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Organization of American States
ADDRESS BY THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN
STATES, LUIGI R. EINAUDI STATEMENT ON HAITI AT THE MEETING OF THE PERMANENT
COUNCIL
Washington, DC
December 3, 2003
Mr. Chairman, by way of additional background for the
consideration of this matter, I would like to inform the Council about a recent
incident affecting the work of the Special Mission, established by Resolution
806 in January 2002 to work toward the strengthening of democracy in Haiti. I
wish also to inform on recent correspondence and statements concerning the
situation in Haiti.
At the last session of this Council, I criticized all parties in Haiti:
government, opposition, civil society, and ourselves, the international
community. The Chairman has just summarized those points. I could have said then
but did not, retaining at least some of my diplomatic training, was that all
sides reveal an alarming inability to relate ideals to practice, even when it
comes to their own behaviour.
Some ten or twelve days ago the Head of the Special Mission agreed to a request
for a meeting sought by the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of
Haiti. During that meeting, held November 25 with a group of ten visitors at the
office of the general secretariat in Haiti, the Chamber of Commerce president
informed that the group actually represented the G184, a civil society grouping.
He then read a letter from the G184 requesting the Mission to appeal to the
Government for the immediate release of two G184 members who had been detained
during a previously authorized civil society demonstration on November 14. At
the same time, a related demonstration, with full press coverage, commenced
outside the office. Subsequently, nine participants in the internal meeting
declared that they were placing themselves under the protection of the Special
Mission and refused to leave the premises until the Special Mission agreed to
take the action they were demanding with the Government of Haiti.
This action by the G184 representatives was unacceptable. The Special Mission
said so and refused to act under pressure. And rightly so. The inviolability of
the premises of diplomatic missions is one of the oldest principles of
international law. In keeping with some of the finest traditions of hemispheric
jurisprudence, the rights of Diplomatic Missions are closely linked to
principles of freedom, asylum, and nonintervention. The uninvited guests in the
Office of the General Secretariat in Haiti were treated with courtesy and
provided with immediate needs. No effort was made to dislodge them by force. But
the Special Mission also refused to act under pressure in their behalf even
though their specific petition was well-grounded. Finally, on November 29, after
four days and four nights, the nine persons left the premises of their own
volition.
On December 2, Haitian judicial authorities released the two detained persons on
a conditional basis.
Prior to that incident and now continuing, a number of items have been
circulating with all manner of scurrilous fabricated accounts about the OAS in
general, and about the Special Mission, its work and its capacity.
I will give one specific example. Wide distribution has just been given to a
statement by the Union Citoyenne des Gonaives asserting that in the report of
the Secretary General to the Permanent Council, “les incidents meurtriers et
sanglants, qui se sont déroulé aux Gonaives ne sont pas mentionnes.”
This is of course total nonsense. The Section on pp 3-4 of the French text of
the Report CP/doc 3798/03 deals precisely with these events. Though the numbers
may differ slightly from those advanced by the Union Citoyenne des Gonaives, our
summary certainly covers the main issues and the criticism is an obvious
fabrication.
Mr. Chairman, the Secretary General's most recent report is of crystalline
clarity: the challenges are many and complex. The resources allotted to the
Special Mission are few. Under the Mission Head, David Lee and Deputy, Denneth
Modeste, the Mission staff has gone way beyond the simple call of duty to carry
out the mandates of the OAS member states in Haiti by engaging the Government of
Haiti, the opposition and civil society. The Mission cannot and should not be
converted into an easy target for any who are dissatisfied with pace or results.
The Mission merits the full support and protection of this Permanent Council.
Part of that protection lies in the norms of international law to which I have
already alluded. But a more important part, I would submit, lies in ensuring
that the Mission’s mandates are reasonable and that they are adequately funded.
In a scene bedeviled by irresponsible claims, the International Community should
not be among the perpetrators.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, I would like to bring the following to the attention of
the council:
On November 12, 2003, the Episcopal Conference of Haiti, which groups all the
bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, issued a statement addressed to the people
of Haiti à la veille de 2004 which will be circulated for the information of the
Council.
On November 16, 2003, the Convergence Democratique, a grouping of opposition
political parties, sent a letter to the Secretary General containing information
addressed to the permanent council. You Mr. Chairman, have acknowledged that
correspondence and both pieces have been circulated as document CP/Inf. 4905/03.
The Secretary General received a lengthy letter dated November 28 from President
Aristide in which the President expressed his hopes regarding the role of the
international community, including the Special Mission, in contributing to a
resolution of his country’s crisis. That letter is being circulated in this room
today.
Finally, at 9:30 this morning I received a letter from Antoine Barbier,
Executive Secretary of the G 184, in which he lays out the point of view of the
G184 on the current situation and expresses their hopes for changes in the
mandate of the Special Mission and the approach of the OAS. We will circulate
this letter for information once it has been translated. |
