the Western Hemisphere. Together, we explored every avenue to achieve a peaceful resolution. We negotiated in good faith. We imposed and then strengthened sanctions against Haiti. We made plain to the military leaders that their tyranny in Haiti was neither tolerable nor tenable. For almost three years, these military leaders met our efforts with defiance and disdain. In 1993, General Cédras signed the Governors Island Agreement, which had been negotiated under United Nations auspices. But thereafter he refused to implement the accord. Instead, widespread atrocities continued in Haiti. Three months ago, the military leaders expelled the monitors sent by the United Nations and the Organization of American States to encourage respect for human rights in Haiti. After that happened, this Council determined that the time had come to take decisive action. As we all know, Security Council resolution 940 (1994) and the multinational coalition that it authorized are an expression of our collective resolve. An expanding coalition of 28 nations, so geographically diverse as to include Bangladesh and Bolivia, has been forged in pursuit of a common cause. This coalition is in the best tradition of the United Nations. It is grounded in principled diplomacy and it is backed by the determination to use force if necessary. Our willingness to exercise military force, pursuant to resolution 940 (1994), has allowed us to reach an agreement for the peaceful restoration of democracy that has made the Mission safer for our coalition and for the Haitian people. It is enabling us to implement our common goals: the departure from power of the de facto leaders, the restoration of Haiti’s legitimate Government and the return of President Aristide. It is allowing us to establish a safe and secure environment much more quickly than would otherwise have been possible. As leader of the multinational coalition in Haiti, the United States values and depends upon close coordination As the Council knows, the first 3,000 soldiers stepped off their helicopters and landing craft on 19 September, less than two weeks ago. Since then their ranks have grown to almost 16,000. The coalition has taken swift and important steps towards establishing a secure and stable environment in Haiti. Among the immediate priorities was to secure the airport in Port-au-Prince and the seaports around the country. With the transportation hubs under control, we have moved nearly 42,000 tons of supplies into Haiti. Another important element of promoting security is reducing the number of guns on the streets, and our coalition is taking a variety of measures to achieve that goal. Hundreds of coalition forces are in training in Puerto Rico, on their way to oversee and monitor the police in Haiti. The first group of international police monitors will arrive in Haiti in the next few days. With the coalition’s deployment, the time has come to prepare for the resumption of normal economic activities in Haiti. The United States and Haiti have introduced, with President Aristide’s support, a draft resolution in the Council to lift completely United Nations sanctions when President Aristide returns. By adopting this draft resolution, we will reinforce Haitian democracy and we will signal our readiness to support Haiti’s recovery as soon as democratic government is restored. As President Clinton announced on Monday of this week, we will also act expeditiously, consistent with resolution 917 (1994) and the "all necessary means" provision of resolution 940 (1994), to allow goods essential to the coalition’s efforts to enter Haiti. In addition, the United States will lift all unilateral sanctions on Haiti except those targeted on the coup leaders and their named supporters. We urge other nations that may have unilateral sanctions to consider and take similar steps. Part of the coalition’s task is to create conditions in which the refugees from Haiti can safely return. Hundreds of Haitians, now reassured that they can walk their streets, sleep in their homes without fear and speak their minds, have voluntarily left Guantánamo since I believe that political developments in Haiti are a reason for cautious optimism. Two weeks ago, President Aristide eloquently demonstrated his commitment to democracy when he said very forthrightly that the true test of a democracy is in its second free election. He also said that he would not be a candidate for re-election in the campaign, but would ensure that the election took place. In recent days and weeks he has repeatedly called for a spirit of reconciliation, and he has been making frequent radio statements urging the people of Haiti - his supporters - to remain calm and not to disrupt the peaceful transition. President Aristide has also called the Haitian Parliament into session, with the amnesty law as the first order of business. As the Council knows, the Parliament began its deliberations only yesterday. It is interesting to remember and important to note that only two weeks ago many Haitian parliamentarians were in hiding, fearful for their lives, and many were also in exile. Now the presence of the coalition permits them to emerge and to represent the people of Haiti in safety. Another hopeful step will be occurring today: Mayor Evans Paul of Port-au-Prince, who has been barred from City Hall by armed thugs for the last year, will reclaim his rightful office. I think we can all take satisfaction in the superb efforts of the coalition forces in Haiti. We should remember that only two weeks ago elements of the Haitian security forces and the attachés were free to intimidate the public with impunity. Today, coalition forces allow Haitians to enjoy their first respite from terror in three years. The competence and, indeed, the compassion of our troops have inspired the confidence of the Haitian people. I do want to note, however, that the international community has taken on a very serious challenge in Haiti. Our courageous troops will face difficult, and sometimes dangerous, situations; that moment is not yet completely past. There will be risks, even setbacks, and we must be ready for them. Our hard work and commitment are essential. But we must know that we have the plans and the determination to move ahead - and we will. A top priority for the coalition, of course, is to enable the United Nations mission to enter Haiti promptly and Twelve observers from the United Nations Mission are already in Haiti to plan for the coordination of this important change. They are working closely with General Shelton of the coalition forces. Just as the coalition is fulfilling its mandate in Haiti, so the United Nations Mission must be ready to assume responsibility when a safe environment has been secured. Most of the nations participating in the coalition, including, of course, the United States, have indicated that they will also participate in the United Nations Mission. A number of other nations have expressed an interest in joining. Clearly, the support of this Council, of Member States and of the Secretary-General will be essential to ensure that the transition is seamless and effective. Our mission in Haiti reminds us once again of the importance of United Nations peace-keeping operations. The United States is providing $1.2 billion for peace- keeping this year, a step which will bring up to date our arrearages and be a major step towards meeting our overall obligations. We have also proposed reforms to improve the way in which the peace-keeping operations are financed, equipped and organized. When we act, and when we ask the United Nations to act, as we have done in Haiti, we must provide it with the means for mounting successful missions in a timely manner. The multinational coalition will establish, and the United Nations Mission will help maintain, a secure environment in Haiti. But the broader international community must provide Haiti with the economic, humanitarian and technical aid that will spur development and consolidate democracy. As members of the Council know, an intensive and extensive humanitarian assistance programme is already under way. Food, medicine and medical supplies are being distributed. Sanitation is being improved. Engineering teams are helping to restore electricity throughout the country. Last month, a World Bank meeting of many countries represented here favourably reviewed President Aristide’s economic recovery programme. One of the striking things for us in the United States has been to witness the technical expertise that President Aristide has assembled in planning for his return. I think we can draw The United States is already committed to providing $100 million, and we are ready to provide additional aid. But our effort here must be part of a larger undertaking, and we look to other nations and the international financial institutions to respond rapidly and generously. The importance of supporting Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction in the months ahead cannot be overstated. Assistance will be essential to provide balance-of-payments support and to clear up the Haitian arrears, an effort that will begin in earnest with a support group meeting which our Treasury Department is hosting on 7 October 1994. On behalf of the United States, I strongly urge the members of this Council and other nations to do everything possible now to support Haiti on the road to economic recovery. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, and one of the poorest in the world. But Haiti is not a State without institutions or without promise. It is a State with an elected government, an elected parliament and a democratic constitution, all of which were pushed aside in 1991 by the de facto regime and its coup. The coalition’s mission is not to reinvent or to provide new institutions, but to create conditions that will allow Haiti’s legitimate institutions to return. All of us know that the coalition, the United Nations Mission and economic assistance cannot and should not be a substitute for determined efforts by Haiti’s Government and by its people to build a democratic and prosperous society. The hard work of rebuilding Haiti rests with them and with Haiti’s democratic leaders, who fully understand what their responsibilities and obligations are. Haiti has an opportunity to replace the rule of fear with the rule of law, to take its rightful place in the growing community of democratic States, to work with the international community to solve the transnational problems we all face, and, very significantly, to become an international inspiration and not an outcast. In closing, I wish to reaffirm the indispensable role that the international community has played in bringing Haiti to this hopeful point. By our joining together in strength, the burden that each of us must bear is reduced and the prospect of overall success is increased. Our nations understand that the best way to achieve our goal is by acting together. That is what we reaffirmed, that is what we indicated so strongly when we adopted resolution I thank the President and the members of the Council for their attention.

The next speaker is the distinguished Minister for Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, Mr. Alain Juppé. I invite him to make his statement.

I should like to thank the Secretary of State of the United States for the very precise account he has given us of the deployment of the multinational force that was authorized under Security Council resolution 940 (1994). As the Council is aware, France voted unhesitatingly for that resolution because we were aware that only a radical solution could make it possible to get this crisis off dead centre. My country welcomes the peaceful circumstances under which this operation is taking place, and we would like to pay a tribute to those who are conducting it, as well as to the troops who are participating in it. Today, therefore, we can contemplate with some hope the situation in Haiti. After three long years of usurpation of power by the military, during which the principles of democracy were flouted, human rights were violated, the economy was devastated and the agreements signed never respected, the people of Haiti can finally hope to resume their journey towards democracy and development. A date has been fixed for the departure of the military. It must be respected, and the presence of several thousand troops and police is a guarantee that it will be. In the streets, fear has started to recede; in the parliament, political life has resumed since the Haitian deputies were finally able to meet yesterday at an inaugural meeting, and it should now begin to discuss the legislative texts needed to pursue the process of democratization in the country. I am thinking in particular of the amnesty bill and the law concerning the separation of the army and the police. The adoption of these texts was a part of the Governors Island Agreements, which were and remain the basis of France’s policy towards Haiti. The time has now come for Haiti to regain its rightful place in the international community. France believes that now a very clear political signal needs to be sent out by a decision, as has been proposed, to lift the sanctions in accordance with the Security Council resolutions, a decision which will take effect the day after the return of President Aristide to Port-au-Prince. France, for its part, is prepared to lift the unilateral sanctions that it imposed as soon as technical conditions make this possible. My country has long-standing historic ties with Haiti and, as is known, will contribute 100 police officers and gendarmes to the United Nations mission. We are also prepared to resume bilateral cooperation programmes as soon as conditions make this possible. This cooperation has in the past been substantial, as is well known. Thus, according to what President Aristide himself has said, Haiti can now resume its journey from destitution and poverty to the recovery with dignity and with the assistance of the international community. This is earnestly desired by France.

Permit me very briefly to express my thanks to the Secretary of State of the United States for his update on developments concerning the multinational force in Haiti. Our contribution to that force is a contingent of gendarmes who will act as police monitors. They are already in Puerto Rico and, as of next week, will begin their work on Haitian soil. Immediately afterwards, medical personnel and engineers of the Argentine armed forces will arrive in Haiti. Similarly, two ships of our navy will supplement their verification tasks under the embargo imposed by the Council, which it has been carrying out for months, with logistical support for the multinational force. The Argentine Republic, which belongs to the Secretary-General’s Group of Friends for Haiti, has also We believe that the present situation is a positive one and that we are closer than ever to the solution foreseen by the international community, in keeping with the Charter of the United Nations and the will of the legitimate Government of Haiti. In this regard, we eagerly await the return of President Aristide so that the sanctions imposed on Haiti can be lifted. We hope that a resolution foreseeing that eventuality will be adopted by this Council in a matter of hours. The people of Haiti has noticed that the hope of escaping from its past is beginning to materialize. The Argentine Republic is pleased to be able to contribute to this cooperative effort to restore to Haiti its plundered sovereignty.

The next speaker is the Minister of External Relations of the Federative Republic of Brazil, His Excellency Mr. Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim, on whom I now call.

Let me express my satisfaction at seeing you, Sir, presiding over our deliberations. I also wish to thank Secretary of State Warren Christopher for the information he has just provided the Security Council on the situation in Haiti. This has been very useful. The Brazilian Government continues to follow very closely the situation in the sister nation of Haiti. Since the disruption of constitutional rule in Haiti, we have consistently supported the restoration of democracy in that country with the return to power of President Jean- Bertrand Aristide. The seriousness of the crisis in Haiti requires the continued attention of the international community, but as expressed on several occasions, we think that whatever action is taken should be fully consistent with the Charters of the United Nations and the Organization of American States, and especially with the basic principle of non-intervention.

I shall now make a statement in my capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain. I wish to thank Secretary of State Christopher for his presence here today. We listened with interest and attention to his statement, which has brought clarity to the situation in Haiti and to the activities and objectives of the presence in that country of the multinational force authorized under Security Council resolution 940 (1994). I believe that it is quite appropriate to pay a tribute to the multinational force and to the countries that contribute to it. The force is acting in compliance with the objectives of the international community as expressed in successive Security Council resolutions. We hope that task of the multinational force can be carried out as foreseen. We welcome the fact that it has so far developed in what might be called a satisfactory manner. We are on the eve of the restoration of the legitimate authorities of Haiti and the return of President Aristide as foreseen in the Governors Island Agreement. In and of themselves, these two circumstances do not protect Haiti from prevailing dangers and political threats, or from difficult economic and social realities. They are of crucial importance nevertheless as a point of departure on the road to hope which we share today with the entire Haitian nation. This Council will continue to follow developments of the situation in Haiti. The international community has shown its commitment to that country, a commitment that is firm in all its dimensions. The nature of that commitment requires that it be ongoing, which should be I now resume my function as President of the Security Council. The representative of Haiti has asked to make a statement, and I now call on him.

I should like first of all to thank Secretary of State Warren Christopher for his statement on the progress being made in Haiti thanks to the presence of the multinational force. Next Tuesday, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide will address the General Assembly of the United Nations and he will then have the opportunity, on behalf of the Haitian Government, to express the gratitude of the Haitian people to the international community for its efforts to restore constitutional order in Haiti. In the meantime, I should like to express our full satisfaction and our particular thanks to the Security Council, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and his staff, the Secretary-General’s Group of Friends and the countries that have joined the multinational force. I should like to assure them all of the complete cooperation of the Haitian Government during this delicate transition. We hope that, over the coming days, President Jean- Bertrand Aristide will be back in Haiti. When that happens, the Haitian Government will have to address itself immediately to an extremely difficult situation. That said, and until this afternoon’s meeting, we wish to express the support of the Haitian Government for the initiative contained in the draft resolution to be submitted with a view to lifting the sanctions the moment President Aristide is back in Haiti.

There are no further speakers. The next meeting of the Security Council to continue the consideration of the item on the agenda will be fixed in consultation with the members of the Council. The Security Council will remain seized of the matter.