22688: Blanchet: Fw: European agencies urge EC to consider Haitian civil society proposals (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Max Blanchet <MaxBlanchet@worldnet.att.net>
From: <Tttnhm@aol.com>


European organisations urge European Commission to consider proposals from
Haiti's civil society

- 14 July 2004 - Haiti Support Group press release

Ahead of an international donors' conference on Haiti, a group of 11
European
organisations working in support of development and democracy in the
Caribbean nation have written to the European Commission (EC). The letter
urges the EC
to ensure that priority is given to the needs of the vast majority of
Haitians - some 75% of whom live below the poverty line and nearly half of
whom are
under the age of 18.

The EC is one of four co-hosts of the conference, to be held on 19-20 July
in
Washington DC, where multilateral financial institutions and individual
governments will discuss the level and the conditions of international aid
to Haiti

The European organisations* are concerned about the absence of any serious
consultation with civil society organisations representing the vast majority
of
Haitians during the drafting of proposals that the Haitian government will
take to the conference. In this context, they fear that the opportunity to
implement development policies that truly address the root causes of poverty
in
Haiti - including the marginalisation of the poor majority from political
and
economic decision-making- will be missed.

The letter warns that "without valid participation it is likely that
development programmes will once again fail for lack of relevance to the
majority of
the population."

The organisations' letter draws the EC's attention to some of the most
important proposals put forward by civil society organisations in Haiti over
the
last decade. These include:

·   International aid policy should focus on sustainable development that
includes the production of locally consumed food and other consumer goods,
rather
than on taking advantage of Haiti's relatively cheap labour, as has been the
case in the past;

·   Economic policies must recognise the need for integrated rural
development programmes that support peasant associations, and include a land
reform
programme that distributes state lands. These are needed to increase food
production in order to strengthen food self-sufficiency;

·   Immediate and substantial increases should be made to spending on health
and education. There is also an urgent need for resources to be put into
environmental regeneration;

·   Youth participation should be taken seriously. The 3.8 million who are
currently under 18 are going to be the economic drivers of Haiti for years
to
come. These young people need the opportunity to participate in shaping
their
country's future;

·   Haiti's foreign debt should be cancelled, on the grounds that the
country's poor should not be made to pay for the excesses of past
governments that
have behaved irresponsibly or immorally.

* The organisations signing the letter are:
ActionAid (UK), Broederlijk Delen (Belgium), the Catholic Institute for
International Relations (UK), Christian Aid (UK), Coordination Europe-Haiti,
the
Haiti Support Group (UK), ICCO (The Netherlands), Plan UK, Solidaridad (The
Netherlands), Trocaire (Ireland), Vlaams Haiti Overleg (Flemish Haiti
Network).
 -

For further details contact:

The Haiti Support Group: haitisupport@gn.apc.org


______________________________________________


This email is forwarded as a service of the Haiti Support Group.

See the Haiti Support Group web site:
www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org

Solidarity with the Haitian people's struggle for justice, participatory
democracy and equitable development, since 1992.
____________________________________________