S/PV.6186 Security Council

In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, I shall take it that the Security Council agrees to extend an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure to His Excellency Mr. William Jefferson Clinton, United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti. It is so decided. I invite Mr. Clinton to take a seat at the Council table and thank him very much for his participation. In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, I shall take it that the Security Council agrees to extend an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure to Mr. Hédi Annabi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). It is so decided. I invite Mr. Annabi to take a seat at the Council table. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2009/439, containing the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. At this meeting, the Security Council will hear briefings by His Excellency Mr. William J. Clinton, United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, and Mr. Hédi Annabi, Special Representative of the Secretary- General and head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. I wish to warmly and personally thank President Clinton for coming to the Council today in his capacity as United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti. It was my great honour and privilege to serve him in several capacities in his Administration. He is an American treasure and a great international public servant, and we salute him for shouldering this important duty. We are confident that his efforts and leadership will produce more sustained international attention and resources for Haiti, as well as greater creativity and innovation in our common efforts, deeper engagement with Haiti’s leaders and more stability and prosperity for its people. I also wish to take this opportunity to thank Special Representative Annabi for his dedication to Haiti and his excellent leadership of MINUSTAH. In addition, I wish to offer a very warm welcome to Her Excellency Mrs. Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, for making a special effort to travel to New York on short notice and join us for this important meeting. It now gives me great pleasure to give the floor to His Excellency Mr. William Jefferson Clinton. Mr. Clinton: Let me begin by thanking you, Madam President, for inviting me to this meeting, Mr. Annabi for his work and Prime Minister Pierre- Louis for her truly outstanding leadership. I would also like to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon — whom I am still inclined to thank for asking me to become United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti — and Under- Secretary-General Le Roy for their support for Haiti’s building effort. My wife Hillary and I first travelled to Haiti in December 1975, before many of you in this Chamber were born and just two months after we had married. Ever since then, I have been completely captivated by the promise and peril of that country; by its unique culture and history; by the gifts and the spirit of its people and the burdens of oppression, abuse and neglect that they have suffered; and by the beauty and bounty of the land and the barrenness that plunder and poverty have brought. When I was President, I worked with many of you in the United Nations to end the violent military dictatorship there and to restore an elected President. And when President Préval succeeded President Aristide, I did what I could to support him in his first term within the limits imposed by the United States Congress, which was then hostile or indifferent towards our Haitian neighbours — a condition that, I am glad to say, no longer exists. There is an enormous amount of support for Haiti in the new Administration and in the United States Congress. In spite of the devastation caused by last year’s hurricanes and storms, in spite of the absence of basic infrastructure and the inadequacies in health, education and other areas, and in spite of deforestation and its consequences, which are very severe, I am convinced that Haiti has a remarkable opportunity to escape the chains of its past, for several reasons. First, the President, the Prime Minister and their Government are committed to building a modern State with a diversified economy, and they have the understanding and the capacity to do so. Secondly, Haitians, including a substantial diaspora in the United States, France and Canada and elsewhere, are hopeful and committed to contributing to a better future. Thirdly, both multinational and national donors have made substantial pledges of aid, not just to alleviate misery, but to help to build a modern, sustainable society. Fourthly, thousands of non-governmental organizations are already doing useful work there. Fifthly, Haiti’s neighbours have recognized that Haiti is part of our neighbourhood and that, perhaps for the first time, by virtue of that recognition, all of us have a responsibility to help the Haitian people change their present and their future. This new embrace can be seen in Brazil’s outstanding leadership of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), in the positive initiatives of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Organization of American States, in the promise of the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2008 (HOPE II), adopted last year by the United States Congress, and in the support that Haiti has received from two countries in our hemisphere, Venezuela and Cuba, with which the United States is often found not cooperating. In other words, in our neighbourhood, there is a deep, wide sense that we can and should support Haiti. As Special Envoy, I have no responsibility for the peacekeepers, although I do appreciate their contributions to improving security. I am grateful to every country that has contributed troops. Nor does my job entail any involvement in domestic Haitian politics. That is up to the Haitian people. My mandate, instead, is to work with the Government and the people of Haiti, the United Nations agencies involved in-country, the donor community, potential investors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and diaspora groups to do the following six things. First, we seek to support the implementation of the Haitian Government’s recovery programme, focusing on generating new jobs, enhancing delivery of basic services and being more sensitive to the needs of Haiti’s middle class, including, as the Prime Minister just emphasized to me, the shortage of decent housing for public-sector employees. Nor can we forget that 50 per cent of all households in Haiti are headed by women and that, while maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world, so far, of all the aid pledges, only 1.5 per cent go towards women’s empowerment issues. The second part of our mandate is to ensure that the recovery effort has assistance at the level of commitment we had when I did this work for the United Nations in the tsunami-affected areas. Our goal is to build back better — better schools, hospitals and housing, better public facilities and infrastructure, and much more effective disaster prevention and mitigation. Those here who were involved in the post-tsunami rebuilding know that that part of our endeavour was extremely successful, and I hope it will be here. Thirdly, we seek to encourage more private sector investment in Haiti, with a focus on opportunities available now and on the need to make Haiti even more competitive to maximize its investment potential. We need to be promoting, at first, the opportunities that exist and that have been made possible by the more secure environment to which MINUSTAH has contributed so much. In a few weeks, I will lead a trade mission to Haiti to explore investment opportunities. In August, the Government shortened the length of time it takes between filing an investment proposal and its approval. That is a very good beginning, but we need to do more to rebuild the roads, the infrastructure and the power supply necessary to advance agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. Given the untapped economically viable opportunities for clean energy and greater energy efficiency, there is also no reason why Haiti cannot become much more energy independent in a way that will create substantial numbers of new jobs and cut long-term costs to business, Government and individual citizens. I see that Costa Rica is currently a member of the Security Council. Participants might want to ask that country’s representative what the economic benefits of being the most clean energy country in the world are. Every Caribbean country can achieve such energy efficiency due to the benefits of size, temperature and sunlight, but my focus is on what it can mean for the poorest country in our neighbourhood, Haiti. Fourthly, I will seek to urge philanthropists, NGOs and civil society groups to invest more financial and human resources and to work more closely together. My team is currently working on a NGO database to map out who is doing what to help us better coordinate the literally thousands of NGOs working in Haiti today. That is something that we did in the aftermath of the tsunami with quite exceptional success. Coordinating the work of NGOs with that of the host Government, the United Nations agencies and others can have a very tangible and real impact on the population, especially in a country like Haiti which, with the single exception of India, has more NGOs per capita working there than any other nation in the world. Fifthly, I hope be able to project a more positive image of Haiti to the international community so as to push it into the spotlight, not as some sort of lost cause, but as a country genuinely primed to claim a bright future. Sixthly, I hope to involve the Haitian diaspora to an extent never before seen. It is a very impressive group, not just in the United States, but also in Canada and Europe. Recently, I attended the second annual meeting of the Haitian diaspora in the United States in Miami and hosted leaders from the Haitian community in the north-eastern United States in my office in Harlem in New York. I will continue this engagement. Finally, Haiti can succeed, but not without the help of the Security Council and the United Nations. I urge all who made commitments during last April’s donor conference and in the immediate aftermath to begin actually funding them as soon as possible. An estimated $760 million have been pledged to the Government of Haiti since then, but so far only $21 million have been disbursed. The contributions that participants generously pledged are urgently needed now — now to create jobs, now to restore services, now to fund the public budget, now to help patient parents who cannot afford to send their children to private schools, now to build back better and finish prevention and mitigation projects that will minimize any storm damage that comes this year and create lots of new jobs. I ask participants to help me to ensure that the commitments made by all Member States are honoured in a way that is consistent with the priorities of the Haitian Government’s plan. Every now and then, the Prime Minister, the President and I get criticized by someone in the press in Haiti claiming that this mandate is some vast colonial conspiracy by me to take over Haiti. I assure the Council that that is not true. My sole goal is to help them to do what they have decided they want to do, and their knowledge and judgment on that score are far, far superior to mine. Anything that we can do expedite the actual distribution of aid is going to have a positive impact on the lives of ordinary Haitians. There will be transparency, accountability and effectiveness in this process. I believe that the United States Government will fulfil its commitments in this way, and I am grateful for the personal interest of the Secretary of State and her Chief of Staff, Cheryl Mills. They have made a real personal commitment, and Cheryl has already been to Haiti twice to support the Government in its priorities. Beyond the commitments of the Government and multilateral donors, some significant new individual commitments have already been made, even in advance of the trade mission. The Soros Economic Development Fund has launched its Haiti Invest Project, an equity investment programme with an initial commitment of $25 million and a potential of $150 million. That can do a lot of good in Haiti. Michael Carey, an Irish businessman, and a group of his colleagues recently established the Soul of Haiti Foundation after a number of visits, and have offered to host a delegation of Haitian business people in Ireland in October. The former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency when I was President, James Lee Witt, has committed $250,000 for disaster- preparedness training for women in Haiti and has already begun identifying training sites in coordination with both the Government and the United Nations. One of my partners in the Global Initiative, an Indian businessman, Desh Deshpande, who feeds a million children a day in India, has committed to work in Haiti to help expand some very impressive school feeding programmes already under way there. A citizen of both the Dominican Republic and the United States, Rolando Gonzalez Bunster, who is an energy executive, has offered to install, initially, five Vestas windmills made in Denmark, which can provide economical, renewable energy at competitive prices within just a few months. We know that there is enormous untapped potential both for wind and solar energy in Haiti. The United Nations is also exploring ways to replicate a community-led recycling project I recently visited in Port-au-Prince, which has the best potential of anything I have seen anywhere to reduce deforestation in a way that creates 10 times as many jobs as the production of charcoal does and cuts the cost. Essentially, in a neighbourhood I visited, a young man and his nine fellow board members have employed people for the first time in picking up and sorting the garbage, and the organic waste is being turned into compost and organic fertilizer. The paper is being recycled with sawdust, and they are turning it into little briquettes about this size. I meant to bring one for every member of the Security Council, but I forgot to bring them down here today. With four of them one can cook dinner; they cost one penny apiece, which is one fifth the cost of cooking dinner with charcoal in Haiti. But the employment necessary to collect the garbage, sort it, produce these briquettes in a hand-held press and then sell them door to door is 10 to 20 times the employment that is generated by cutting down trees that should be left standing and turning them into charcoal. It is a simple thing to think of a product that costs a penny apiece — it literally could employ hundreds and maybe thousands of people just in Haiti and help us to turn back the tide of deforestation even as we seek to increase agricultural capacity with mangoes, coffee and lots of other products. These are things that are important. In addition to the trade mission, many here will know that the Inter-American Development Bank is going to hold a trade conference on Haiti soon to showcase that country to businesspeople and investors from Latin America and the Caribbean, Canada, the United States and Europe. We are working at this. Finally, let me say what I have no intention of doing. I will not give the Council one more written analysis of the problems of Haiti. If I file a report, it will be only on what we have actually done or what we have failed to do. I am very grateful for the team that the United Nations has provided, including some fine people who are permanent employees and worked with me on the tsunami. I am also grateful for the Secretary-General’s appointment of Mr. Paul Farmer as my Deputy. We are both working with the United Nations for $1 a year, and we appreciate the compensation. I have known Paul Farmer for over 15 years. We have worked together in Africa, in Rwanda and Malawi, since 2005. He actually translated for me in 2004 in Haiti when I went there and was working with the Government of that time to help the country with its AIDS problem. His work in the mountains of Haiti to provide affordable and quality health care to some of the poorest people in our neighbourhood has been recognized all around the world. He has been involved with Haiti since he was a student in 1983. When I asked my daughter some 12 years ago what she knew about Paul Farmer, she said that he was her generation’s Albert Schweitzer. We are indeed fortunate that he has agreed to be the Deputy Special Envoy to Haiti. He has a lot of personal contact and credibility with the Haitian Government. He has already met with representatives of the United Nations and the non-profit world, including George Soros and Jeffrey Sachs. He has met with Paul Collier’s team, which provided the United Nations with an analysis and set of recommendations on Haiti’s economy. We are all working on this, and we are 100 per cent committed to delivering tangible results to the United Nations and, most important, to the people of Haiti. In closing, let me just ask each member of the Security Council to recognize the actual and potentially critical role that they can play. I am grateful for their support of MINUSTAH and for the security it has provided, which has made possible the progress that has occurred so far. I am hopeful that investments in the socio-economic sphere will match or exceed the contributions that have been committed or those that will be discussed here today with the people who will speak after me. I have been going to Haiti for nearly 35 years. Two hundred and ten years ago, Haiti was the wealthiest island in the Caribbean. It is now the poorest country in our hemisphere, but when we look at the Haitians here in New York, in Canada and in France, and even at many of the Haitians in Haiti, we see that they are intelligent, creative, innovative and successful. They have suffered from misgovernment, abuse and neglect from within and from their neighbours and partners in the international community. We have a great set of leaders down there now. We can turn this around, and because we can, we must.

I thank President Bill Clinton for his statement. We are very grateful for his briefing, his presence and his extraordinary leadership on this issue. I now give the floor to Mr. Hédi Annabi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General. Mr. Annabi: I thank you, Madam, for organizing this important open debate on Haiti. This meeting offers a clear indication of the continued strong commitment of the Security Council and the wider international community to Haiti’s stabilization process. I am honoured to speak alongside of Prime Minister Pierre-Louis and President Clinton, the United Nations Special Envoy. The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) enjoys constant close collaboration with the Haitian authorities. I wish to recognize the leadership of Prime Minister Pierre-Louis and her strong support for this partnership. We are deeply grateful to President Clinton for his willingness to lend his unique prestige and abilities to Haiti’s quest for a better future. His involvement will be invaluable in promoting the country’s socio-economic development. The report of the Secretary-General before the Council (S/2009/439) provides an update on the stabilization process with regard to the five key benchmarks endorsed last year by the Security Council. These benchmarks concern political dialogue and elections, the extension of State authority, ensuring security and stability, strengthening the rule of law and human rights, and socio-economic development. As an introduction to today’s debate, I would like to summarize key developments in each area, while highlighting where further efforts are required. Political dialogue lies at the heart of the stabilization process. A peacekeeping operation can succeed only if there is a genuine will for change within the host country. We are encouraged in this regard by the continuing efforts of President Préval, Prime Minister Pierre-Louis and the Haitian Government to foster constructive dialogue within the country. President Préval’s establishment of a series of broad-based commissions on issues of national interest has contributed to inclusive discussions on the country’s future. We also saw, at the end of last year, a much- needed improvement in collaboration between the executive and legislative branches of Government. This paved the way for the adoption of key legislation, including financial laws that enabled the cancellation of the bulk of Haiti’s international debt to the tune of $1.2 billion. The Senate last week seated 11 new members who were elected in June. We hope that the replenishment of the upper house may pave the way for more effective action by the Parliament, which frequently lacked a quorum in the past. At a time when Haiti faces difficult choices, but also enjoys a valuable opportunity to advance, these positive trends must be strengthened. The country cannot afford renewed political and institutional paralysis of the kind that afflicted it in 2008. It is critical that all branches of Government enhance collaboration, avoid inflammatory language, and jointly assume responsibility for hard decisions. Such cooperation is indispensable to identifying and implementing solutions to urgent problems, to pursuing the fight against impunity and corruption, and to ensuring the stable governance that is required for development. The international community can contribute by showing strong support for those who place national interest above narrow personal ambitions. Civil society, too, has a responsibility to engage to ensure the sustainability and legitimacy of decisions that affect the entire Haitian people. Secondly, in the area of extension of State authority, some progress has been made in enhancing Haiti’s institutional capacity. The Mission is contributing, within its limited means, by providing expertise to key ministries, as well as in the areas of local governance and border management. Working with Haitian authorities, MINUSTAH has supported reforms that have increased customs revenues and enhanced the local management of resources. Bilateral partners and international organizations are supporting a number of other capacity-building initiatives, for which we would like to express our appreciation. However, all of those initiatives combined represent a fraction of what is required to enable the State to deliver basic services to the population, which is critical for lasting stability. Real progress in that area will depend upon the continued political will of the Haitian leadership and on strong and coordinated support from bilateral and multilateral partners. Thirdly, in the area of security, the past year has seen continued progress in addressing threats in rural and urban areas and the further development of Haiti’s own security capabilities. MINUSTAH has worked with national authorities to undertake a variety of tasks, including anti-gang operations in Cité Soleil and in Martissant, promoting security along the land and maritime borders, anti-kidnapping actions, responding to civil unrest and ad hoc threats, and regular patrolling throughout the country, including in remote areas. Meanwhile, the Mission has also supported the strengthening of the Haitian National Police, which constitutes a critical element of MINUSTAH’s exit strategy. The Haitian National Police now comprises nearly 10,000 officers, including 468 new officers who graduated last month. Mid-level and senior police officers are receiving advanced training, in part through bilateral scholarships. MINUSTAH is working with Haiti’s partners to support national programmes to enhance the police’s institutional capacity and infrastructure. That progress is encouraging and should contribute to investor confidence. However, at the same time, we must not lower our guard prematurely before these advances have been consolidated. Haiti continues to face threats, including the potential for resumed activity by gangs, criminals and other armed groups, corruption and violence associated with illegal trafficking, and the risk of civil unrest. All of those threats may be manipulated to achieve personal or political objectives, including in the context of forthcoming electoral processes. Potential spoilers are likely to exploit any indication of weakness or disengagement. While the Haitian National Police is becoming stronger, it does not yet have the capacity to address those threats without assistance. The continued presence of international troops and police therefore remains indispensable to protecting the gains that we have achieved and to ensuring continued progress. Accordingly, the Secretary-General recommends in his report the retention of our security component at a broadly similar level, but with some adjustments to its configuration. Those include the repatriation of a number of armoured personnel carriers and an associated reduction of 120 troops in our military component. At the same time, he has suggested an increase of 120 officers in our police component to bring all formed police units up to standard strength. Those measures would lower the Mission’s profile while increasing its flexibility and maintaining its capacity to respond effectively to possible threats over the coming 12 months. At the same time, further efforts must be made to address significant shortfalls in the Haitian Police’s equipment, especially outside of Port-au-Prince, and to increase its financial resources and managerial capacity. In order to achieve the timelines established in national reform plans, it is essential that the Haitian authorities continue to prioritize the necessary political decisions while continuing to benefit from strong and sustained support from MINUSTAH and bilateral donors. Fourthly, we have seen further progress towards the strengthening of other rule-of-law institutions and the protection of human rights, following national blueprints and drawing on the commitment of Haiti’s leadership. In the area of justice, the training school for magistrates is now up and running, after having been closed for a number of years. It is important that the recruitment of the first class of magistrates be expedited, taking full advantage of that new resource. Likewise, we hope that the supervisory body for the judiciary — the Superior Council of the Judiciary — will soon be put in place. In the area of corrections, the construction of a new prison near Port-au-Prince and the rehabilitation of other facilities are under way. That is an important initial step towards responding to the urgent problem of extreme prison overcrowding. More also needs to be done to strengthen the Office de Protection du Citoyen, which will play a key role in promoting respect for human rights. We must bear in mind that the creation of all of these institutions is a long-term process. Continued Haitian leadership and sustained international support are indispensable to creating a solid institutional framework to protect the legal and human rights of the Haitian people. The fifth area of the stabilization process — socio-economic development — is not, as the Council knows, the core business of peacekeeping operations. There is, however, a strong linkage between security, stability and development. Peacekeeping operations can help create the conditions for development, but stabilization cannot succeed unless there is some prospect of tangible improvement in the daily lives of the Haitian people. The Mission has worked closely with the United Nations country team and donors to highlight the need for a peace dividend. The creation of several thousand temporary jobs through labour-intensive projects has helped to respond to immediate needs, but continued generous assistance from the international community will remain essential for the foreseeable future. We have also sought to reflect that sensitivity within the work of MINUSTAH, drawing, inter alia, on our engineering capacity. The priorities of our engineering component are necessarily dictated by the operational needs of the Mission. But as they help us to achieve our mandated tasks, their work to repair basic infrastructure or to respond to urgent needs can also make a difference in people’s lives and strengthen relations between MINUSTAH and the community where we serve. At the same time, it is vital that further efforts be made to lay the foundations for long-term progress, based around the revival of private-sector activity. Today, we see a window of opportunity. Haiti’s inherent advantages as an area for investment have been highlighted repeatedly over the past year. The engagement of President Clinton as United Nations Special Envoy can help create the dynamism and coordination that is required for success. At the same time, it is critical that the Haitian leadership reach out to the private sector and take the additional regulatory measures needed to create an environment that is genuinely conducive to business. In conclusion, let me say that over the past two years events on the ground have highlighted the fact that stability is built slowly and that setbacks are to be expected. But they have also shown that if we persevere and if we stay the course, we can advance. We remain convinced that today Haiti enjoys a remarkable opportunity for change, as President Clinton just underscored. We cannot lose confidence when we meet challenges and we cannot take progress for granted, but must work to nurture and consolidate it. With the continuing engagement of the Haitian leadership and people, and with the assistance of the Security Council and the wider international community, I am confident that the stabilization process will succeed and that the Haitian people can look forward to the better future to which they have aspired for so long.

I thank Mr. Annabi for his briefing. I now give the floor to Her Excellency Mrs. Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti.

In this forum, where I have been invited to take the floor today, may I on behalf of my country, Haiti, convey to the Council friendly greetings and expressions of solidarity from President Préval, from the Government of the Republic and from the people of Haiti. I would like first of all on behalf of the Government to thank Ambassador Susan Rice, President of the Security Council; Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; his Special Representative for Haiti, Ambassador Hédi Annabi; his Special Envoy, President Clinton; the Deputy Special Envoy, Mr. Paul Farmer; the members of the Security Council; and all States Members of the United Nations. All of them have made a significant contribution to the work of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). I should also like to take advantage of this occasion to pay tribute to the memory of all of those who have laid down their lives in working to bring about and ensure lasting stability in my country. The people of Haiti are the first to know the progress that has been accomplished thanks to the combined efforts of MINUSTAH, the international community and the Haitian National Police towards restoring peace, stability and security to the country — conditions essential for bringing the investment that the country needs so badly today. And here we must emphasize the undeniable contribution that MINUSTAH has made to the stabilization process. MINUSTAH arrived in a Member State in the grip of a profound and multidimensional crisis, and today we must acknowledge what has been achieved in implementing the mission’s mandate. I refer to supporting our institutions and strengthening the State; helping with capacity-building and enhancing the competencies of local administrations in serving citizens; assisting with reforms; guaranteeing the emergence of the rule of law by improving the Haitian National Police and its services, the legal and prison systems; disseminating practices and attitudes that respect human rights; and improving the short-term socio-economic situation of people living in areas considered to be most difficult. Today our country is going through a sea-change, and, as members are all aware, any change gives rise to entrenched conservative resistance to any move away from the status quo. This threatens efforts to set the country on the course of modernization and development. But despite the tremors to which it is sometimes still subject, which still render it fragile, the Government is resolutely committed to creating conditions that can inspire confidence in local investors and attract foreign investment. This is because today priority must go to the creation of good, lasting jobs that also respect the environment. Despite the successive upheavals of 2008, the Government continues to invest in rebuilding urban and rural infrastructure, supplying electricity and drinking water, increasing food production capacity and creating other goods and services. The national road network is under construction, and the availability of energy and drinking water is improving. Laws and administrative provisions confirm this in both these sectors. Reforms central to economic development are under way, and the participation of citizens in political life is being encouraged. The process of identification of all the citizens of Haiti, men and women alike, has also begun. It is for us, then, the men and women of Haiti of all political complexions and ideologies, with the support of our international partners and of the members of the Security Council, to help us hold fast to a course that takes Haiti unwaveringly to economic growth and sustainable, equitable development that truly takes into account the needs of our people. However, given the level of widespread underinvestment, both public and private, unsatisfied legitimate demands and the lack of structure still affecting the country, this progress, while it is perceptible and not negligible, is far from removing us significantly from risk, enormous fragility and extreme environmental and human vulnerability. It is true that the resolution of all serious and complex problems often requires time and considerable investment, and the Council is no stranger to Haiti’s situation. President Clinton and Mr. Annabi have just spoken of this. I stated repeatedly during the donors conference held in Washington, D.C., on 14 April that Haiti is today at a critical juncture in its history, and that we must grasp the opportunities provided for the benefit of the people. Indeed, we are working unstintingly to prevent any relapse into instability and unrest, and we wish to continue to be able to rely on the Council’s cooperation as a partner in bolstering the progress that is being achieved so that we may continue to harvest the fruit of social peace and political stability, the seeds of which we have sown together. For this, we must collectively and progressively confront the huge challenges still threatening the country’s stability. The first is the forthcoming elections, where much is at stake in the struggle for local, legislative and presidential power, and where there is a risk of going astray in many ways, a risk we must avoid at all costs. And the second is the draft constitutional amendment, which must pass through the participatory process of the various political forces and interest groups, and where political compromise is vital for our future. Faced with these challenges, which require commitment and firmness from all of us, we cannot wait to respond. First, we must commit to investments that can increase national production, reduce environmental vulnerability, develop our vast tourist potential and improve basic social infrastructure, thus ensuring broader access to the population. It is important here that the international community keep the promises it entered into in April at the Washington donors conference. I thank President Clinton once again for having referred to this during his briefing. We need to build or extend productive infrastructure to foster the development of private enterprise and intensive job creation. Employment is the country’s number one priority today. We have to break the vicious circle of corruption and impunity and rebuild State institutional capacity so that governance and the rule of law may be recovered and extended throughout the land. We must arouse the interest of local actors all over the country in creating decentralized job opportunities in the various regions, redress the imbalance in population distribution and improve living conditions. We have to inspire young people with renewed confidence. They are the majority of the population, and they have been neglected. We should be channelling and appreciating their potential and creativity in the national reconstruction effort. We must positively welcome the contributions of the Haitian diaspora — and I thank President Clinton again for having mentioned this — in its areas of competence, which it has gained after sore trials in foreign lands. Lastly, we must involve the State and civil society in the fight for social, economic and cultural rights essential to the vast majority of Haitians, women, artists and initiators. Those are the challenges that we must face. That is the agenda to which we are committed together with the members of the Security Council and the international community, because the Government of Haiti cannot play a waiting game. We have taken initiatives that seek to enable the Government to improve its overall functioning and that of the business sector. As all Council members know, the Government has met the requirements for debt relief to the tune of $1.2 billion. It submitted the 2009-2010 budget by respecting the constitutional deadline for the first time since the adoption of the Constitution in 1987. It has completed the process that should lead to Haiti being certified to benefit from the opportunities offered by the Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act. It has democratically negotiated with the Parliament and stakeholders the setting of a minimum wage at a level that ensures Haiti’s attractiveness and competitiveness. It has provided direct support to strengthen production and the building of investment capacity in sectors that can protect the environment and encourage reforestation, including Haiti’s premium grade coffee programme. To improve the business registration process, the Government encourages businesses to establish themselves in the country and to continue to boost the HOPE II Act activities — farm products, cattle farming, tourism and the construction of housing and industrial buildings, which offer huge opportunities for investors, who now must look at Haiti in a different light. We are all aware that development will come from private and public investment, which is the creator of jobs and wealth, not from humanitarian aid, even if today such aid is necessary to relieve the suffering of the most vulnerable sectors of the population. The Republic of Haiti, President Préval and I echo the recommendations of the Secretary-General’s report, dated 1 September 2009. And I am pleased to quote it here: “While the road of stabilization and peace processes is rarely smooth, I remain confident that Haiti today enjoys a historic opportunity for progress. I urge the Haitian leadership and people, and their partners in the stabilization process, to remain engaged and to persevere in their efforts to create a brighter future for this remarkable country.” (S/2009/439, para. 87) I can only echo the Secretary-General’s words. And to the younger generations of my country, so thirsty for knowledge; to the women engaged in the struggle for equality and for recognition of their rights; to the farmers who have been too long neglected and to whom a significant share of the positive results of growth and development must fall, as is only fair; and to all the men and women in the private sector, in non-governmental organizations and in civil society who have invested and still invest in the country, in one way or another, taking daily risks, expressing their creativity and devoting time and energy to undertakings that are still vulnerable to reversibility, I say loud and clear, in this gathering where all the concerns and hopes of the world are voiced, that Haiti will survive. Haiti must press forward. Haiti can once again, as it has already done in the past, reach a moment of epiphany that will set it firmly on the course of progress and modernity to the benefit of the entire Haitian population.

I thank Her Excellency Mme Pierre-Louis for her dynamic statement and her outstanding leadership in Haiti. I want to thank again President Clinton. He must leave to go to another commitment, but I want to reiterate our gratitude to him before he goes and thank him for his presence here today. In accordance with the understanding reached among Council members, I wish to remind all speakers to limit their statements to no more than five minutes in order to enable the Council to carry out its work expeditiously. Delegations with lengthy statements are kindly requested to circulate the texts in writing and to deliver a condensed version when speaking in the Chamber. I shall now give the floor to the members of the Security Council.

First of all, I would like to congratulate you, Madam President, on the assumption of the important role of President of the Security Council. I would also like to thank the delegation of the United Kingdom for their effective work in presiding over the Council last month. We welcome the participation in today’s debate of the United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, President Bill Clinton. We expect the results of the active work by Mr. Clinton as Special Envoy to be a significant breakthrough in mobilizing international assistance and investment for social and economic recovery in Haiti. We thank the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Annabi, for his substantive briefing on the recent developments in Haiti, and for introducing the report of the Secretary-General (S/2009/439) on the activities of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). We agree with the main observations and recommendations of the report. We are grateful to the Prime Minister of Haiti, Mme Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, for her informative statement, and we wish her success in addressing the problems that face Haiti. Positive results have been achieved in the stabilization process in Haiti. The political process has been revitalized, the State authority has been established and senatorial elections have been held. Thanks to the joint efforts of the Haitian police and United Nations peacekeepers, it has been possible to stabilize the security situation. However, the situation in the country remains fragile. A constant threat to stability comes from the grave social and economic situation. MINUSTAH is playing an important role in maintaining law and order in the country. United Nations peacekeepers helped to restore State control during the civil unrest, provided the necessary support to the Haitian people in dealing with the aftermath of the hurricanes and ensured the safe holding of senatorial elections. The United Nations is making great efforts to revitalize the political process in Haiti and to establish a national dialogue and reconciliation. We should note the good cooperation established between the Mission and Haiti’s law enforcement agencies. United Nations peacekeepers and the Haitian police are working together effectively on securing sea and land borders and on fighting crime. Providing assistance to Haiti in re-establishing and reforming the bodies responsible for security is a principal area of the activities of the United Nations Mission. Russian citizens have been deployed in the Mission. We expect that that progressive plan to increase the personnel of the Haitian National Police will make it possible to begin the process of gradually transferring responsibility to the Haitian police. We note the significant contribution by regional organizations of Latin America and the Caribbean in providing comprehensive assistance to the Haitian people. We support the 2009-2011 consolidation plan for Haiti drawn up by the Secretary-General. We are convinced that the consistent implementation of the provisions of that plan will contribute to incremental advances in the priority areas for Haiti. The main responsibility for establishing peace and security in Haiti lies with the Government and people of the country. However, it is clear to us that, at this time, they still need international assistance. Therefore, we support the extension of MINUSTAH’s mandate for one year until October 2010, as recommended by the Secretary-General. The Russian Federation will continue to support the people and Government of Haiti in building a stable and democratic State.

At the outset, I wish to welcome Her Excellency Mrs. Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti, and former President Clinton, who has just left the Council Chamber. We wish him every success as United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti and thank him for his briefing. Allow me to also thank Mr. Hédi Annabi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for his briefing and his efforts to stabilize Haiti. The situation in Haiti has been on the agenda of the Security Council for a long time, but has recently attracted increasing international attention, as shown by the convening of the donors conference in Washington, D.C., last April, as well as the two visits there by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his Special Envoy for Haiti, former President Bill Clinton. These are certainly positive indications of the attention being given by the international community to the stabilization of Haiti. My delegation believes that Haiti has a historic opportunity as it traverses a delicate phase in the strengthening of the peace process and works towards achieving sustainable development. All parties involved must reaffirm their commitment to a better future for Haiti. In that context, we welcome the ongoing political cooperation between all parties. We pay tribute to the progress made in many fields, in particular the holding of senatorial elections, the adoption of fundamental legislation and continuing dialogue. My delegation hopes that efforts towards a more peaceful and stable environment will continue and register concrete progress in the political process and strengthened security in general. My country notes with satisfaction the incremental progress in the reform of the rule of law sector, in particular the extension of State authority and the strengthening of the police, justice and corrections systems in accordance with national reform plans. We hope that these reforms will spur efforts to improve human rights through the fight against corruption, organized crime, illicit trafficking and impunity. Despite these achievements, my country remains concerned vis-à-vis the Secretary-General’s observation in his report (S/2009/439) that collaboration between a number of Haitian institutions remains fragile “and subject to reversal, with a potential for renewed tensions and conflict among and within the governing institutions of Haiti, and a continued readiness on the part of influential forces within the country to inflame public tensions to further their own interests” (S/2009/439, para. 2). In addition, the report notes increased civil unrest due to the deteriorating economic situation. There is no doubt that the recurring destructive hurricanes and the recent food insecurity crisis that have afflicted Haiti have also worsened living conditions for most Haitians and increased the socio-economic burden on the State. Since, security and stability are directly related to improved economic, social and development conditions, the efforts of all Haitian authorities, cooperation between various State institutions and international assistance are necessary to help Haiti to continue to address all the security, social and economic threats it faces. My country agrees with the Secretary-General’s observations in paragraphs 26 and 27 of the report concerning the need to adjust the force configuration of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti to keep pace with developments on the ground in Haiti. In that context, we welcome the measures recommended by the Mission as a result of its assessment and hope that they will lead to a finalized strategy to reconfigure the Mission. Finally, we support and welcome the recommendations of the Secretary-General in his report, in particular those on extending the mandate, and agree with him that the primary responsibility for progress falls on the shoulders of the Haitian people.

As this is the first open debate of the Council under your presidency, Madam, allow me to reaffirm my delegation’s conviction that the work of the Council will be fruitful throughout this month. I also congratulate Sir John Sawers, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, on the excellent work of the Council presidency during the month of August. I wish to begin by thanking Mrs. Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti, for her presence in the Council. We listened to her statement with great attention. My delegation also appreciates the participation of former President Bill Clinton and thanks him for his commendable work to mobilize international efforts on behalf of Haiti, which have wrought tangible changes in the lives of the Haitian people. We also thank Mr. Hédi Annabi for his briefing and reiterate our support for the work of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which he heads. Today’s debate is of special importance to Mexico in that it reflects the clear commitment of the Security Council to political stability, reconstruction and development in Haiti. Mexico welcomes the fact that this year the international community has expressed its will to promote substantive action to help Haiti, as demonstrated by the high-level visits there by the Security Council (see S/2009/175) and the Ad Hoc Advisory Group of the Economic and Social Council in May (see E/2009/105), the open debate on the situation chaired by my country in April (see S/PV.6101) and the donor conference on Haiti convened by the Inter-American Development Bank. Haiti represents a shining example of the comprehensive attention required by many crisis situations on the Security Council agenda that transcend the narrow requirements of the maintenance of peace and stability. As the Council agreed in its presidential statement of 22 July 2009 (S/PRST/2009/23), post-conflict peacebuilding is of critical importance as the foundation for building sustainable peace and development in the aftermath of conflict. Mexico welcomes the progress made in Haiti with the support of MINUSTAH in such areas electoral politics, institution-building, security, rule of law and human rights. However, as noted in the report of the Secretary-General, progress remains fragile and its sustainability will depend largely on progress in the socio-economic situation of the Haitian people. It is therefore important to support the efforts now being led by former President Clinton to promote democracy and development in Haiti. Mexico wants to see MINUSTAH continue to work with the United Nations country team in support of Haiti to strengthen development, humanitarian assistance, the rule of law and security, and its capacity to respond to natural disasters. Mexico agrees with the recommendation of the Secretary-General that MINUSTAH’s mandate be renewed until 15 October 2010. We must bear in mind that its work is critical at a time when the Haitian police capacity is not yet fully developed and the State continues to face serious threats to its stability. Furthermore, given the ongoing evolution of the national and regional environment, we support the Secretary-General’s proposal to adjust the force configuration of the Mission by increasing the police component and reducing the military component. Mexico acknowledges MINUSTAH’s political, logistical and security support to the Haitian Government in the holding of elections in April and June. We reaffirm how important it is that the mission continue to lend its support to the Haitian Government in the presidential and local elections planned for late 2010. The success of those elections undoubtedly requires the political will of all actors and greater civil society participation in order to guarantee that they are transparent and inclusive and that there is wide participation. In the security sphere, we encourage MINUSTAH to continue to build the capacity and professionalism of the Haitian National Police as it confronts the proliferation of gangs and other armed groups, violence associated with the trafficking of arms, persons and drugs, and large-scale civil unrest. Mexico supports the promotion of a regional approach to illegal drug and arms trafficking in Haiti, and we appeal to the countries of the region to continue to support MINUSTAH and the National Police in responding to these problems, given their implications for cross-border and regional security. We think it is vital to strengthen MINUSTAH’s mandate and its role in supporting the police and building its capacity in the areas of land and maritime border security. The human rights situation in Haiti is also a matter of concern to us. We urge the Haitian authorities and the Governments of the region to work together to combat internal and cross-border child trafficking. We support MINUSTAH’s endeavours, with UNICEF support, to continue to protect children’s rights in Haiti. Turning to the question of international cooperation, it is vital to work with the Government of Haiti to identify ways to build a comprehensive international strategy to meet the country’s concrete economic needs. As a community cooperating with Haiti, we can work in two dimensions: first, in emergencies we must meet the urgent needs of the population in the areas of health care and food; and secondly, in terms of medium- and long-term cooperation, we must build the country’s institutional and administrative capacity, which is crucial for restoring economic development. The Government of Mexico has decided to give the highest priority to Haiti in its cooperation policy, and to make a contribution in keeping with our capacity. My country has established the Mexican Fund for Cooperation with Haiti to address requests from the Haitian authorities in six fundamental areas: agriculture, education, energy, health care, security and tourism. The Mexican Government has called a hemispheric conference for coordinating cooperation with Haiti, to take place on 4 and 5 November in Mexico City. Its purpose is to effect an in-depth analysis of cooperation with Haiti and to encourage the coordination of efforts to ensure that international cooperation works hand in hand with national efforts to create better conditions for sustainable development and to ensure a real impact on the Haitian people. This event will be co-sponsored by the Governments of Mexico and Haiti and the Organization of American States. Let me conclude by expressing my delegation’s support for the statement to be made later by the representative of Uruguay on behalf of the Group of Friends of Haiti.

In aligning ourselves with the statement to be delivered later on behalf of the European Union, we would like to thank you, Madam, for organizing this open debate under your presidency. Croatia deeply appreciates the personal presence today of the Secretary-General’s two key representatives for Haiti, as well as the Prime Minister of Haiti, Her Excellency Ms. Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, and is grateful for their valuable insights for the Council’s consideration. Croatia would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Secretary-General’s new Special Envoy for Haiti, former President Clinton, on his appointment. We welcome his vision and look to his leadership to mobilize much needed international investment to help create a better future for millions of Haitians. Furthermore, Croatia commends and reiterates its support for the tremendous work carried out by Special Representative Annabi, the civil and military components of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the United Nations country team. Alongside the Secretary-General, their steadfast dedication and efforts are a strong reaffirmation of the commitment of the international community to help Haiti lay strong foundations for its future political and economic stability. While we are encouraged that some progress has been made on a number of fronts, the Secretary- General’s report (S/2009/439) once again indicates that meaningful progress remains elusive for many in Haiti, especially in the socio-economic field. The interlinked challenges Haiti still faces today require sustained and integrated assistance from the broad-based membership of the international community, in line with Haitian priorities. Indeed, we have watched closely as improved stability has paved the way for increased international assistance and investment, which are vital for significant changes in Haiti. To this end, Croatia welcomes the outcome of the international donors conference in April, along with Haiti’s subsequent debt exoneration and loans earmarked for poverty reduction and pro-growth expenditures, as important signals of growing confidence by the international community that Haiti is on the right track. To this end, we hope that the envisaged trade mission to be led by the Special Envoy, Мr. Clinton, in October this year will further contribute to this growing momentum of international political commitment towards helping the Haitian people create a sustainable environment in which to foster better livelihoods. Despite all the challenges, at this moment of historic opportunity for progress in Haiti, it is imperative that the international donor community honour pledges made earlier. Simultaneously, the Haitian Government must match this international goodwill and support by consolidating its hard-won gains with continued political momentum to translate commitments into real action on the ground. This will entail further strengthening of the improved, yet tenuous, internal political cooperation and political dialogue achieved over the past few months. Only a fully inclusive political process will ensure timely elections and necessary constitutional reforms. In this respect, the Senatorial elections in April served as an important litmus test for Haiti, from which important lessons should be learned. A strong and effective response is required to address the incidents of voting inconsistencies and subsequent incidents of violence, if public confidence in the electoral system is to be restored. Croatia is encouraged to learn that during the reporting period key legislation was enacted, including the approval of the national budget and the establishment of a minimum wage. We note also that advancements have been made by some of the presidential commissions in tackling issues of national priority. These are important steps which we hope will have a positive impact on the daily lives of many in Haiti. However, we remain concerned over continued procrastination on the implementation of the joint legislative agenda from 2008. Croatia welcomes the continued progress made in the security environment despite increasing tensions over the prevailing socio-economic challenges. Maintaining stability in Haiti requires the constant engagement of the Haitian authorities to strengthen key State institutions and to complete constitutional reforms. Strong foundations for a politically and economically secure Haiti cannot be created without bolstering the rule of law. An improved legislative framework and the creation of a fully functioning, independent, credible justice apparatus and penal system, in adherence to international standards, is a critical prerequisite for curbing the current environment of impunity for both violence and corruption and in winning greater domestic confidence in State institutions. This in turn calls for continued international funding to allow for further professionalization and capacity-building, especially with regard to the national police force and the justice sector. Cognizant of the fact that long-term sustainable economic development is underpinned by security and stability, Croatia too recognizes the vital role the United Nations Stabilization Mission has to play in assisting the Haitian authorities in addressing the remaining cross-cutting challenges in the country. Notwithstanding this, the future of Haiti lies with the Haitian people, who have primary responsibility for ensuring progress. We support the Secretary-General’s recommendation for a further 12-month extension of the mission’s mandate, accompanied by some readjustment of the force capacity, as outlined in the report, as clear recognition of the positive evolution of circumstances under the stabilization process. In Croatia’s view, a strong United Nations presence on the ground via МINUSТAH and the United Nations country team is needed for the foreseeable future to help lock in progress to date and to reduce the susceptibility to reversal, through further consolidation of political and economic reforms. We hope too that any future reconfiguration of МINUSТAH will include greater participation by female officers in any proposed increase of its police capabilities. Croatia is of the view that female officers would not only be integral to assisting victims of gender-based and sexual violence, but would also serve as important role models for their counterparts in the emerging national police force.

I thank you, Madam President, for having organized this debate on the situation in Haiti and the activities of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). This debate helps to keep international attention focused on the situation in that country. The exceptional number of delegations that will take part in today’s debate — in particular States of the region, whose role is essential — shows the broad interest aroused by this item. Of course, I also wish to thank Mrs. Pierre-Louis, Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti, for her briefing and to assure her that we listened to it with great attention and, of course, sympathy on the part of France. France fully associates itself with the statement to be made by the representative of Sweden on behalf of the European Union. I should just like to add several comments in my national capacity. As others have already stressed, Haiti has made significant progress in recent years thanks to numerous efforts made not only by the international community, but also by the Government and the people of Haiti. That progress is the result of the ongoing mobilization of the international community, illustrated by the Security Council’s unanimous support for the activities of MINUSTAH — support that we shall soon renew. I wish to commend the continued and unwavering commitment of the Secretary-General and the excellent work of his Special Representative, Mr. Annabi. We all know how difficult it is to keep the international community’s attention on a particular country as crises are, unfortunately, increasing throughout the world. As the situation in Haiti is gradually improving, some might be tempted to let down their guard. To the contrary, it is during this virtuous phase that we must step up our efforts. Mr. Clinton’s resolute action on behalf of Haiti and his generous commitment have already produced results. They should be supported. The improvement in security conditions should make it possible to increase international mobilization, to encourage investors — as stressed by the Prime Minister of Haiti — and also to encourage non-governmental organizations to commit themselves to helping Haitian society take full responsibility for its future. Today, it is to the reconstruction of the Haitian State and to economic and social development that we must devote our efforts. France thus welcomes the resolute economic and financial mobilization of the international community. The Washington conference showed the support of international donors and made it possible to mobilize funds as well as budgetary assistance. Haiti’s progress towards the completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative in June allowed for substantial debt cancellation. Last July, the Paris Club announced a very significant debt cancellation by bilateral creditors, including France. In this endeavour, the role of the United Nations is obviously crucial. MINUSTAH plays a role in the area of stabilization. United Nations agencies present on the ground, under the supervision of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, are contributing to social and economic development. But the ultimate responsibility for success rests on the shoulders of the Haitian Government and people. Thus, it is to the Haitian Government and people that we must lend our full assistance and support in their difficult and courageous fight. They can count on us. Of course, they can count on France, which has historical, cultural and human ties with Haiti that we shall not forget. France is participating in MINUSTAH. We are on the ground and recently increased our assistance, particularly after last year’s devastating hurricanes. It is our collective responsibility to continue to support the efforts of the Haitian authorities with a view to stabilizing the country, strengthening democratic institutions and promoting sustainable development. The United Nations and the Haitian authorities must continue the work that has begun. France will continue to lend its support to the United Nations and to the Haitian Government. Sir John Sawers (United Kingdom): I would like to join others in thanking Prime Minister Pierre-Louis and former President Clinton — in his new role as United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti — for their presence here today. Their contributions are inspiring great efforts to achieve our agreed goals in Haiti. We welcome their vision and energy, and we are grateful to you, Madam President, for giving the Council the chance to hear from them in person today. I would also like to welcome back to this Chamber Special Representative Annabi and to thank him and the entire team of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for their ongoing efforts in Haiti. The Secretary-General’s latest report on Haiti (S/2009/439) paints a picture that we recognized: important progress and positive trends in certain areas, yet continued challenges in others. In the area of security, the relative stability and calm of the past six months is encouraging, particularly given that this was a period that saw two sets of closely fought senatorial elections. One consequence of the improved security environment is that MINUSTAH is much less likely to have to conduct large-scale security operations of the sort seen in Cité Soleil in 2007. That has allowed for a modest reduction in troop levels, accompanied by an uplift in police numbers. We welcome regular reviews of this sort, which are in line with the approach and the principles captured in the presidential statement adopted by the Council at last month’s debate on peacekeeping (S/PRST/2009/24). We encourage the Special Representative and the Force Commander to continue to keep MINUSTAH’s force levels and posture under close review in order to ensure the most efficient and effective use of scarce peacekeeping resources. Our goal is to create the conditions in which Haiti can take responsibility for its own security, thus enabling the United Nations peacekeeping mission to complete its task. No one is saying that we are there yet. We agree with the Secretary-General that MINUSTAH’s presence remains essential for the time being. Equally, however, the United Nations consolidation plan conveys a sense of progress towards the objective of a Haiti able to guarantee its own stability and security. Perhaps the most crucial aspect of MINUSTAH’s work in the coming period is to build local capacity. The efforts to train and mentor the Haitian National Police, in line with the police reform plan, are vital in order to extend and consolidate the authority of the State. MINUSTAH and the wider international community have to maintain and increase their focus on building indigenous capacity in terms of the police, justice and the rule of law generally. Equally, we agree with others that socio-economic development is essential for long-term stability in Haiti. All of our efforts to nurture and strengthen the institutions of the Haitian State will come to nothing if we cannot give the people of Haiti a stake in their future and the prospect of a better life for them and for their children. For that reason, we warmly welcome the Secretary-General’s decision to appoint former President Clinton as his Special Envoy for Haiti. We have already seen, including in the announcement of a major trade mission by private investors last month, some of the results of the energy and ideas that the Special Envoy brings with him. As Prime Minister Pierre-Louis has remarked, there is an opportunity to change perceptions about Haiti and to encourage the sort of investment that will change the socio-economic dynamic of the country. There is scope to move Haiti onto a virtuous circle of security, investment and development. Let us keep focused on that goal so that, in the years ahead, we shall be able to add Haiti to the list of countries that the United Nations has helped transport from conflict to self-sustaining stability.

At this first open meeting of the Council during the month of September, I would like to extend to you, Madam, and to the rest of the United States delegation our warmest congratulations on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for this month. I would like also to convey to Ambassador John Sawers and the United Kingdom delegation our great appreciation for their leadership in conducting the work of the Council in August. I congratulate President William Clinton on his appointment as United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti and thank him for his statement. I thank Mr. Hédi Annabi, head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), for his comprehensive briefing. I welcome and thank Prime Minister Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis of Haiti for her participation in the Council’s debate today. My delegation is pleased to note the progress achieved during the reporting period in the five benchmark areas of Haiti’s consolidation plan, as manifested in the holding of senatorial elections, the passage of key legislation and the pursuit of an inclusive dialogue on a number of key issues that the country faces. We also take positive note of the vigorous efforts undertaken by President Préval to establish the four commissions to consider issues of national interest which, we believe, will facilitate the achievement of the benchmarks and bring about tangible changes in the country. In spite of those positive developments, we remain deeply concerned about the fragility of the security environment and the lack of progress in the realization of economic, social and cultural rights in Haiti. We are troubled by reports that children continue to suffer as a result of criminal acts, with minors reported to be victims in numerous rape cases, while child trafficking for the purpose of sexual or economic exploitation continues unabated. The political and economic shocks, coupled with the severe natural disasters that hit the country in 2008, have not only worsened the already dire economic conditions, but have also hindered the full implementation of the Government’s strategy. At this critical juncture, we hold that the full engagement of the Haitian leadership and people, and the execution of a sound and comprehensive socio-economic strategy that seeks to mobilize domestic resources, generate growth, create employment, reduce poverty and improve the living conditions of the people are of paramount importance to Haiti. My delegation supports the Secretary- General’s assessment that there is an urgent need to support the Haitian authorities in the implementation of targeted social and economic agendas aimed at addressing the extreme vulnerability of the country and its people, especially food insecurity, which is affecting nearly 2 million Haitians. To ensure security and stability in Haiti, the international community’s strategy for the country should focus on enhancing the Haitian National Police, strengthening national and local governance and the rule of law, and placing the country on the path to recovery and sustainable development. In this connection, we urge donors to fulfil the pledges made at the high-level donor conference hosted in April by the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.С. We wish to take this opportunity to stress our great appreciation for President Clinton’s continuing efforts to attract foreign investment and gather international support for Haiti. We are convinced that, with his vast experience and his proactive engagement in the country, President Clinton, in his capacity as United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, will make worthy contributions to enabling the Haitian Government to address its current political, economic and security challenges. While noting the primary responsibility of the Government and the people of Haiti for their country’s stabilization process, we commend МINUSTAН’s admirable work in helping maintain stability and re-establish security in Haiti. The continued presence of MINUSTAH remains indispensable with a view to avoiding possible setbacks or reversals in the implementation of the consolidation plan. We support the Secretary-General’s recommendation to extend the mandate of the mission for an additional year, until 15 October 2010. However, in view of the progress made in strengthening the Haitian security forces and developing a handover strategy for МINUSТAН’s operational responsibilities, we share the view that it is necessary for the mission to reconfigure its components and adjust to changing circumstances on the ground.

As I take the floor for the first time this month, I should like to congratulate you, Madam, on your assumption of the presidency and once again express to you the support of my delegation, which I will prove by brutally shortening the statement I had prepared. I wish you the greatest success. I would also like to welcome the presence among us of the Prime Minister of Haiti, Mrs. Pierre-Louis, and to thank President Clinton for his statement. My delegation is delighted to see Special Representative Annabi here once again. We congratulate him on his work and thank him for his briefing. If for many years to come we do not want to find ourselves in this same Chamber repeating the same questions and tirelessly formulating the same pious intentions on Haiti, we have to ask and answer in all honesty the question of what we have done wrong for 15 years that as yet we cannot see the progress and welfare we are seeking for the people of Haiti. Even more important, we have to analyse what we are doing now and ask ourselves whether we really are moving in the right direction and if we are sure that within a reasonable time frame, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) will be able to leave Haiti, leaving behind a strong State, a peaceful country and a prosperous people. On four occasions, the international community believed that it had achieved its goal, and on five occasions it has had to return. Although it is true that Haiti is gradually moving away from its past of conflict, it must also be stated that it seems that the progress is still very fragile. In this situation, Costa Rica agrees that it is not yet advisable to begin to think about an exit strategy for MINUSTAH. But we support the recommendation that it be reconfigured. My country believes that the Stabilization Mission and the international community have not achieved a relationship with the people of Haiti that combines actions in a way that can ensure that the progress made remains sustainable. Although it is undeniable that the five interventions in Haiti have been justified on grounds of security, we cannot ignore the fact that a large part of the failure is due to obstinately ignoring that, in any human community, sustained peace and stability depends on social, economic and political development. We agree with Professor Jeffrey Sachs that stability provides the basis for the economy to take off. Hence, it is vital to ensure that there are complements to peacekeeping tasks, with actions to bring about sustainable development that can ensure stability in the future and preserve the benefits of security that have been achieved over the past few years. We believe that some of the difficulties in building sustainable peace in Haiti are linked to goals that have been promoted. Costa Rica firmly defends the principle of national ownership in the processes of reconstruction and peacebuilding. However, we do not believe that in the name of this principle of national ownership the international community should endorse and support opinions that are clearly inappropriate, such as the rebuilding of the Haitian army, which was dismantled years ago and which had evidently been made suitable only for typically civil functions, such as environmental protection, or worse, in some cases, in assisting the police to quell civil unrest. Haiti’s priorities do not include the creation of a new army or the squandering of its scarce resources on military expenditure, given that the Haitian people faces no external threat. The Government and people of Haiti, in cooperation with the international community, must define their priorities more clearly. My delegation welcomed Prime Minister Pierre-Louis’ statement this afternoon because it demonstrated greater clarity of vision on the part of the Government and people of Haiti with regard to their future. Costa Rica believes that the lack of socio-economic development deserves priority attention and that certain chronic problems, such as food insecurity and very low agricultural production, must be addressed more energetically. In that respect, we believe that it is perfectly apposite to establish development parameters, as informally suggested by the representative of Japan during Council members’ visit to Haiti. It is not sustainable for Haiti to produce only half the food it requires, which clearly accounts for the high levels of anaemia among the population, with a particular impact on women and children. Another urgent priority is the drafting and implementation of a national strategy to develop human capital. Nearly half of Haiti’s population is now under the age of 18. This young and abundant labour force needs training and jobs before it loses hope, which in turn would foment instability in the country and beyond. The task of training human capital must go hand in hand with the necessary special focus on developing a national strategy on competitiveness. Haiti has an unshirkable responsibility to establish a regulatory framework for a modern economy. It must update production factors, such as the land tenure system, that are widely recognized as obstacles to growth. The participation of the Haitian diaspora is also required in the development of its country. Foreign investment must also play a more dynamic role, while priority must be accorded to the provision of basic services, in particular health care and education. Haiti will achieve only two Millennium Development Goals — those on gender equality and the reduction of HIV/AIDS. The vast gulf separating Haiti from the attainment of the other Goals can be largely explained by the alarming lack of basic services of which all are aware. Haitian society must continue to strive for political and institutional capacity-building to foster modernization and development. The Haitian political system must reject factors that limit and undermine the country’s development in order to become an instrument that legitimizes democracy and lays the foundations for development. We believe that Haiti would be helped by adopting a simple, more predictable and less costly political system. The many continual electoral processes and the uncertainty they promote disrupt the stability that is so necessary to the public and private sectors. The costs of numerous and frequent elections could be rationalized to release resources necessary to other ends. The simplification of the complex institutional framework should be considered to promote improved governance. Maintaining the stability of Haiti will also depend to a large extent on how the authorities are able sustainably to strengthen the pillars of the rule of law. In that respect, we welcome the progress described by Special Representative Annabi. I conclude by expressing my delegation’s concern over the situation of children in Haiti, who are afflicted by malnutrition and its consequences, including abandonment, abuse and human trafficking. We urge the Haitian authorities and the international community to advocate intensively to protect children and to design and implement a strategy to extend their opportunities, leading to genuine hope for future generations.

I should like at the outset to thank you, Madam, for organizing this important debate. I welcome the participation of President Clinton, the Secretary- General’s Special Envoy, and thank him above all for his commitment and efforts since he assumed his post towards the return of peace and stability in Haiti. I also welcome the presence of the Prime Minister of Haiti, Mrs. Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, and thank her for her important statement. I further thank Mr. Annabi for his briefing. With respect to the situation in Haiti, we note first of all that significant progress has been made since we considered the Secretary-General’s previous report in April (S/2009/129), although the country continues to face some difficulties with regard in particular to the functioning of institutions. The country’s achievements include the holding of complementary senatorial elections on 19 April and 21 June, despite the regrettable incidents that marked them. The low voter turnout at these elections, the first since 2006, should prompt the Haitian political class to work harder to win the trust of the population and, through tolerance and dialogue, to establish the optimal conditions for the organization of more credible elections in the future. For the time being, we call on them to accept the results published on 24 July so as to allow for the unimpeded functioning of the legislature. The regular and effective functioning of institutions is necessary to consolidating peace and stability. We are therefore concerned about the delays in the implementation of the joint legislative agenda agreed upon by the Government and Parliament in 2008. The report notes the slow pace and low rate of adoption and ratification by Parliament of the laws and conventions of that agenda. The budget law, for example, was adopted only on 2 June, while the 2009-2010 budget has yet to be adopted. We therefore hope that the process will be accelerated so as to strengthen the country’s legal and institutional framework. We congratulate the commissions responsible for constitutional reform and security on their reports and, above all, on the proposed reforms concerning the electoral cycle, dual citizenship, the security architecture and local authorities. We also encourage the other commissions responsible for justice reform, competitiveness and information technology to continue their work so as to be able to submit their respective reports as soon as possible. We remain concerned by the threats to the security situation in Haiti arising from the ongoing unemployment, corruption, illicit trafficking in drugs and small arms, and civil unrest. In light of the various weaknesses afflicting the Haitian National Police, and while thanking bilateral partners for their assistance in strengthening police capacity, we urge the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) to continue to support the Government’s initiative. As to the judiciary, we welcome the efforts of the Haitian authority, in cooperation with MINUSTAH and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, to combat corruption, crime and illicit trafficking. The slow pace of progress in the field of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, is another source of concern to my delegation. The majority of the Haitian people live under very precarious conditions. We are therefore very grateful to President Clinton for having embraced this issue and for having devoted himself since then to mobilizing funds and public and private investment with a view to improve the living conditions of the population. In that regard, while we welcome the outcome of the conference of bilateral partners held in Washington last April, during which significant contributions were announced, we nevertheless regret the delays that have occurred in the disbursement of those funds. It is clear that the Haitian State still faces many difficulties in ensuring security and in taking strong measures for the recovery of its economy. The Stabilization Mission therefore continues to serve as an important lifesaver for the country. It should be commended for its efforts on the ground and encouraged to continue to provide assistance to the Government in the implementation of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme and in the preparations for the upcoming elections. We commend the Special Envoy and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, as well as all of the MINUSTAH staff, for their efforts to contribute to the consolidation of political stability and peace in Haiti, which so desperately needs to focus on its development. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank troop-contributing countries for their commitment to Haiti.

First of all, I wish to thank you, Madam President, for convening today’s meeting. We would also like to warmly welcome to the Security Council His Excellency Mr. William Jefferson Clinton, United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, and Her Excellency Mrs. Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti. We also welcome the report (S/2009/439) of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), as well as the briefing just given by Special Representative of the Secretary- General Hédi Annabi. Over the past five years, thanks to the support of the international community and, in particular, the outstanding contributions of MINUSTAH, the security situation in Haiti has improved a great deal. As indicated in the discussion in the Secretary-General’s report of the consolidation plan annexed to the report, Haiti has made encouraging progress on all five benchmarks of the consolidation process. We have also noted that the situation in Haiti continues to be fragile, in particular with regard to the economic, social and development situation. Great challenges also remain in terms of the political process, institution building and the security sector, and especially with regard to police, legislative, judicial, penal and institutional reform, as well as in combating corruption. As the international community continues to provide support, we call upon the Haitian Government to muster greater determination, make increased efforts and strengthen in a practical manner its own capacity- building efforts in order to effectively assume responsibility for achieving sustainable peace and stability in the country. The Government of Haiti is expected to strengthen its coordination with MINUSTAH and to take effective steps in the political, security, economic and social spheres. It should also step up its legislative and judicial reforms, strengthen the recruitment and training of police and bolster its coordination with its neighbours in the areas of border control and the fight against drug trafficking and crime. At the same time, it is essential to strengthen dialogue between the Haitian Government, the Parliament, the political parties, the private sector and civil society, with a view to achieving consensus, in a joint effort to maintain stability in the country. Extreme poverty and economic and social underdevelopment pose the major obstacles to sustainable peace and stability in the country. In order to achieve sustainable stability, Haiti must make greater progress on the economic and social fronts. The Haitian Government and people bear the greatest responsibility in that regard. The international community should provide assistance appropriate to the conditions in the country. Through MINUSTAH, it can also provide support and the necessary resources in connection with political, security and rule of law efforts. However, we should also realize that ensuring Haiti’s economic and social development is not MINUSTAH’s mandate. The Security Council cannot just turn to the Mission for the country’s development; other United Nations and international and regional organizations, Haiti’s neighbours and countries of the region can all play a greater role. MINUSTAH has now been deployed for five years. It has made a great contribution to the maintenance of Haiti’s peace and stability. We appreciate its work and pay tribute to its staff for its dedication. At a time when the situation in Haiti is still fragile, we support the continued presence of MINUSTAH. However, as progress continues to be made in Haiti’s consolidation and stabilization process, MINUSTAH should eventually hand over responsibilities to the Haitian Government and people. We hope that MINUSTAH will focus on carrying out its mandate to maintain peace and stability in Haiti and remain from taking on tasks that do not fall within its responsibilities. At a time when the countries of the world face all sorts of security challenges, there is an ever-growing demand for United Nations peacekeeping operations. However, there is only a limited supply of available peacekeeping resources. The Security Council is currently engaged in discussions on the reform of peacekeeping operations. It is necessary for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) to carry out a comprehensive assessment of MINUSTAH’s mandate, including its military and police components, and the deployment and efficient use of resources, so as to ensure that the Mission’s assets and resources are configured as appropriately as possible in order to further improve the efficiency of peacekeeping operations and propose drawdown plans where appropriate. Strengthening the capabilities of Haiti’s security sector is an important task. The Haitian President’s Commission on Public Security has developed some recommendations for the establishment of a force with military status. Those recommendations merit further study. We hope that the Organization of American States, DPKO and countries of the region will accord due attention to recommendations on Haiti, so that they can together arrive at a solution.

Let me also begin, Madam President, by welcoming the holding of this open debate under your presidency. I should also like to express my deep gratitude to President Clinton, United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti. I am also grateful for the briefing by Special Representative Annabi. I also welcome Prime Minister Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis and thank her for her presence here today, and in particular for the hospitality extended to our mission a few months ago, which was extremely productive and useful for all of us. In the past six months, several important events have served to heighten interest in supporting of Haiti. In particular, the donors conference held in Washington, D.C., was very important. Many countries, including Japan, expressed strong support for Haiti’s development. Part of the challenge now before us is twofold. First, the international community needs to attach much more importance to, and focus on, development in Haiti. The second objective is to mobilize support and broaden the basis of that support to deal with current issues confronting Haiti, such as recovering from a series of hurricanes, food insecurity and youth unemployment. We very much believe that today’s timely debate in the Council will contribute to those two objectives. The three important statements we heard this afternoon contain priority concerns and prescriptions we should jointly focus on. I would like to discuss only three essential points regarding the stabilization of Haiti. The first point is the political process. After the Security Council mission to Haiti, the senatorial elections took place, representing an important political process. We welcome the fact that elections were successfully organized without major disruption. However, to increase public engagement in the political process, it is critical for the Government to initiate legal action against the crimes alleged to have taken place in this process. Depending on progress in future political processes, including in the forthcoming elections to the Chamber of Deputies and the presidential election, there is a possibility that domestic tensions may rise. The international community must continue to carefully monitor the political situation in the country. The second point relates to the security situation, which has been relatively calm thanks largely to the efforts of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). We welcome the good progress that has been made, particularly in building the Haitian National Police. At the same time, we must be mindful that the situation remains fragile and that social unrest may occur again if poverty is not alleviated and basic livelihoods for the population are not secured. It is important to note that the Haitian National Police has not reached the necessary capacity to conduct policing successfully without the support of MINUSTAH. Continued technical support from MINUSTAH will be indispensable until at least 2011, when the Haitian National Police will achieve its target of building a strong professional force of 14,000. We believe, therefore, that the presence of MINUSTAH troops and police will continue to be critical, and we are thus in favour of the extension of the Mission’s mandate, but we also expect that MINUSTAH will implement its mandate effectively and efficiently to meet the benchmarks in its consolidation plan. The third point concerns economic and social development. The biggest challenges in Haiti are underdevelopment and poverty. In order to stabilize the country, food security and job creation in particular are two of the issues that must be tackled urgently and forcefully. Those countries that made pledges at the donors conference should give concrete shape to their support, and efforts must be made to broaden the political and financial support base and to improve coordination. In that connection, Japan pledged $50 million at the conference to support the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy. Since then, we have sent a mission to discuss the details of this implementation, consulted with the Haitian Government and decided to offer support in the fields of food security, health care, education, human resource development, the environment and disaster protection. It is also good news that the Paris Club countries have cancelled the country’s entire bilateral debt. In order to create jobs and promote vibrant economic activity, however, we believe that not only the support of the public sector but also the active engagement of the private sector, including the diaspora, are essential. We should make much greater effort to bring about tangible change in people’s daily economic life by facilitating trade and investment involving the private sector. In this regard, I commend the initiative of President Clinton to lead an international trade mission of private investors to Haiti in October. We hope that the mission will have a positive influence on the stabilization of the country and promote investment in various sectors in the near future. The Haitian Government, for its part, needs to ensure that the legislative and regulatory environment and facilities in the country are not only attractive to investment, but also conducive to transparency in the market. I would like to conclude by thanking those countries that have contributed valuable troops, police and logistical support, as they have helped to bring about significant improvement in stabilization under difficult circumstances.

Let me first congratulate you, Madam President, on assuming the presidency in a challenging month. This is clearly a very important event as part of an impressive programme of work. I should also like to thank the United Kingdom for its work during the month of August. I join others in welcoming Prime Minister Pierre- Louis to the Council meeting today and thanking her for what she has been able to tell us. We are also grateful for the chance to listen to the Secretary- General’s Special Envoy, President Clinton, and to express our appreciation of his continued engagement. We also appreciate the presence of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Hédi Annabi, and want to thank him for his work and his commitment. Austria aligns itself with the statement that will be delivered later on by the representative of Sweden on behalf of the European Union. I want to make a number of specific points that are based on my own experience during the mission of the Security Council to Haiti. We welcome the report of the Secretary-General (S/2009/439), which highlights the continued assistance of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) to national efforts for peace and stability in Haiti. We have the feeling that MINUSTAH, under very difficult circumstances, is a success story. This is a case in which United Nations peacekeeping has been able to make a difference, assure the peace and security of the Haitian people and protect them against violence and organized crime. One of the reasons this has been successful, from our point of view, is the strong Latin American and Caribbean participation in and co-ownership of this Mission. At the same time, it is important that ensuring the protection of citizens in Haiti has been recognized as a challenge by the entire international community, with contributions from all over the world, such as the Chinese police contingent that we were able to visit during our mission. Important improvements have been made with regard to the rule of law. With MINUSTAH’s valuable support, the Haitian National Police has been gradually strengthened, contributing substantially to security and stability along land and maritime borders and throughout the country. Austria believes that the ongoing training and vetting of the Haitian National Police constitutes an essential element in the re-establishment of reliable and trustworthy security institutions. We also welcome the envisaged adjustment of MINUSTAH’s force configuration to Haiti’s country-specific needs. The additional number of police officers for the formed police units will enhance the Mission’s capacity to support the Haitian security forces. At the same time, we agree with the Haitian authorities that substantial progress remains to be made in the judicial as well as the correction systems in order to fight impunity and secure greater stability in Haiti. Efforts to strengthen the capacity of the judiciary to address issues such as prolonged pretrial detention are important, and we are concerned about the continued problematic situation in Haiti’s prisons due to increased overcrowding. The launching of the construction of a new prison in Croix-des-Bouquets is a first concrete and important step which must be followed up with further efforts. We are encouraged by, and encourage, the strengthening of the judicial inspection unit, as well as the reorganization of the Ministry of Justice. We are also very interested in the forthcoming review of existing criminal legislation, including on juvenile delinquency. This is an area on which my country has been able to cooperate with Haiti in the past, and we are prepared and happy to continue that cooperation. We also welcome the collaboration of MINUSTAH, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Haitian Government in strengthening measures against corruption, organized crime and illicit trafficking, and we encourage the ongoing involvement of UNODC’s expertise. The benchmarks and revised indicators of progress contained in the Secretary-General’s report are an important tool for measuring the achievements of MINUSTAH, in cooperation with the Haitian Government. These benchmarks provide a comprehensive framework for the activities undertaken by the host authorities, the Mission itself, the United Nations country team and the international community, and therefore contribute to enhanced coherence and coordination among all actors. The socio-economic situation in Haiti remains precarious and thus continues to pose a threat to stability. We therefore welcome warmly the dedication of Special Envoy President Clinton in mobilizing public and private investment, while at the same time fostering the commitment of all relevant actors to improving living conditions in Haiti. The decision of 30 June on debt cancellation by the international financial institutions and the Paris Club was an important step towards sustainable economic development in the country. Subsequent to the Security Council’s mission to MINUSTAH in March, elections to the Senate in Haiti were held in April. We are glad to see that these elections were conducted in a generally peaceful climate. We believe that it is vital for the Government to continue its efforts in the field of political dialogue, in the extension of State authority as well as decentralization, and to engage all relevant actors in these processes. In light of the challenges ahead, we fully support the Secretary-General’s recommendation to extend the mandate of MINUSTAH for an additional year.

I would first like to thank the United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, President Clinton, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Hédi Annabi, for their briefings. Let me also extend a warm welcome to Prime Minister Pierre-Louis and thank her for her insightful presentation. We also thank her for the excellent hospitality accorded to the Security Council mission in March this year. I would further like to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to President Clinton for his involvement in the advancement of peace and development in Haiti. His special role in helping to generate a broader awareness of the challenges facing Haiti, as well as in further motivating the international community to address the needs and expectations of the Haitian people, is most commendable. Today’s debate, the second within the past five months, and the wide interest that it has drawn from the Member States stand as testimony to the importance that we all attach to nurturing the promise of that country. In fact, much has already been accomplished to that end, and this year in particular has been an extremely encouraging period regarding Haiti’s prospects. As such, today’s meeting gives us a good opportunity to take stock of the progress made so far and to reiterate our resolve for continued engagement. In that regard, the appointment of and visits by President Clinton, as well as the Security Council mission to Haiti, have helped us streamline our endeavours towards that country with renewed focus and dedication. The donors conference in Washington, D.C., in April also provided a much-needed political and financial boost to our collective efforts. We observe with great pleasure that the Haitian people and Government have also been most responsive to those efforts, vindicating the investment of the United Nations and the international community in Haiti. In that context, we are particularly glad to see increased political cooperation among the parties, as evidenced by the partial senatorial elections having being held without major incident and by the security environment preserving its calm. All those developments point in the same direction — the security situation in Haiti is clearly evolving from the risk of a major social outburst to a less massive, but still relatively precarious condition, requiring first and foremost policing tasks. As such, it is noteworthy that the Secretary-General has recommended downsizing the military component of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) by 120 troops, while adding the same number of police officers to the formed police units. It also explains why the Haitian authorities are also considering the re-establishment of a special gendarmerie-type force with domestic security responsibilities. As a country that has long-standing experience and expertise in such forces, Turkey stands ready to cooperate with the Haiti Government if and when it is ready to take further steps in that direction. That said, the positive developments in the field of security should not make us forget that the underlying causes of instability in Haiti — extreme poverty and the unstable socio-economic environment — are still there. Although there has been a clear improvement in the macroeconomic indicators, the relative recovery of the economy has not yet fully translated into tangible progress in the everyday lives of Haitians, and thus there is still a long way to ensure a sustainable development track. That is why we think that the socio-economic assistance efforts of President Clinton must be advanced in tandem with MINUSTAH’s stabilization endeavours in order to create the conditions conducive to the maintenance of peace, security and prosperity in Haiti. That is also why Turkey, in addition to its continued police contribution to MINUSTAH, will explore new avenues of assistance to and cooperation with Haiti in a way that will address the most pressing needs of the Haitian people. In conclusion, we are pleased to see that some progress has been achieved in Haiti and we are confident that a brighter future awaits the Haitians. To that end, a functioning judiciary system, improved collaboration between the State branches, the continued development of the Haitian National Police both in numbers and capabilities, and, above all, a substantial improvement in the living standard of the Haitians are key benchmarks for a complete normalization in Haiti. Accordingly, we believe that there is still a need for MINUSTAH to remain in Haiti and thus fully support the recommendation of the Secretary-General to extend its mandate until 15 October 2010.

We welcome the participation in today’s debate of the United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, President Bill Clinton. We also welcome and thank the Prime Minister of Haiti, Mrs. Pierre-Louis, for her briefing. We also thank the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), Mr. Hédi Annabi, for his briefing on the situation in that country. We are encouraged by the progress that has been made in Haiti and commend the Government and people of Haiti for that progress. We congratulate the people of Haiti and the new Provisional Electoral Council on having held peaceful and well-run Senate elections on 21 June this year. Despite the organizational challenges during the elections, we are convinced that they were an important milestone in efforts to restore democracy to Haiti and to achieve lasting stability and progress in that country. The Secretary-General rightly observes in his report (S/2009/439) that the Haitian people have the primary responsibility for ensuring progress in that country. It is incumbent upon the leadership of that country to continue its remarkable efforts in establishing the institutions of Government, restoring the rule of law and revitalizing the economy. We commend the role that MINUSTAH has continued to play in coordinating international action and assistance in support of the Government to strengthen its institutional capacity. We have noted the progress achieved in border management, expanded border facilities and the upgraded customs data system. Although the security situation in the country remains generally calm, it is still fragile and continues to face such potential threats as resumed activity of gangs, criminals and other armed groups. There is a need to counter these threats, including cross-border child trafficking. The Government of Haiti requires increased support in institutional capacity-building, and certainly in the security sector, as soon as it can take effective control over its entire territory. We commend the progress achieved in bringing stability to Cité Soleil and Martissant, and call for the consolidation of stability in the rest of the country. We welcome the commitment of the Government of Haiti, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank, to developing a post-disaster national preparedness strategy during the hurricane season. However, given the extreme vulnerability of Haiti to natural disasters that endanger much of the country’s population and agricultural potential, we call on the friends and development partners of Haiti to offer more substantive assistance to the Haitian authorities to improve their capacity to manage disasters and place Haiti on the path to recovery and sustainable development. The success of national development efforts in Haiti will critically depend on the availability of adequate and predictable resources. There is a need to continue consolidating peace and stability in Haiti through peacebuilding. There is also a need to intensify efforts to mobilize additional resources for the country, especially by broadening the donor base and strengthening partnerships with the private sector. Uganda therefore welcomes the cancellation of Haiti’s $1.2 billion multilateral debt with international financial institutions and the subsequent cancellation of the country’s entire bilateral debt owed to the Paris Club. We believe that this debt relief will drastically lessen Haiti’s international financial obligations and hence facilitate the channeling of funds to various internal investment and development projects critical to the country’s economic recovery. In this regard, Uganda would like to commend the work of the United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, former United States President Bill Clinton, towards mobilizing public and private investment and improving the lives of the Haitian people. Finally, Uganda commends the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the staff of MINUSTAH for their work and commitment to the stabilization of Haiti, and we support the recommendations of the Secretary-General for the extension of the mandate of MINUSTAH until 15 October 2010.

I will now make a statement in my capacity as representative of the United States. I want to begin especially by thanking Special Representative of the Secretary-General Annabi for his dedication to Haiti and his very capable leadership of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). I am also very delighted that Prime Minister Pierre-Louis of Haiti is here with us today. We look forward to deepening our partnership with her and our work together. I want to warmly again thank President Clinton for coming to the Council today. The United States is deeply honoured by his appointment as United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, and we are proud that he is taking up this important mission to extend and expand our common efforts to help the people of Haiti. Last year’s hurricanes and food crisis have meant major challenges and serious setbacks, but real progress is still being made in Haiti. The United States is pleased to see increased political cooperation, which allowed for senatorial elections and the passage of several key pieces of legislation. We continue to urge the Government of Haiti to deepen its efforts to foster an all-inclusive political dialogue, and we thank MINUSTAH for its ongoing support of the electoral process in Haiti. The United States also congratulates the Inter-American Development Bank and Prime Minister Pierre-Louis on the successful conclusion of the 14 April donors conference in Washington, D.C., which the Bank reports has resulted in $353 million in new pledges for Haiti. The United States pledged $57 million in new funding, including $20 million in indirect budget support. Let me again stress the need for the Government of Haiti and its partners to continue their good efforts to advance economic growth and development in the country, including by supporting the country’s plan for reconstruction and economic recovery. At the conference in Washington, D.C., the United States welcomed donor commitments to help the Government of Haiti address the difficult and demanding conditions that dominate the daily lives of far too many Haitians. We thank our partners for their commitment to tackling these problems, even as we call upon them to keep up the momentum to alleviate ongoing suffering. For our part, my Government again underscores its own commitment to partnering more closely with the Government of Haiti and other donors to better respond to the urgent needs of the Haitian people. Real gains have been made in improving security in Haiti, but we are acutely aware of the potential threats to Haiti’s stability, including transnational crime, gang violence, drugs and civil unrest. In Haiti, as elsewhere, as we have heard more than once today, there can be no security without development and there can be no sustained development without security. The United States remains optimistic about the gradual improvements in the capabilities of the Haitian National Police (HNP) to meet these security challenges, but the HNP still lacks the capacity, training and equipment to respond independently to the full range of threats that Haiti now confronts. So we again commend MINUSTAH, as well as bilateral donors, for their ongoing role in maintaining stability and providing technical support and contributions to build up the HNP. We have also renewed our efforts to respond to the security priorities of the Government of Haiti to help foster the security and stability that the people of Haiti need and deserve. To complement these efforts on the security front, we are also looking closely at our investments on the development front. Guided by development priorities set out by the Government of Haiti at the donors conference, we are looking at ways to make the United States a more effective donor, investor and bilateral partner with Haiti. We continue to work with the Haitian people to strengthen the rule of law and the security sector, expand human security, extend economic development, deepen good governance and reinforce the stability required for the eventual drawdown of peacekeeping forces. The United States therefore firmly backs the Secretary-General’s recommendation that MINUSTAH’s mandate be extended for another year, including the adjustments he proposes to its force configuration. We remain optimistic about the advances that have been made to the consolidation plan over the past year and we remain committed both to the Mission and to Haiti itself. We urge our partners again to maintain their own commitments and to deepen our common efforts to stabilize the country. As the Secretary-General rightly notes, the Haitian people have the primary responsibility for their own country’s future and fortunes. But the continued engagement of the wider international community is essential if we are to seize this historic opportunity for progress and bring a brighter future to Haiti. Finally, on behalf of the United States, let me again convey my appreciation to the Special Representative and let me again salute the men and women of MINUSTAH for their bravery and dedication under the admirable leadership of Brazil and with the steady support of all of the troop- and police- contributing countries. Haiti is our neighbour and friend. We look forward to working together as a team with Haiti at the helm to produce results that will better the lives of the people of Haiti and to spur on progress that will endure. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. I give the floor to the representative of Guatemala.

At the outset, allow me to congratulate you, Madam, on your initiative to hold an open debate to discuss the question of Haiti, in anticipation of the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). I also wish to thank the Secretary- General for the presentation of his report (S/2009/439) on recent developments in the field and for his valuable recommendations to Member States. I am also grateful for the statements of Prime Minister Pierre-Louis, Special Envoy William Clinton and Special Representative Hédi Annabi. It is my pleasure to inform the Council that, this past July, Guatemala sent its eighth contingent of military police to MINUSTAH, thereby renewing its commitment to contributing to the Mission and to supporting the Haitian Government. The deployment of the contingent was accompanied by Mr. Rafael Espada, Vice President of Guatemala, who had the honour of meeting with President René Préval to convey our message of solidarity and best wishes. We welcome the holding of the senatorial elections in Haiti in April and June, which provided an opportunity to improve stability in Haiti in the future. At the same time, we pay tribute to the international community for continuing to support the strenuous, coordinated and generous efforts towards long-term cooperation, which involve far more than ending the violence. I would like to make the following observations on the renewal of MINUSTAH’s mandate. First, I reiterate my country’s support for the renewal of the mandate for another year, as recommended by the Secretary-General. Identifying the right moment to draw down a peacekeeping operation is always difficult. In the case of Haiti, on the basis of our own observations and the contents of the report of the Secretary-General, that time has clearly not yet arrived. We wish to highlight the observation in the report confirming that, if we are to avoid setbacks, the maintenance of a substantial international military and police presence on the ground, at a level similar to that currently deployed, remains essential. We consider that the military presence remains indispensable, as demonstrated by the type of support that the Mission provides in matters of security, emergencies and disasters, civil unrest, elections, infrastructure and border protection. Over the past year, the military presence has proved to be best equipped and most able to meet such needs. Secondly, the political stabilization of Haiti cannot be achieved through a military and police presence alone. Coordination among donors, regional organizations, agencies, programmes and civil society to support the Government in establishing a secure and stable environment is a crucial element if we are to derive the maximum benefit from all work being carried out in the field. In all those respects, we believe that the Economic and Social Council’s Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti is an important body that has helped to strengthen the link between the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. It also provides a practical forum through which the United Nations and the international financial institutions have broadened their cooperation on behalf of Haiti. That brings me to my third point. Guatemala has experienced first hand the socio-economic challenges that violence and a lack of security pose to development. Consolidating State institutions makes it possible to promote sustainable development processes. We encourage the prioritization of thorough socio-economic reform and the strengthening of institutions responsible for the administration of justice. Never before have we had so many tools and opportunities to address the security and development of Haiti jointly and in a complementary manner. We are confident that significant progress will be made that will speed up the transfer of functions and responsibilities to Haitians themselves. Finally, we note with some concern paragraph 82 of the report, which indicates the amounts owed to countries contributing troops and police to MINUSTAH. Guatemala recognizes that MINUSTAH is working tirelessly to carry out its mandate of consolidating stability in the country. However, that will be possible only if the resources necessary to do so are available. That requires up-to-date and timely reimbursements for expenses and contingent-owned equipment. In short, the United Nations presence in Haiti has made a crucial difference to the country. We are confident that the day is approaching when that presence will no longer be necessary and Haitians will assume responsibility for their own future. For now, however, we need to persist in our endeavour for the good of the country and of the United Nations itself.

I now call on the representative of Uruguay.

The delegation of Uruguay wishes at the outset to sincerely congratulate you, Madam President, and your team on having assumed the presidency of the Security Council for the month of September. On behalf of the Group of Friends of Haiti, my delegation also wishes to congratulate the delegation of the United States on having taken the initiative to organize this timely public debate on the situation in Haiti and the work being done by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). In particular, I wish to thank Mr. William Clinton, United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti; Mr. Hédi Annabi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General; and Mrs. Pierre-Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti, for their participation in this debate. I also thank the delegation of Brazil for having kindly allowed me to make this statement on its behalf. Before sharing with the Security Council a number of opinions and observations of the Group of Friends of Haiti regarding the issue before us, I should like to reaffirm once again our Group’s full commitment to and support for the Haitian Government and people in rebuilding the country, consolidating peace and stability and promoting recovery and sustainable development. As coordinator of the Group of Friends of Haiti, I should like to express our firm support for MINUSTAH and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in their efforts to improve the stability and governance of Haiti. The most recent report of the Secretary-General on this subject, dated 1 September 2009 (S/2009/439), emphasizes the progress made in the implementation of the Mission’s mandate in conformity with Security Council resolution 1840 (2008) and previous Council resolutions. The Group of Friends of Haiti welcomes with satisfaction the progress made in four of the five areas considered fundamental to consolidating the stability of Haiti: political dialogue; the extension of State authority, including border management; and the strengthening of security, the rule of law and human rights. We also recognize the strong commitment of a group of Latin American countries that are pooling their resources to assist in the training of the Haitian National Police. The Group of Friends of Haiti stresses the growing political cooperation that is facilitating progress in a number of areas, such as the recent senatorial elections, the adoption of key legislation and the establishment of an inclusive dialogue on various fundamental issues facing the country, based on the work carried out by a number of presidential commissions. The Group of Friends of Haiti expresses its concern over the grave socio-economic situation, which remains a direct threat to the country’s stability. As the Secretary-General’s most recent report shows, the daily living conditions of the majority of the Haitian population are still characterized by hardship and privation. Haiti has also continued to grapple with food insecurity, extreme poverty and a fragile humanitarian situation. With regard to the development challenges that Haiti continues to face, the Group of Friends of Haiti wishes to emphasize the great importance of the appointment of former United States President Mr. William Clinton as Special Envoy for Haiti. Our Group is convinced that the new Special Envoy will help to advance the country’s social and economic recovery efforts by focusing attention on the importance of new partnerships and efforts with the private sector, civil society and donors, as well as on the strengthening of local capacity. The Group noted that the last visit undertaken by former President Clinton and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to Haiti helped to identify better ways for developing the country’s economy, energy supply, food security, private sector, ecology and health care. The Group of Friends of Haiti shares the view of the Secretary-General that there is a link between development and stable security, since the current levels of poverty, deprivation and suffering in the country are clearly incompatible with its long-term stability. It is therefore urgent that the Haitian authorities and the international community work closely together to facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid and recovery tasks and lay the foundations of renewed private sector activity in the interests of achieving the country’s long-term reconstruction and development. The Group of Friends of Haiti has taken note of the report of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group of the Economic and Social Council (E/2009/105), in which it recommends ways to explore the enhanced use of MINUSTAH engineers for greater synergy between the mandate of the Mission and the country’s development needs. The Group welcomes this idea and encourages the Council to consider it. Lastly, the Group of Friends of Haiti, highlights and agrees with the recommendation made by the Secretary-General in his most recent report on the need to extend MINUSTAH’s mandate for an additional year and to adjust its military and police components to enable the Mission to operate effectively in the current environment. In the next few days, the Group will submit a new draft resolution for consideration by the Security Council.

I give the floor to the representative of Sweden.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union (EU). In addition, Turkey, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine and Armenia align themselves with this statement. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere. While security and stability have improved significantly since the deployment of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in 2004, we remain concerned that the people of Haiti continue to face serious challenges in the area of socio-economic development. High levels of unemployment, increasing costs of living, and the lack of access to basic services are serious risk factors for stability and could undermine the progress achieved over the past years. Therefore, with great satisfaction we welcome Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s appointment of President Bill Clinton as the United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti in an effort to refocus international attention on the country’s deep economic problems and environmental decay. The priorities laid out by the Haitian Government at the donors conference in Washington, D.C., last April represent a challenging road map. We remain committed to our pledges made at that conference and welcome the Secretary-General’s engagement. The Special Envoy, in addition to his work in the follow-up to the donors conference, plays a crucial role in attracting private investments to Haiti. The improved security situation has turned Haiti into a more attractive destination for such investments, and the creation of urgently needed long-term job opportunities would further consolidate the achievements reached in the past years. Let me also thank Mr. Hédi Annabi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for his strong leadership of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. The focus of European Union’s efforts is shifting from support of democratic reform and rehabilitation to economic recovery and basic services. The EU indeed believes that strong socio-economic development is required to sustain and consolidate the newfound stability. Furthermore, the capacity of the State to deliver basic services needs to be enhanced. The EU cooperation strategy with Haiti for 2008 to 2013 is based on these elements. The strategy, funded with €291 million, will primarily focus on infrastructure, mainly the building of roads, as well as on governance. Efforts in the socio-economic area must go hand in hand with efforts to enhance Haiti’s institutions. To that end, the international community must ensure that its efforts to assist Haiti are based on a coherent strategy with clearly defined benchmarks. As recently pointed out by the independent United Nations expert on human rights in Haiti, the reform of the Haitian police is proceeding at a fast pace. Ongoing training and vetting constitute essential elements for the re-establishment of reliable and trustworthy security institutions. On the other hand, the justice system is still hampered by deprivation and limited resources. Ensuring access to justice for the rural poor remains a high priority. The European Union strongly welcomes the commitment of the Haitian Government to a gradual takeover of the current nationwide legal aid system set up jointly by MINUSTAH and the International Legal Assistance Consortium. Overcrowded prisons constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The financial difficulties are enormous and the Haitian Government is encountering huge problems. Nevertheless, we urge the Haitian Government to invest more in the corrections system in order to improve the sometimes life-threatening conditions of the prisoners. The European Union shares the view expressed in the Secretary-General’s report (S/2009/439) that intensified efforts must be made to review pretrial detention. National legislation that allows for the separate detention of juveniles has to be adopted. We also encourage the Security Council to consider a separate budget for corrections officers. When the Security Council reviews the mandate of MINUSTAH in October, the issue of border management control remains an area that has to be carefully monitored. Operational assistance from the international community will be critical to safeguard and build upon the gains that have been made. Another key area in building Haiti’s institutions is the follow-up to the partial elections held in April and June. The European Commission contributed to these efforts in the amount of €3.3 million. A number of electoral exercises lie ahead and the continued support provided by the international community in this area will be crucial. However, the Haitian people will have to take the primary responsibility for ensuring progress. Haiti benefits from a generous donor base. It is essential to improve coordination among donors to avoid duplication. Also, more could be done within the United Nations system to increase coordination. In recent years, there has been growing recognition of the need to develop political strategies for managing the transition from peacekeeping to post-conflict peacebuilding. The Secretary-General’s report outlines the challenges presented and identifies ways of addressing them. We are committed to supporting the Secretary-General in meeting these challenges. The European Union will continue to engage with Haiti and its people in the crucial period ahead.

I give the floor to the representative of Argentina.

First of all, I wish to note that my delegation associates itself with the statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of Uruguay on behalf of the Group of Friends of Haiti. I would also like to congratulate you, Madam, on assuming the presidency of the Security Council for September and to thank the United States delegation for the timely organization of this open debate on the situation in Haiti. Allow me, through you, to thank the Prime Minister of Haiti, Mrs. Pierre- Louis; the Special Envoy for Haiti, former United States President William Clinton; and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Hédi Annabi, for his very comprehensive briefing. In addition, I take this opportunity to reaffirm the importance of frequent open meetings of the Security Council to allow all Member States to express their opinions and to interact with the members of this body. The question of Haiti is of fundamental importance to Latin America in general, and to my country in particular. The fact that the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) is the first peacekeeping operation with a majority of Latin American participants, among its military contingents and in its military command, reflects that importance. The many technical cooperation programmes that Latin American countries carry out in Haiti, mainly oriented to strengthening Haitian institutions, are also a reflection of the importance of the question for the region. In this regard, allow me to recall that my country is cooperating with Haiti to strengthen the Ministry of Investment and Planning and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and in the field of food security through the PRO-HUERTA programme, which is aimed at developing community gardens. MINUSTAH has been a decisive factor in the re-establishment of stability and security in the country, assisting the Haitian people in its commitment to democracy. When MINUSTAH was first established by the Council in 2004, its main objective was to create a secure and stable environment that would allow the normal development of the political and constitutional process in Haiti. The holding of senatorial elections in April was thus a concrete example of the significant progress in the realization of the Mission’s mandate. In April, I made a statement before this Council to stress my country’s concern over the lack of progress in the social and economic development of Haiti, taking into account that without tangible improvement in the living conditions of the Haitian population, progress in the field of security and stability could be undermined. I take this opportunity to note the report of the Secretary-General (S/2009/439) and the recommendations contained therein, while regretting once again the grave economic and social situation in which the country finds itself. When we consider how things were in Haiti when MINUSTAH was established, we must acknowledge that the progress in the security situation and in the political process is promising and reminds us that we have a historic opportunity to advance in other fields. Nevertheless, in order to move forward and launch a new phase in Haiti, seizing upon the opportunity we have today, the work of this Organization and the international community must be more effective and determined. At this stage, it is important to recall that the purpose of our presence in Haiti is to work to ensure that the Haitian Government assumes its responsibilities, thereby making the presence of the United Nations no longer necessary. We understand the importance of learning the lessons of the past and of avoiding a hasty withdrawal from Haiti, as demonstrated by our continued support for MINUSTAH through the provision of military and police officers. Nevertheless, we believe that the action of the international community in Haiti cannot and must not consist merely in the presence of MINUSTAH in its current configuration. We understand that it is necessary to adapt the composition of MINUSTAH to the situation on the ground. There is an urgent need to move ahead in strengthening the institutional capacities of the country and in improving the coordination of international cooperation in order to align it with the priorities set by the Haitian Government and enhance its efficacy and visibility. The United Nations has a fundamental role to play in that regard. I cannot conclude without stressing one of the main conclusions of the most recent report of the Secretary-General on Haiti, which highlights that, “[f]ive years into the stabilization process, there is substantial reason to believe that Haiti is moving away from a past of conflict, towards a brighter future of peaceful development” (S/2009/439, para. 83). Given this unprecedented opportunity, it is essential to ensure the continued commitment of the international community in support of the security and State institutions of Haiti, as well as of its economic and social development. To that end, Argentina supports the extension of the mandate of MINUSTAH for an additional year and will work actively within the Group of Friends of Haiti in the elaboration of the draft resolution in that respect.

I now give the floor to the representative of Norway.

Norway commends the United Nations and the Office of the Secretary-General for their comprehensive involvement in Haiti. Norway welcomes the appointment of President Bill Clinton as United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti. We believe that President Clinton can play a key role in mobilizing and coordinating the international community’s support to the Haitian Government in consolidating peace. Norway was the first country to give financial support to the Office of the Special Envoy, and we look forward to receiving updates in the weeks and months to come. Norway has also supported capacity-building efforts in Haiti, both within public entities and in civil society, with particular attention paid to gender issues and the political participation of women. We have cooperated closely with United Nations agencies and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), and will continue this dialogue. In addition, we have supported direct initiatives in Haiti focusing on areas that can foster stability, such as initiatives promoting dialogue between political parties, non-governmental organizations and church communities. MINUSTAH has played a significant role in creating conditions conducive to building peace, and we commend the work of Special Representative of the Secretary-General Annabi and the women and men of MINUSTAH. However, much work remains to be done to establish incentives and a framework for economic and social development. We welcome President Clinton’s ambition to work with the private sector to increase foreign investment and thereby create more jobs and opportunities for the people of Haiti. As indicated in the Secretary-General’s report (S/2009/439), a substantial international military and police presence will be necessary for another year. The support of the international community must continue. Member States’ engagement in the larger ongoing United Nations reforms will also be crucial, as reforms are vital to ensuring effectiveness and flexibility in the field. Norway supports the Secretary-General in his planning beyond 2010 to ensure a smooth and gradual handover of the responsibilities and activities of MINUSTAH to the Haitian State apparatus. The success of a handover will depend on the quality of its planning and must be done in close coordination with the Government of Haiti, the United Nations system as a whole and other national and international partners.

I give the floor to the representative of Canada.

I would like to begin by thanking you, Madam, and your delegation for organizing this important meeting. Our also express our special appreciation to Prime Minister Pierre-Louis for joining this debate and for her outstanding leadership. I would also like to thank President Clinton, Special Envoy for Haiti, for his cogent remarks and for his dedication to Haiti. I also thank Mr. Annabi for his insightful presentation and for his excellent work in Haiti. As members of the Council know, Haiti is a top priority for Canada. During the Council’s public debate on Haiti last April (see S/PV.6101), the international community had every reason to be proud of progress achieved in Haiti since 2006, particularly in terms of security, while remaining aware of the continuing challenges. In the past few months, a series of events has provided more opportunities to build on progress achieved in Haiti. The Washington conference was a success because it generated high-level commitment and elicited a number of financial commitments. President Clinton’s appointment as Special Envoy was another turning point. Canada appreciates the way in which the Secretary-General has focused international attention on Haiti, and we applaud his decision to appoint President Clinton. But the biggest obstacle to addressing the complex problems facing Haiti and the magnitude of the work to be done is apathy, which must be overcome in order to achieve success. (spoke in French) In a context such as the one in Haiti, where everything must be done immediately, it is worthwhile to set certain priorities. First, progress has been noted in Haiti over the past few years because there was a political consensus among Haitian authorities. Given the multiple challenges the country is facing, it is essential to maintain that consensus among Haiti’s decision makers in order to work for the common good of the people. Of course, the role of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in that regard is crucial. We know that the great majority of Haitians want reform in order to develop their country and find reasons to hope. Only those who profit from instability and insecurity have an interest in maintaining the status quo. We must all remain vigilant and not be misled by individuals who seek to continue to profit from a situation that is unacceptable to the Haitian people. Maintaining the status quo will only set the stage for another crisis. Eight United Nations interventions over the past two decades should be sufficient proof of that. Secondly, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) must remain in Haiti for as long as it takes to strengthen the capacity of the country’s institutions and ensure a stable and secure environment for its citizens. Premature withdrawal would have devastating consequences and could undo everything that has been accomplished so far. MINUSTAH should be able to rely upon the appropriate resources and mandate to continue to play its role as successfully as it has to date. MINUSTAH’s work must clearly be paired with the successful reform of the Haitian National Police and reform of the judicial and correctional systems. Canada would also like to highlight how useful the indicators of progress put forth by the Secretary- General last year were when the future of MINUSTAH was being considered. With regard to the police, it will soon be time to make plans for 2011 and beyond, in collaboration with the Haitian National Police. The latest report of the Secretary-General (S/2009/439) has updated the indicators somewhat, but Canada believes that those indicators need further fine-tuning. Nevertheless, we commend the Secretary-General for having launched that process. Thirdly, the recent senatorial elections reminded us of the importance of the success of such events to the strengthening of democracy. The elections equally reminded us of the importance of strengthening parliamentary institutions. The recently established political consensus must prevail in parliament. Canada also expects that the strengthening of the parliamentary system will take place with greater emphasis on responsibility for development in Haiti and on the public interest, as the Prime Minister underscored during this debate. Canada has the honour of chairing the Economic and Social Council’s Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti. Last June, the Group released its fifth report (E/2009/105), which included some of the recommendations I have just mentioned. The Group also emphasized the need to reconcile economic growth objectives with huge gaps in basic services. We also highlighted connections between issues as varied as food security, energy, the environment, landholdings, access to credit and civil registration. Lastly, the Group wished to see better use of MINUSTAH engineers to improve the synergy between the mission’s mandate and development needs in Haiti. The international community has provided considerable assistance to Haiti, which is must increase further. While seeking to increase the number of partners countries that lend their support to Haiti, it is our responsibility to improve the effectiveness of that aid through better coordination between donors and the Government, and through an emphasis on tangible results that improve the quality of life for Haitians. A primary objective must be to strengthen the capacities and abilities of the State and, by extension, its legitimacy in the eyes of the Haitian people. Canada will continue to cooperate with Haiti, fully respecting its Constitution, culture, history and diversity. We stress the need to work with a united Haitian people and with national authorities that are politically inclusive and convinced of the need to move forward together democratically towards true political, economic and social development. The progress achieved in certain areas is encouraging for the future. Setbacks due to hurricanes and political instability in 2008 may make the scope of the work to be done seem daunting. However, the international community has no alternative but to move forward on the question of Haiti. In conclusion, that is why, despite the extent of the challenges, Canada remains clearheaded and confident and determined to continue to contribute to Haiti’s development.

I now give the floor to the representative of Peru.

Peru would like to associate itself with the statement delivered by the representative of Uruguay on behalf of the Group of Friends of Haiti. We also welcome the President’s decision to hold this open debate on the situation in Haiti, as this issue will soon be the focus of attention when a discussion is held on the desirability of renewing the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). I should also like to welcome Mrs. Michèle Duvivier Pierre- Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti, and to thank her for her briefing on the situation in her country. I welcome the positive briefing of President William Clinton, Special Envoy for Haiti. I would also like to thank Mr. Hédi Annabi, Special Representative of the Secretary- General, for his detailed briefing on the progress made in Haiti. Also under your presidency, Madam, there was an opportunity, last Friday, 4 September, for an exchange of views with police- and troop-contributing countries on the item before the Council today. What is clear is that, although the situation in Haiti has obviously improved, its stability and level of security is still weak. That is why, as recommended by the Secretary- General in his report (S/2009/439), it is essential that the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) be renewed. Peru is firmly committed to making its contribution to this goal. The representative of Uruguay has already detailed the plans and proposals that we wish to contribute to this matter. I would like, however, to stress two points that are of crucial importance to making a decisive contribution to the consolidation of stability and development in Haiti. First, in order to deal with the grave social and economic situation, as discussed in the Secretary-General’s report, we must see greater interaction between the public and private sectors in Haiti. This would strengthen the implementation of the necessary reforms in the various institutional areas and would also reinforce the plan for peacebuilding that has been established. All of this requires a strategic alliance between both sectors, which will help strengthen the capacity of the Haitian State, a fundamental goal that will eventually bring stability and security to this beloved Caribbean nation. Secondly, I would like to reiterate, because it is so relevant, the need for us to bear in mind the recommendation made by the Ad Hoc Advisory Group for Haiti of the Economic and Social Council, just referred to by the distinguished Ambassador of Canada, namely, that we should look into how we can make better use of the engineers of MINUSTAH in order to create greater synergy between the mandate of the Mission and the development needs of Haiti. We are convinced that with the very important contribution of the Special Envoy for Haiti, President William Clinton, and with the active and sustained participation of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Hédi Annabi, and the contribution of MINUSTAH and in particular the countries of the region, we can continue the work that has been done to date. This will help the people and Government of Haiti face with decisiveness, energy and a healthy optimism the challenges they must deal with in achieving sustainable development in their country. Here I would like to reiterate the unwavering commitment of Peru to contributing towards the stabilization and development of Haiti.

I give the floor to the representative of Cuba.

For Cuba, Haiti is more than just our closest neighbour, barely 45 miles from our shores. The Haitian revolution, which sheltered and encouraged several revolutionary groups from our continent during crucial times of the Latin American struggle against colonial domination, has also had a special influence on the fate and formation of the Cuban nation. This is why Cuba particularly welcomes the presence among us today of the distinguished Prime Minister of Haiti, Her Excellency Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis. Unfortunately, Haiti, cradle of the liberation struggles against colonialism in the American continent and the first independent republic in Latin America and the Caribbean, has been for many years, and continues to be, a country neglected by the international community. Haiti is one of the clearest examples of the disastrous consequences of colonialism and neocolonialism, of the unjust and exclusionary international order, and of the continued interventionism characterizing its turbulent history. When the situation in Haiti in addressed in the framework of the United Nations, the focus is almost always on the so-called security issues, while, despite all the rhetoric, the necessary urgent attention to the serious structural, economic and social problems that the country suffers from is minimized for all practical purposes. Lasting peace, security and stability in this nation demand, first of all, that we eliminate poverty and underdevelopment. There can be no peace and stability without development. There can be no peace and lasting stability when over 70 per cent of the population lives in poverty. Half of the labour force is unemployed. Life expectancy is under 52 years old. Illiteracy affects 48 of every 100 inhabitants, and almost half the population is malnourished and has no access to drinking water. Last year, Haiti suffered a new, devastating setback caused by four successive hurricanes and tropical storms that lashed the country. The death toll was immense, and the damage to the infrastructure and economy is the most serious that Haiti has faced since the beginning of the twenty-first century. To all this, we must add the negative impact of the current global, economic and financial crisis. Haiti can only move forward towards a future of prosperity if it has the sustained and firm support of the international community. There can be no doubt that since the establishment of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in 2004, security on the ground has improved. However, the actions of the international community cannot be limited to the presence of MINUSTAH. There has not been, and there cannot be, a military solution to the situation in Haiti. Being a small country under blockade with very limited resources, Cuba maintains and increases its cooperation with its Caribbean sister nation mainly in the health sector, but in other areas as well, such as energy, education and sports. Cuban cooperation teams are working throughout Haiti in the most remote places. Of the 400 such workers, 336 of them in the area of health, working in 134 different communities around the country. Since Cuban cooperation with Haiti began, in 1998, Cuban doctors have provided almost 14.5 million consultations; they have saved the lives of 232,000 patients and have performed more than 110,400 deliveries and 250,000 surgical operations. Cuba has trained 544 Haitian doctors, and 670 Haitian scholarship holders are studying health specialties in Cuba today, totally free of charge. More than 800 Haitian youths have graduated from Cuban schools as professionals. In the framework of Operation Miracle, the cooperative programme developed by Cuba and Venezuela to provide free care to patients in various countries suffering from eye problems, more than 42,000 Haitian patients have undergone surgery, many of them in two ophthalmology centres and three surgery clinics donated by Cuba. The implementation of the Cuban literacy programme “Yes, I Can”, has to date provided 4,500 illiterate Haitians with the opportunity to learn to read and write. What Cuba is doing today for Haiti is only a modest example of how much more could be achieved through international cooperation and assistance, especially by those States with greater economic and financial resources than ours. The resources that Haiti can marshal to face these multiple challenges are very limited. The massive contribution of the international community, as well as an increase in its assistance and fulfilment of its financial and human commitments to Haiti, is an unavoidable duty. I would like to conclude by reiterating that Haiti can always count on the assistance of and on bonds of solidarity with the people and Government of Cuba. In this, we are simply fulfilling our duty and honouring our debt of gratitude to a sister nation that has always proved its firm and unvarying friendship and solidarity with Cuba.

I now give the floor to the representative of Colombia.

Allow me at the outset to congratulate you, Madam, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month and on the initiatives that the delegation of the United States has proposed for the programme of work for this period. In particular, the holding of this open debate on the question concerning Haiti gives us the opportunity to discuss points of view with regard to the upcoming renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). I would also like to thank former President Bill Clinton, the United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, for his informative briefing. His indisputable leadership contributes to revitalizing international commitment and support so that Haiti can successfully tackle the challenges that it faces. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Prime Minister of Haiti, Mrs. Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, and to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti, Mr. Hédi Annabi. The latest report of the Secretary-General (S/2009/439) on MINUSTAH recounts the achievements of the past five years. However, it also reminds us of the fragility of the progress if the commitment and joint action of the leaders and the people of Haiti, the United Nations and the international community are not sustained. My country wishes to underscore the importance of those efforts being guided by a comprehensive vision that seeks to improve the economic and social conditions in Haiti and fosters development and institution-building. In that endeavour, we believe that it is vital to restore an environment of security that guarantees lasting stability. That is why Colombia focuses its cooperation initiatives with Haiti within the broader context of its assistance for the development of the wider Caribbean region. At the same time, it supplements those efforts with timely bilateral and regional initiatives. Within the technical cooperation initiatives with the wider Caribbean, we have had the opportunity to support Haiti in three areas essential to its economic development: food security, work-oriented education and disaster prevention. In addition, through inter-institutional initiatives and with other donors, we have given support in the environmental field through initiatives of solid residue treatment and hydrographic basin management. In MINUSTAH, we have contributed to institutional capacity-building initiatives by increasing the number of police experts in the fight against kidnapping and the global drug problem, and in training for the police and the judicial police. We have gone from contributing two officers in 2006 to 27 officers in the current year. I would like also to highlight the information provided by the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Edmond Mulet, at a recent meeting with the troop-contributing countries in Haiti, in which he underscored the success of MINUSTAH’s anti-kidnapping efforts. The decrease from some 30 kidnappings a month in the first six months of 2008 to less than eight per month in the same period of 2009 is a promising development. My country knows the value of those outcomes. Consequently, we will continue to expand our contribution to MINUSTAH and to work jointly with the other countries of the region that support the mission’s work. In the spirit of finding comprehensive and effective solutions, my country is participating in two cases of coordination with Latin American countries: the Coordination Group for Latin American Cooperation with the Haitian National Police and the 2x9 mechanism, comprising the Deputy Ministers for Defence and for Foreign Affairs of countries in the region. We find the contribution of those mechanisms to be of great value and will continue to support their work. Also in the area of security, the Ministry of National Defence of Colombia and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security of Haiti have signed a memorandum of understanding in order to strengthen bilateral cooperation in tackling the challenges of transnational organized crime, the illicit trade in drugs and psychotropic substances, kidnapping and extortion, through training activities, equipment donation and institutional capacity-building. Under that agreement, a high-level Colombian National Police mission was deployed in Haiti from June 2009 for a period of 60 days to advise Haitian police personnel on strategic planning and institution- building, as well as on the capabilities needed to address the security challenges. In addition, police support equipment will be delivered, and training programmes on human rights and the handling of equipment provided by Colombia will take place. Colombia acknowledges the importance attached, in considering the renewal of MINUSTAH’s mandate, to efforts to strengthen the fight against illicit drug trafficking, in particular with regard to resources for land and maritime interdiction. That is essential in the context of a comprehensive strategy aimed at institution-building. My country will continue to provide support to MINUSTAH in the field of security and reaffirms its readiness to offer its experience and the expertise of its officials in training the specialized anti-narcotics teams of the Haitian National Police. Lastly, I would like to highlight the importance of the efforts to preserve the progress made in developing the capacities of the Haitian National Police. The principal security challenges that Haiti faces are of a civilian nature and need a police approach. In particular, it is very important, with regard to initiatives such as the one described by the Secretary- General in paragraph 37 of his report, that alternatives be explored to avoid reducing material and human resources in the ongoing reform of the Haitian National Police.

I now give the floor to the representative of Chile.

At the outset, Madam, I should like to congratulate your country on its assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of September, and also to thank you for having convened this open debate on the situation in Haiti. Chile associates itself with the statement made by the Permanent Representative of Uruguay on behalf of the Group of Friends of Haiti and reiterates its commitment to the process of stabilization and peacebuilding in that country. From the start of the crisis in February 2004, Chile joined the efforts of the international community to continue supporting that sister Caribbean nation, as part of the Multinational Interim Force in Haiti in an early stage, and later with an active presence in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Likewise, it has contributed to Haiti’s development through bilateral cooperation, supporting the generation of national capacities in those less developed areas where Chile is strong. This year marks five years of MINUSTAH’s presence in that Caribbean nation. In that regard, we would like in particular to underscore Latin America’s ongoing commitment to the future of Haiti. The countries of the region have sought to harmonize consistent and sustainable strategies to optimize our support both in the peacekeeping mission and in training and cooperation programmes with the Haitian National Police. We are pleased to see that the security situation in Haiti is stable, and we welcome MINUSTAH’s efforts in that regard. However, the fragility of the achievements in that field concerns us, principally owing to how little progress has been made on social and economic development. We believe that the link between security and development is fundamental to any effort to achieve sustainable peace. Chile supports and welcomes the appointment of former President William Clinton as United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti. He will help the Government and the people of Haiti in their endeavours to create jobs, improve infrastructure, provide basic services, enhance disaster readiness and recovery, ensure private sector investment and attain increased international support. We would like to thank former President Clinton for his briefing at this debate. We are optimistic about his mission’s prospects for success. Given that peacebuilding efforts require high levels of coordination between all stakeholders, we believe it would be worthwhile to consider the participation of experts from Latin America and the Caribbean, alongside those from Haiti itself, as part of the Special Envoy’s technical teams. We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our support for the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Special Representative Hédi Annabi on behalf of Haiti. We also appreciate the presence and statement of Her Excellency Mrs. Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti. In conclusion, I should like to reiterate Chile’s readiness to continue to cooperate with Haitian authorities and the international community in the search for lasting peace in Haiti, while fully observing and promoting human rights, strengthening the rule of law and democracy and making real progress in raising the level of development of its people.

I now give the floor to the representative of the Dominican Republic.

Although I have received a five-page statement from my capital, in the interests of time I shall read out a condensed version. I would like to thank you, Madam President, and your entire delegation for having organized this important meeting. On behalf of the Government and people of my country, I should also like to thank President Bill Clinton, Special Envoy of the Secretary- General for Haiti, as well as Mr. Hédi Annabi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti, for their informative briefings today and for their continuing work on behalf of the Republic of Haiti. The Dominican Republic commends the efforts of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to address and resolve the numerous needs of the Haitian people. We also acknowledge the presence of Mrs. Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti, from whose wise comments this afternoon all of us have benefited. We welcome the holding of an important donors conference last April in Washington, during which commitments in the amount of an additional $350 million in assistance were pledged to Haiti. More recently, international financial institutions cancelled $1.2 billion of Haiti’s multilateral debt. Similarly, the countries of the Paris Club cancelled $214.7 million of the country’s bilateral debt. The Dominican Republic, through both President Leonel Fernández Reyna and Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso, has strongly called for both of those steps to be taken. It is now urgent that the pledges of financial assistance be given effect and that they have a direct impact upon the resumption of growth, the creation of jobs, the establishment of infrastructure, the provision of social services and, given Haiti’s precarious natural environment, its capacity to feed itself and develop peacefully. The Dominican Republic is also a poor country. As Haiti’s neighbour on the Island of Hispaniola, we too must confront the devastating natural events that periodically beset us, in addition to the challenges posed to social cohesion by an international economic and financial crisis that has triggered a decrease in our exports and a slowdown in tourism. The Dominican Republic is therefore prepared to join our colleagues in the Haitian Government in the framework of the Haiti- Dominican Republic Joint Commission. The Dominican Republic’s teams were formed long ago. Their agendas include numerous initiatives that must now be finalized with our Haitian brothers. In that connection, I should like to add that we are more than willing to jointly implement and make the best use of the economic association agreement that we negotiated with the European Union, which Haiti has yet to sign. In that connection, we would like to thank the Secretary-General for emphasizing the importance of the Joint Commission in his report (S/2009/439), as well as for his objectivity in addressing the regrettable events that occurred recently. Haiti alone is the master of its future. Nevertheless, no member of the international community can be indifferent to its enormous urgent needs. The Dominican Republic believes that the international community’s generosity towards Haiti is, and will always be, absolutely essential. In recent statements, Haitian Senator Rudolph Henry Boulos expressed important views as to my country’s role, which I would very briefly like to refer to here. In Senator Henry Boulos’s opinion, about 350,000 Haitian labourers work in the construction industry in the Dominican Republic, with another 300,000 working in agriculture and 3,000 others in specialized tourism activities. Moreover, according to his own estimates, a large part of Haiti’s middle class resides in the Dominican Republic, providing a flow of remittances to a significant part of the Haitian population. If we combine that with the thousands of Haitians who are currently studying in Dominican universities and who receive official tuition and transportation assistance and if we also take into consideration the huge numbers of Haitians in our schools and hospitals, we would then have a more accurate picture of the Dominican Republic’s contribution to Haiti. We share the Secretary-General’s vision for Haiti. In that connection, the Dominican Republic supports the idea that the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti should, in addition to the functions established in Security Council resolutions, continue to patrol on the Haitian side of the border area, so as to strengthen security and effectively combat the trafficking in weapons and drugs, as well as other associated crimes. Haiti continues to face significant and unavoidable challenges. Although our geographic reality requires mutual cooperation and solidarity, none of our joint efforts will be enough unless we have the generous and effective support of the international community.

I now give the floor to the representative of Brazil.

I first wish to congratulate the United States on its assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of September. I also commend your delegation, Madam President, for holding this open debate well in advance of the scheduled renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). This meeting provides an opportunity for the wider membership to express its views to the Council in a timely manner. I warmly welcome Prime Minister Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis to the Council today. Her outstanding leadership has certainly contributed to the recent success in Haiti. I thank her for her statement. I am also pleased to welcome President Clinton among us today. His appointment as the United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti attests to the importance that the Secretary-General attaches to that country. Mr. Clinton’s generous decision to put his remarkable prestige, leadership and experience in the service of the Haitian people is truly commendable. I would also like to thank Special Representative of the Secretary-General Hédi Annabi for his informative briefing. Brazil would like to associate itself with the comments made by the representative of Uruguay on behalf of the Group of Friends of Haiti. Brazil welcomes the recent positive developments in Haiti, as highlighted by the Secretary- General in his latest report (S/2009/439). The holding of elections for the Senate, the achievements in the consideration of the legislative agenda, the enhanced dialogue on the main national questions through presidential commissions and the gradual strengthening of domestic institutions are all encouraging indicators. Also noteworthy are the domestic macroeconomic stability and the positive forecast for economic growth in 2009. The cancellation of Haiti’s bilateral and multilateral debt is yet another positive indication of progress. Last but not least, the personal involvement of former President Clinton will certainly contribute to keeping Haiti high on the international agenda. All of this allows for the cautious optimism that many, including the Secretary-General, have expressed with regard to Haiti. There is a feeling that a priceless window of opportunity has been opened and conditions seem ripe for the country to consolidate the gains achieved in recent years and lay the foundation for long-term development. For this positive scenario to become reality, the Haitian authorities and the international community must renew and improve their partnership. The political and economic leadership of Haiti must show practical commitment to the well-being of the people. This implies delivering a modicum of public services to all Haitians and, just as important, putting aside differences in order to agree on and implement the constitutional and other reforms that will ensure adequate governance in the years to come. For its part, the international community must improve the quality and quantity of its assistance to Haiti. Increased coordination among donors and full alignment of their aid with Haiti's national priorities are indispensable. It is also vital that the prompt and full disbursement of pledges made in April at the Washington donors conference be guaranteed. Such partnership is particularly relevant in addressing what the Secretary-General describes in his report as the most acute problem in Haiti's human rights landscape: the lack of progress in the realization of economic, social and cultural rights of the people. We all know that the progress achieved in the area of security is not enough to ensure the country's stability. The key to the sustainability of our common peacekeeping and stabilization efforts is employment generation. Peace will thrive only once poverty and deprivation are substantially reduced. It is imperative to address the current infrastructure bottlenecks, attract private investment and generate new jobs. We are confident that President Clinton will contribute to disseminating this vision and encourage the fulfilment of the pledges that will make available the resources needed by the country. Brazil very much praises the excellent work of MINUSTAH, in particular its role in maintaining stability throughout the country and supporting the Government's efforts to build institutional capacity. The latter task is of crucial importance. Without capacity-building, our collective and individual political and financial investment in Haiti will be lost and United Nations success short-lived. This is especially true in the case of the Haitian National Police. Every effort must continue to be made to ensure that Haiti can soon rely on security forces capable of operating in a professional and autonomous manner. The quick-impact projects executed by MINUSTAH have proven increasingly important for the lives of many Haitians. As recommended in the most recent report of the Economic and Social Council’s Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti (E/2009/105), it would be important to envision possibilities for greater synergy between the mandate of the mission and the development needs of Haiti. In the light of the foregoing, Brazil welcomes the Secretary-General’s recommendation to extend the mandate of MINUSTAH for one year. We have consistently indicated that Brazilian forces are ready to stay in Haiti for as long as the Haitian Government and the Security Council deem necessary. We also support the proposed reconfiguration of the security forces of the mission. The changes actually mirror positive developments on the ground, while maintaining the same overall size of the contingent, which is the correct approach to take given the still- fragile security situation.

I now give the floor to the representative of Spain.

I am grateful for the opportunity given to my delegation to participate in this open debate, which enables me to reaffirm Spain’s commitment to the people and the Government of Haiti in their ongoing efforts to build stability — a necessary condition for development. I take this opportunity to congratulate former President Clinton on his recent nomination as Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Haiti and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), Mr. Hédi Annabi, and to express to them the full support of the Spanish Government. I also welcome the presence among us for this debate of Mrs. Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti. My delegation endorses the statement made earlier by the representative of Sweden on behalf of the European Union. We share the view that it is necessary to continue to help Haiti to become a viable State able to stand on its own and Spain is working hard towards that goal bilaterally and multilaterally. For example, Spain has become the fifth largest bilateral donor, with an annual contribution of some €20 million, as well as the third largest donor at last April’s Washington donors conference, with a contribution of $37 million. I should recall that Spain also actively participates by providing 44 police officers to MINUSTAH’s police component. As a member of the European Union, together with France, Spain is providing the largest number of police officers to that component. Spain is also a member of the Economic and Social Council’s Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti. Although we know that the international community must continue to support Haiti, we feel that its support should not be limited exclusively to official development assistance, as important as that may be. For that reason, we are convinced that we need to complement official development assistance by promoting employment generation through investment, in particular through private initiatives, as highlighted in the report of Professor Paul Collier. In that respect, the international trade mission of private investors, which will visit Haiti in October led by the Special Envoy, is particularly important. Spain very much agrees with the decision of the Secretary-General to appoint former President Clinton as Special Envoy for Haiti. He is a person with a comprehensive vision of the country’s needs, and he has shown his ability to act on both political and socio-economic issues. Also, his work within the United Nations will enable him to promote consensus within the international community. The process of institutionalization in Haiti is essential for progress and for strengthening the country. Pursuit of that goal must continue through democratization of State bodies and by rationalizing its institutions and making them more effective. Here, we believe that the ongoing constitutional reform should be supported by the holding of elections at the end of the year. Once again, Spain is ready to provide its support for these. As part of the institutionalization process in Haiti, Spain thinks that necessary efforts must continue towards establishing a State based on the rule of law worthy of the name. In that respect, it is essential to prioritize the reinforcement and improvement of the judicial and penal systems through close cooperation between the Haitian authorities and the United Nations. We express our support for the gradual reconfiguration of MINUSTAH’s dual military and police component, as recommended by the Secretary- General in his report (S/2009/439) dated 1 September 2009. I am referring to a reduction of 120 troops within the military component, given the unlikelihood of new large-scale security operations and the need to strengthen rapid-deployment and monitoring capacities in remote areas, including land and maritime borders. Such a step would allow for an increase of 120 officers in the police component, given the need to continue to support the Haitian National Police in its efforts to ensure public safety. I reiterate the importance that my country attaches to the reform of the Haitian National Police with a view to ensuring the country’s sustainable stability. In that regard, Spain welcomes the recommendation in the report of the Presidential Commission on Public Security, issued on 6 August 2009, to establish an additional security force with a paramilitary status that would be comprised of between 4,000 and 5,000 members to ensure border and rural security, provide protection from natural disasters and environmental degradation, and combat illicit trafficking. In conclusion, along with the European Union, Spain supports the Secretary-General’s recommendation that the Security Council extend MINUSTAH’s mandate for an additional 12 months, until 15 October 2010.

I now give the floor to the representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela appreciates the initiative of the Security Council to consider the situation in Haiti for the second time this year. This is a very important issue for our country, given the historic and geographic ties that have bound us to the Haitian people since our establishment as a sovereign republic. We have shared in fraternal solidarity the experience of emancipation. The rise to independence and sovereignty is a process both relevant and key to understanding current developments on our continent today, which reaffirm the emancipation of our peoples and our political, economic and cultural liberation against a backdrop of social equality and justice. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s report (S/2009/439) sets out the need to fully overcome Haiti’s problems. By and large, Haiti’s circumstances are a reflection of poverty, social inequality and the interference of foreign Powers that destabilizes countries. The Secretary-General has proclaimed the need to renew the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and has asserted that the country’s institutions remain fragile. Venezuela believes that cooperative efforts and multilateral actions should contribute to strengthening democracy and political, economic and social progress in Haiti. It is crucial to take account of the opinions of the people and Government of Haiti, who should exercise their sovereignty in establishing the nature of cooperation with their country. We welcome General Assembly resolution 63/294 of 30 June 2009, which emphasizes the need to hire Haitian staff wherever possible, with a view to replacing foreign officials and staff. At this meeting, we have heard a statement from former United States President William Jefferson Clinton, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Haiti. In his briefing, he set out the initiatives and programmes he intends to carry out. We acknowledge his concern about the difficult conditions in that brotherly Caribbean country. We appreciate former President Clinton’s acknowledgement of the contribution to Haiti’s development being made by Venezuela and the sisterly Republic of Cuba. Indeed, the Bolivarian Government has, in a spirit of solidarity, undertaken assistance efforts on behalf of the Government and people of Haiti. Haiti’s participation in our PetroCaribe energy cooperation initiative has contributed to reducing that country’s economic difficulties. In addition, our country has set up electrical power stations that provide service to up to 30 per cent of Haiti’s population. That cooperation contributes to the provision of such public services as schools and hospitals. Together with the sisterly Republic of Cuba, we are also carrying out Operation Miracle. That cooperation programme provides patients from various countries with free care for eye conditions. As of February 2009, surgical procedures had been performed on more than 40,000 Haitian patients. Venezuela has also generously welcomed the Haitian diaspora. Our university classrooms host hundreds of young Haitians who will lend their knowledge to the comprehensive development of their country. Haitian President René Préval has emphasized the need for MINUSTAH to reinvent itself. That is truly a challenge. Cooperation should seek to address the urgent problems of that sisterly country without undermining its sovereignty or imposing conditions that could perpetuate the political and social catastrophes of its past. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reiterates its commitment to the Haitian people and its support for the Government led by René Préval. I should like to conclude my statement by quoting the very beautiful words spoken today by Prime Minister Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, which we fully support: “Haiti can once again, as it has already done in the past, reach a moment of epiphany that will set it firmly on the course of progress and modernity”.

I now give the floor to the representative of Jamaica.

It is my distinct honour to speak on behalf of the 14 States members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which means that I am speaking for Haiti twice. We welcome this opportunity to again assess recent developments in our sister Caribbean member State. At the outset, may I convey, on behalf of CARICOM member States, our sincere congratulations to you, Madam President, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council. I ask that you convey our appreciation to Permanent Representative Ambassador Susan Rice. May I also say how pleased we were earlier this afternoon to listen to the statements made by the Prime Minister of Haiti, whose words were very touching and emotional, and President Bill Clinton, Special Envoy for Haiti. CARICOM naturally and easily aligns itself with the statements made by those two leaders. Like any closely-knit family, we in CARICOM continue to be concerned about any situation that negatively affects any one of us. The natural affinity we have in common goes far beyond being neighbours who share the same hemispheric space or common bodies of water. Undoubtedly, we face similar challenges, although perhaps at different magnitudes, and so our participation in this debate here today comes not just as a matter of duty but out of a common desire to see Haiti return to the path of sustainable stability and security, thereby enhancing the prospects for the economic growth and prosperity of its citizens, as I believe all of us around this table have already emphasized. CARICOM naturally welcomes the Secretary- General’s report, as contained in document S/2009/439. This latest report provides an overall assessment of the current situation and, from our vantage point, there are encouraging developments despite the serious setbacks that we described in our presentation to this body in April (see S/PV.6101) and those described in the Secretary-General’s report. While the situation remains tremendously complex, we note that, during the reporting period, there was indeed increased political cooperation in a number of very important areas, including the holding of senatorial elections, the adoption of key legislation and the pursuit of inclusive dialogue on a number of major issues facing our sister CARICOM country. These achievements were made against the backdrop of a “generally calm” security environment and hinged largely on efforts aimed at institutional support and the strengthening of the State, including capacity-building and technical assistance in crucial areas of governance, and to some extent on improving the capacity of the National Police and on the results of an overall reduction in community violence. CARICOM member States readily acknowledge that the gains identified over the reporting period, which to some may appear incremental, were not achieved overnight but are the results of the fortitude, resilience and determination of the Haitian people to rise above and, surely, beyond their circumstances. As an extension of their fortitude, resilience and determination, the international community must surely continue to extend the necessary support and assistance in providing the platform upon which the fundamental changes so crucial to Haiti’s reconstruction and socio-economic development can finally be irreversibly constructed. CARICOM member States once again wish to draw attention to the very pivotal role being played by the courageous men and women of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) on the ground in that country. That role extends practically to all spheres, including the strengthening of national and local institutional capacity and the area of human rights where, during the period under review, MINUSTAH sought to enhance its efforts to protect and promote economic, social and cultural rights and to support women’s participation in the political process, the enhancement of child protection capabilities, and the promotion of HIV/AIDS health education. CARICOM member States further welcome MINUSTAH’s ongoing collaboration with the Government of Haiti in the area of border management — an area that continues to be of significant concern to the region — through maritime, air and land patrols. It is to be candidly acknowledged that, despite the favourable assessment, the Secretary-General’s report quite rightly also expresses a note caution, acknowledging that the accomplishments remain “extremely fragile, and [are] susceptible to setbacks or reversal” (S/2009/439, para. 83). In these circumstances, CARICOM fully supports the initiatives undertaken during the period under review to consolidate the progress achieved thus far. Earlier today, we heard the statement made by former United States President Bill Clinton. We regard the recent appointment of Mr. Clinton as the United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti is a signal development in the stabilization process and one which we anticipate will galvanize additional support from the international community and raise the profile of its efforts, thereby keeping the focus on our sister Caribbean State until such time as the long-term stability and security of Haiti are achieved. As a demonstration of its commitment to the process, in July 2009 Haiti appointed Ambassador Leslie Voltaire as special envoy to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Indeed, the continued support of the international community will be crucial to the ongoing consolidation of stability. In this connection, CARICOM member States welcome and are indeed greatly encouraged by the high level of commitment shown by the country’s partners at the Washington, D.C., conference held in April and by the subsequent cancellation of the country’s debt, as has been mentioned around this table this afternoon. These are undoubtedly strong expressions of the profound confidence of the international community first and foremost in the Haitian people, the improvement of whose livelihood and development remains vital to the success of the stabilization process and beyond. Of equal importance will be the continued support of MINUSTAH and the United Nations country team in Haiti. Certainly, it will be necessary for the fledgling security apparatus to continue to benefit from their expertise. Indeed, the technical assistance offered by MINUSTAH is a vital tool in capacity-building, particularly in the key areas of governance, the development of structures for border management, the rule of law, human rights and other areas. It is within this context that CARICOM member States strongly urge the Security Council, at the appropriate time, to extend the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti for the benefit of the entire Haitian population as it continues on its quest to forge sustainable peace and economic development and recovery. Finally, CARICOM member States remain very optimistic that the Haitian leadership — as exemplified by the presence of the Prime Minister here this evening — and people will undoubtedly capitalize on the opportunity presented by the ongoing improvements in stability, and therefore call on all Haiti’s partners to remain engaged within the country and to persist in their efforts to bring about tangible changes in the daily lives of the Haitian people.

I give the floor to the representative of Ecuador.

I am very pleased to see the United States assume the presidency of the Security Council this month. I thank your country, Madam, for its excellent initiative to convene this open meeting to address the situation in Haiti, which is undoubtedly of great interest to our region. My delegation is pleased to welcome the presence of the Prime Minister of Haiti, Mrs. Pierre- Louis, and takes this opportunity to congratulate the Secretary-General on his wise appointment of former United States President Bill Clinton as United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti. With his experience and through his good offices, he will thus be able to assist the Government and the people of Haiti in their stabilization efforts, with a view to helping build a better future in that sister nation. Ecuador also thanks Mr. Hédi Annabi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and head of MINUSTAH. Ecuador’s commitment to the stabilization process in Haiti is known worldwide. Since the beginning of the humanitarian crisis in February 2004, we have been active participants in MINUSTAH, consistent with our foreign policy of providing full support during humanitarian crises and in the peaceful settlement of conflicts. It is worth noting that we contribute to peacekeeping operations not only by deploying troops: we have an integrated policy including, for example, the establishment in Ecuador of the Peace Missions School, which prepares soldiers to address problems in the areas of internally displaced persons, refugees and humanitarian disasters, as well as to resolving conflicts involving civilian. Ecuador is participating in MINUSTAH with 66 individuals, only four of them members of the military; the other 62 are volunteers, team members and civilian engineers who are contributing to road reconstruction in Haiti and helping the population in endeavours to promote socio-economic development. The latter is acknowledged to be the weakest of the five areas defined by the Secretary-General in his report of 1 September 2009 (S/2009/439). Ecuador is pleased to see the improved conditions in Haiti, in particular regarding political dialogue: Prime Minister Pierre-Louis has taken office, there have been senatorial elections, and President Préval has established presidential commissions on issues of national interest. This has bolstered the rule of law and respect for human rights in that sister country. Ecuador also appreciates the progress in extending State authority, including in the areas of border control and enhancing security. At the same time, my country is concerned at the stagnation in the levels of socio-economic development and food security in Haiti. We therefore call for due coordination among all actors involved in peacebuilding in Haiti, in line with resolution 1840 (2008). Ecuador trusts that the new United Nations Special Envoy, former United States President Bill Clinton, will help in meeting Haiti’s development challenges and in mobilizing and increasing the international support that the country so sorely needs. Ecuador takes note of the report of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti of the Economic and Social Council (E/2009/105) and believes that it merits serious consideration by the Security Council. Finally, Ecuador supports the recommendation made by the Secretary-General in his most recent report, that the mandate of MINUSTAH be extended for a further year. There is no doubt that Haiti continues to be threatened by food insecurity, growing poverty and a fragile humanitarian situation. My Government hopes that the joint efforts of the Group of Friends of Haiti, donor countries and the Government of Haiti will be optimally coordinated in order to achieve the social, political and economic stability that Haiti needs, wishes and deserves.

Her Excellency Prime Minister Pierre-Louis has asked for the floor to make a further statement. I am pleased to give her the floor now.

I am grateful to you, Madam President, for giving me the floor once again so that I can thank Council members and the other representatives who have made statements during this open debate. I was deeply moved by all that I heard in support of Haiti. When I return to my country I shall convey to the President, the Government, the parliament and the people of Haiti the unreserved support voiced by the Security Council and all the friends of Haiti who took the floor this evening. All those who participated in this important open debate spoke of the following points. First, the country has made significant progress thanks to the presence of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the efforts of the international community — but also thanks to the efforts of the Haitian people. However, grave problems continue to threaten the stability and security that was restored two years ago. These include poverty, unemployment, the lack of opportunities for young people, the situation faced by children, human and environmental vulnerability, institutional weakness, international crime, lack of investment and low productivity. Great investment is therefore needed in all those areas. In that sphere, the international community must keep its promises and enable Haiti to implement its socio-economic programme. Without question, the Government must build its capacities. It must continue the fight against corruption; it must entrench the process of good governance and provide leadership in seeking political and social commitments that will determine Haiti’s future on the path to progress and modernity for the benefit of the entire population. Haiti welcomes the appointment of President Clinton as the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy for Haiti. We welcome the role and solidarity of the Group of Friends of Haiti, of all fraternal countries in the Latin American and Caribbean area and of the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which have stated their solidarity with us. In particular, we thank Mr. Annabi for his leadership as Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Haiti. When MINUSTAH first deployed in Haiti, there were fewer than 500 police officers in the country. Today, the national police numbers more than 10,000. Everyone who visits the country acknowledges that visible and tangible security progress has been made. We are working to build a State based on the rule of law and to strengthen security and stability, in the hope that in the not-too-distant future the Government will regain full sovereignty and carry out its key function of ensuring the safety and security of people and goods, linked with equitable and sustainable development that respects life, the public interest and the common good — which are at the heart of development. We are counting on you here in this Chamber, and you can count on us.

I thank Her Excellency Prime Minister Pierre-Louis for her presence here today. I now give the floor to Special Representative Annabi to respond to comments made by Member States. Mr. Annabi: I thank you again, Madam President, for having organized this very useful open debate. We very much appreciate the strong support publicly expressed this afternoon by members of the Security Council and many other Member States for the work of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), for the Secretary-General’s recommendations and for the initiatives of President Clinton in his capacity as Special Envoy. It will encourage me and my colleagues in the field to redouble our efforts to implement our mandate and to work with our Haitian colleagues, friends and partners to consolidate stability in the country and to assist in putting Haiti on a durable development track. I believe that what we have heard today from Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis underscores the determination of the Haitian leadership to move resolutely in that direction. I want to thank her for her presence here today, despite her many other obligations, and I want to assure her that we will continue to do our best to support her efforts. Finally, I would like to place on record our appreciation for the excellent support provided by our troop and police contributors. I would like in particular to thank the Latin American countries for their major contribution to our military component and for their growing contribution to our police component.

There are no further speakers inscribed on my list. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.