23897: Arthur (pub) Another Haiti is possible!: Europe-Haiti Coordination (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

Europe-Haiti Coordination - November 2004

Another Haiti is possible! (summary)

This text is the result of a process involving 53 Haitian NGOs and 59
European NGOs and networks. Its key objectives are:
·   To establish Haiti as a priority of the both political and public
European agendas;
·   To put European governments and institutions in contact with Haitian NGOs;
·   To influence and guide the policies made on aid to Haiti.


Today, Haiti is a State that has given up taking responsibility for strategic
planning and guaranteeing the collective well-being of its citizens, and
handed the role to international organisations, public and private (NGOs). As
Haiti implodes, there is misery, unending violence and humanitarian crisis. Yet
despite all of this, in Haiti, and in the rural areas in particular, there are a
wealth of initiatives being carried out by grassroots organisations which are
attempting to make up for the lack of State provision.

Haiti is not looking for compassion, but counts on the true solidarity of
those people who know how to listen to Haiti, and who understand that Haiti is
simply demanding the right to exist. This country, more than ever before, wants
to finally break free from its long history of dependence and wants to control
its own destiny.

Another Haiti is possible! This is the firm conviction that inspires all the
actors working in popular and democratic movements in Haiti, who do not want
to give up, and want to participate in the shaping of the solutions that will
combat the decline of the country. There is agreement within all sectors of
society on the urgent need for reconstruction and rebuilding of the country,
meaning:
·   Building a just society where every Haitian feels like a full citizen;
·   Constructing a State that is able to guarantee all the benefits of civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights; a State capable of having an
economic policy that takes into account the country's sovereignty, but not so
much so that it falls into an autarchy.

These organisations are working within a framework of true partnership with
actors from the international community that take into account Haitian civil
society to adopt a new approach to the issue of aid:
·   Structural interventions, with a clear link between short and long term
activities;
·   Mechanisms for coordination, for implementation and for follow-up with
the aim of measuring the impact and effectiveness of the aid spent;
·   Mechanisms for national actors to be involved in the process.

Today, the organisations ask for the support of international partners,
particularly in Europe, for the following priorities:

I Civil and Political rights

We ask the European Union to support:
1.  Haitian society in its fundamental demand for the right to life and,
therefore, to support the initiatives of the Haitian government to disarm
illegally armed groups, prevent the traffic of arms and to reinforce the police
(increased numbers, training, etc.) This is a prerequisite of all other processes
for the reconstruction of a State based on rights.
2.  The establishment of a policy of reinsertion into society for members of
armed groups that disarm, in particular for children and young people.
3.  The strengthening of the role and the capacity of organisations and
networks of civil society actors that  are involved in the field of human rights,
particularly the existing platforms and networks. To allow them to ensure
violations of human rights are monitored and to launch a national campaign of human
rights training focusing specifically on violence against women

We ask the European Union to encourage and support the Haitian government to:
4.  Reinforce the Office for the Protection of Citizens as a constitutional
and independent institution, in its role as guarantor of citizens' rights when
these are compromised by the State.
5.  Guarantee the autonomy of the Haitian justice system by rehabilitating it
through a process that aims:
·   To strengthen the legitimacy and credibility of judges, solicitors,
bailiffs and state civil officials;
·   To make justice accessible to all citizens as well as access to civil
identity for all individuals (free granting of birth certificates).

II Social, economic and cultural rights

1.  We ask the member countries of the EU and specifically Spain, Italy and
France, to cancel all (external) bilateral debt. We also ask the EU to install
immediately a seven-year moratorium on debt repayment, and an independent
audit to investigate whether this debt is, as we believe it to be, odious debt and
therefore illegal. Funds then liberated from repayment can be used to invest
in priority areas such as education, health and rural infrastructure, as was
also pointed out by Jubilee 2000 Haiti.

We ask the European Union to:

2.  Radically modify her present policy of supporting plans to encourage
employment in the border areas by developing free trade zones, as even though it
aims to reduce migration the policy has very negative effects on labour rights
and agricultural production.

3.  Support efforts to strengthen the Haitian State so that it can guarantee
social, economic and cultural rights, particularly:
-The right to formal and good quality education, and the improvement and
application of education policies that guarantee equal access to education for all
Haitian peoples;
-The right to a sufficient income by creating employment and generating real
income through the formal economy, particularly in the sectors of agriculture,
and art and crafts production;
-The right to health by giving priority to the development of public
programmes focusing on prevention and assuring basic services, such as drinking water
and sanitation;
- The right to a safe environment by working to prevent ecological disaster,
protecting nature reserves, promoting tree-planting and developing parks
around each water source, and by supporting peasant organisations and national
agricultural production;
-The right to housing and a decent house within the context of a
decentralised urbanisation policy;
-The right to respect the Haitian culture by supporting initiatives to
promote the production of artistic goods in Haiti.


III Food security and food sovereignty

    We ask the European Union to:

1.  Support the Haitian actors with their struggle to place agriculture,
animal husbandry and fisheries at the centre of local and national development by
developing sustainable agricultural systems that respect the environment, and
create income and employment. This requires a clear food security policy aimed
at:
-The strengthening of state institutions that carry out the policies and
programmes to support and value the agricultural sector;
-The strengthening of technical agricultural training for young people;
-The strengthening of the agricultural production chain (support national
agricultural production, transformation, local, national and international
marketing, and organisational development).
2.  Support the development of the production system by developing
infrastructure and services (roads, irrigation, electricity, inputs, stocks, credit).
3.  Favour a policy directed towards the development of the Haitian
agricultural sector, specifically by harmonising regional tariff systems (at the level
of Caricom and Mercosur) to reduce unfair competition.
4.  Stop and condemn practices of export subsidies towards developing
countries.


Generally, the Haitian organisations ask the European Union and its member
states to favour their active involvement in the monitoring of its
recommendations. The support we are looking for is particularly towards the reconstruction
of a State based on rights, where the Haitian government, the Parliament and
the decentralised government structures, together with the participation of
civil society organisations, develop and execute a comprehensive framework for
development.

In 2004, Haiti has a rendez-vous with history. Haiti still has the means to
make its own future.

Contacts:
Coordination in Haïti: COHAN BRD, Port-au-Prince:
cohan-brd@direcway.com
Coordination in Europe: EU-Haïti Coordination, Alessandra Spalletta,
Brussels: a.spalletta@broederlijkdelen.be

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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.
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