Haiti

On behalf of the President of the Republic of Haiti, His Excellency Mr. Jean-Bertrand Aristide, I should first of all like to congratulate Mr. Jan Kavan on his election to the presidency of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly. He can be assured of the Haitian delegation's full support in the exercise of his duties. I should also like to congratulate his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo, on the talent he demonstrated in conducting the work of the fifty-sixth session. I should also like to pay tribute to Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the Organization, for his ceaseless efforts to maintain international peace and security. In addition, I wish to welcome the Swiss Confederation and East Timor to the Organization as States Members. Undoubtedly, their presence in this institution will contribute significantly to the pursuit of the noble objectives of the United Nations. The entire world has just commemorated the first anniversary of the tragedy of 11 September 2001. The Government and the people of Haiti again express their sympathy to the people and the Government of the United States. We continue to share the distress of all the families of the victims of that barbarity, which touched all races, cultures and nations of the world. It is humanity that has been struck, and humanity will always remember that sad event. The Government of Haiti reaffirms its condemnation of terrorism, one of the most flagrant forms of human rights violations. Terrorism represents a grave danger, and we must unite all our efforts to combat it in all its forms and manifestations. In that connection, my Government reaffirms its commitment to supporting the relevant resolutions of the Organization as an expression of its respect for the precepts of international law. Reform of the Security Council, which has been discussed for some time, is, more than ever before, of the highest importance. Haiti continues to call for more 25 openness in its operations and for greater participation in its decision-making. The Charter of the United Nations, ratified by all States Members, evokes the sacred principles of maintaining international peace and security as well as the right of peoples to determine their own future with the leaders they choose. In that connection, the Government of Haiti expresses its grave concern at the escalating violence in the Middle East, and particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Haitian Government supports the creation of a Palestinian State, while recognizing Israel's right to exist within safe and internationally recognized borders. We call on the parties to settle their differences peacefully through dialogue and diplomatic means. In the same spirit, we appreciate the negotiations initiated between the two Republics of Korea, and we are in favour of a rapprochement between the populations on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Despite Iraq's acceptance of the unconditional return of the inspectors, the Haitian Government is concerned at developments in the Iraqi situation. In order to deal effectively with this problem, the relevant United Nations resolutions must be applied. Regionalization is an important tool to facilitate partnerships among States as they strive to ensure the well-being of their people. In that context, my country is gratified by its full integration within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), where it will contribute to the socio-economic development of the region. Humanity today is facing serious challenges, including poverty, the AIDS pandemic, drug abuse, hunger and illiteracy. The population of the least developed countries is about 614 million, one third of whom have to survive on less than $1 per day. Characterized by weak institutions and an inadequate infrastructure, those countries are affected by many different problems. The sub-human conditions under which many of their people live are a source of social tension. Poverty increases in proportion as capital decreases. We returned from the Doha, Monterrey and Johannesburg summits with renewed hope. Expectations are great, in keeping with the promises made. It is not enough, however, to hope for sustainable development. We must have the will to implement measures to attain it and respect the commitments undertaken. Leaders must take action to ensure sustainable development, which is in the best interests of our peoples. Education and training can roll back poverty, free people from ignorance and put them on track to social and economic progress. On the basis of that conviction, the President of Haiti, Mr. Jean Bertrand Aristide, officially launched, on 7 September 2001, a national literacy campaign, to which he attributes overriding importance. The goal of this large-scale and ambitious initiative is to help 3 million people learn to read before 1 January 2004, when we will celebrate the bicentennial of our independence. The head of State is counting on the active participation of our literate citizens in the work of national construction. Glaring injustices are built into our country's traditional socio-economic system. These injustices are responsible for wide disparities between the various social sectors — a situation that contributes in large part to the anachronistic nature of the general structures of our country, which is the only least developed country in the Americas. Against that background, the Government has been doing its utmost to fight the financial embargo, which the international community imposed in response to the controversy of the elections of 1 May 2000. Unfortunately, it is the most vulnerable sectors of society that are penalized by those unjustified sanctions. The recent adoption by the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) of resolution 822 in support of strengthening the democratic process in Haiti has opened up encouraging prospects for our country in beginning to move towards normalization. My Government is determined to stay the course in ensuring that elections remain a crucial element of that advance. We have great expectations of the international community's support in this regard. In this context, we are hoping for assistance, and for election observers in particular. At the same time, in the spirit of resolution 822, we appeal once again as a matter of urgency for an end to the financial embargo. The adoption of OAS resolution 822, which demonstrates the commitment to Haiti of a number of OAS member countries, constitutes a step in the right 26 direction. We would like to draw attention to that expression of fraternal solidarity. We are also grateful to the States members of OAS whose joint efforts made possible the adoption of that consensus resolution, in particular the Federal Republic of Brazil, which currently coordinates the Latin American Integration Association and OAS groups, and the Central American countries. We would like to make special mention of our neighbour, the Dominican Republic, which has continued to reaffirm its solidarity with Haiti during this difficult period — solidarity that is manifested in different ways wherever the Haitian cause is discussed and needs to be defended. Above all, we would like to thank our sister nations in CARICOM, whose delegations to the OAS co-sponsored, with Haiti, the draft resolution, thereby maintaining the spirit of fraternal generosity, as is their custom. During the crisis, a number of countries Members of the United Nations, in particular Japan and Cuba, continued to cooperate with Haiti. Despite the embargo and the other difficulties that it has to deal with, Cuba is enthusiastically pursuing a programme of cooperation with Haiti, in particular in the areas of health and agriculture. The Haitian people owe a debt of gratitude to all of those countries for their expressions of solidarity in our quest for dignity and collective affirmation. OAS resolution 822 provides the entire nation with an opportunity; it holds out the potential for progress for all the Haitian people. In the context of the forthcoming celebrations of two centuries of independence, Haiti needs to galvanize its collective energy so that we can build our national home. To that end, the Haitian Government will hold an ongoing dialogue and continue to practise openness and flexibility, as called for by President Aristide. In that spirit, despite our well-known scarcity of resources, it has decided to compensate the victims of 17 December 2001, in accordance with OAS resolutions 806 and 822. Likewise, President Aristide will continue to call on the opposition to observe a patriotic truce in order to facilitate the rehabilitation of the country and support the Haitian people. In this context, my country appeals once again for us to place human beings at the forefront of relations among various countries. This planet — the theatre of our common destiny — can thus become a world fit for all of its inhabitants through the advent of a “humanism without borders”. On that basis of that conviction, the Republic of Haiti, on the eve of the bicentenary of our independence, invites the international community to help us to set in motion a process that will enable us to overcome the shocking reversals of the past and bring us into the modern world. I hope that all of the nations of the world share these exalted hopes and that they will join us in celebrating this important event, to which the Government and the people of Haiti invite them, in January 2004.