Remarks by the President of the General Assembly,
Mr. Dennis Francis,
At the Informal Briefing on Haiti
Video:
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[As Delivered]
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18 December 2023
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Your Excellency, Jose Javier De la Gasca, Permanent Representative of Ecuador, and President of the Security Council,
Your Excellency, Paula Narvaez, Permanent Representative of Chile, and President of the Economic and Social Council,
Madame Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti, Ms. Mar¨ªa Isabel Salvador,
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
As you would be aware, I undertook an official visit to Haiti on 20-21 November ¨C one visit that I am convinced was immensely important, not only for the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Membership but to me personally as Haiti is a member of the Caribbean community, CARICOM, of which Trinidad and Tobago is a founding member.
Upon my return ¨C and having reflected on what I witnessed and heard ¨C I felt a heavy duty of responsibility to organize this exceptional informal briefing to afford me an opportunity to share with you my feedback from this important visit.
Very often I hear the encouragement by the Member States for the President of the General Assembly to ensure coordination with the Presidents of the Security Council and ECOSOC ¨C within the confines of our respective mandates.
This encouragement has been echoed, among other platforms, in the debates on the revitalization of the General Assembly and most recently, during the Gayap Dialogues that I have organized during the 78th Session. In this regard, I am delighted to inform you that I have already initiated the monthly meetings with the Presidents of the two bodies.
Today I also have the pleasure to be joined by my colleagues the President of the Security Council and the President of ECOSOC.
I sincerely thank them for accepting my invitation to join this informal briefing ¨C and I look forward to hearing their insights.
Importantly, today¡¯s informal briefing is not only an occasion to showcase the fact that ¨C if we really mean it ¨C there can in fact, be coordinated action among the three main Principal Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Organs ¨C the General Assembly, the Security Council, and ECOSOC.
This informal briefing also offers my colleagues and I the opportunity to demonstrate collaborative leadership by the GRULAC Member States ¨C on an issue so critical to our region ¨C as GRULAC Permanent Representatives are concurrently holding the Presidencies of these Principal Organs during the month of December.
It would be remiss, on my part, not to express my heartfelt appreciation to the Permanent Representative of Haiti, His Excellency, Mr. Antonio Rodrigue, and the Government of Haiti for facilitating the visit, and for their warm reception and generous hospitality.
My appreciation also goes to the SRSG, Ms Salvador and her team, as well as Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Country team family in Haiti ¨C without whose enthusiastic support the visit would not have been possible.
The main objective of my visit was three-fold:
- First, to demonstrate solidarity with the Haitian leadership, and the people of Haiti; and to reassure them that the international community has not abandoned them – in their very challenging circumstances.
- Second, to shine a brighter spotlight on the multifaceted political, security and humanitarian crises gripping the country, in order to spur meaningful action by the United Nations and the international community at large ¨C as also called for by many leaders during the General Debate in September, especially from my own region.
- And third, to engage first-hand with the Haitian political leaders, civil society representatives and other key stakeholders; to encourage their commitment to national reconciliation and mutual dialogue ¨C paving the way forwards toward free, fair, credible, and inclusive elections and the restoration of the rule of law and democratic institutions that enjoy the confidence of the Haitian people.
In this context, I am delighted to report that ¨C on the side of the interim Government ¨C I had very productive bilateral meetings with:
- Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
- Foreign Minister Jean Victor G¨¦n¨¦us.
- Justice Minister Emmelie Proph¨¨te Milc¨¦, and
- Women¡¯s Affairs Minister, Sofia Lor¨¦us.
In addition, I took the opportunity of my visit to join a working lunch kindly hosted by SRSG Salvador which included the President of the High Transition Council, Madame Mirlande Manigat ¨C also former First Lady of Haiti, who still wields the respect of many Haitians.
I also had an opportunity to engage with representatives of the various political parties ¨C in one meeting ¨C as well as separately with Haitian civil society representatives.
On the United Nations side, I held substantive meetings with the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Country Team, which also featured the SRSG and her Deputy ¨C and I am delighted that SRSG Salvador has accepted my invitation to offer some remarks at this briefing, virtually.
SRSG and her team, and DSS representative as well as the Country Team did not only share with me the substantive work they are forcefully doing; but I was also appraised of the overall security situation in the country and the provincial/regional security levels ¨C as per the established security operating standards.
Distinguished Colleagues,
If there was one single and dominating keyword that emerged in all of my conversations, it is security.
The lack of security ¨C due to the prevalence of the harrowing terror unleashed by the marauding gangs ¨C clearly impacts every aspect of the daily lives of the Haitian people.
Uncontrollable violence has robbed ¨C and continues to rob ¨C the Haitian people of their freedoms and rights; and it is stifling the country¡¯s path to sustainable development.
I heard depressing accounts about schools housing people internally displaced by gang violence ¨C and these institutions are supposed to be bastions of education, not shelters.
I heard sad incidents of parents kidnapped for ransom while taking their children to school.
I heard alarming reports of the loss of some 40% — I repeat, 40% — of Haiti¡¯s health care workers, who have left the country in hopes of finding a brighter future elsewhere.
I head of the brain or skills drain, of security and law enforcement personnel ¨C who should be securing Haiti ¨C migrating in droves for better paying jobs elsewhere.
And devastatingly, I was deeply moved to hear about women and girls subjected to brutal sexual violence ¨C with many living in a cycle of fear and trauma.
It is with great sadness ¨C and anger ¨C that I recount these reality encounters to you today.
This violence in Haiti clearly needs to stop ¨C and we cannot be credible, as the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and the international community, to just look the other way.
These issues cut to the very heart of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ¡¯s founding mission ¨C to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
In Haiti, war is in the streets ¨C with people fighting against hunger, preventable disease, and unjustifiably rampant and deadly insecurity.
They are equally fighting for a safer, more just, and prosperous life for themselves and their children.
They are fighting to provide quality education for their children and youth ¨C just like any other parent would do and wish for their children.
Nonetheless, I was heart warmed when I paid a visit to a school and saw hope in the faces of the pupils, I met at ?cole Nationale R¨¦publique des ?tats Unis d¡¯Am¨¦rique. Indeed, this was a highlight of my trip ¨C as the boys and girls embodied the unbridled potential within all of us to build a better world.
As I have decided to do during my visits, I have donated copies of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Charter to the school ¨C hoping it will inspire curiosity among these children to remain hopeful that all is not lost, because the United Nations is here to support and stand with them to achieve a better future.
Excellencies,
It bears repeating: The deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission authorized by the Security Council on 2 October is awaited with great urgency by many in Haiti, including the political parties and Civil Society groups.
Because the 28 November report by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Human Rights Office and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Integrated Office in Haiti finds that the gangs not only control 80% of Port-au-Prince, the capital.
They have spread even further to rural areas previously considered safe ¨C killing, raping, kidnapping, and destroying property.
I express my deepest thanks to the Government of Kenya for demonstrating leadership of this critical mission, as well as all other countries that have pledged or are planning to contribute to this peace and security initiative.
I am encouraged by the coordinated preparations among the countries involved ¨C as this is absolutely vital to achieving an effective outcome for such a delicate mission.
As this mission prepares to deploy, it is equally important that Haiti¡¯s civil and political actors intensify efforts to find a sustainable political solution that will allow for the restoration of democratic institutions ¨C and thus create a space for this mission to fulfil its intended role.
I emphasized the importance of this point during my visit, in all my meetings with stakeholders in Haiti.
I encouraged the authorities, as well as representatives of Haiti¡¯s political parties and civil society representatives, to surmount their differences ¨C emphasizing that every stakeholder has a duty to work for the interests of the country and the people.
Throughout my engagements, I reiterated the vital need to involve women and young people ¨C especially girls ¨C in an inclusive political processes, as their views are foundational to ensuring the establishment of a functioning governance system.
Lastly, I did not mince my words in categorically challenging the Haitian political elites to abandon their self-centred pre-occupation and to prioritize instead the ordinary people of Haiti, who have endured too much turmoil and who deserve to be given a chance, to succeed. I emphasized that Haiti belongs to them too and that it is their responsibility as elites seeking office to fix the country so that young Haitians would be guaranteed a life chance.
It was also underscored that solutions need to be homegrown Haitian solutions, with no impositions from outside, and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and the international community would be there to support and accompany the Haitian people along the way to sustainable development.
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
As I conclude, I must say, however, that I returned from Haiti also with hope; and with the full knowledge that ¨C while Haiti is facing extraordinary challenges ¨C its future holds indomitable promise.
Driving in the streets of Port au Prince, I saw visible signs of hope ¨C sustained by the undying resilience and perseverance of the Haitian people ¨C who seem to create inventive ways to meet the daily challenges.
Haiti is not hopeless. There is, in my view, no shortage of potential in Haiti ¨C and it is not too late that, as the international community, we must do something to accompany the Haitian people, further.
As we just marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights last week, we must never forget that the rights and freedoms outlined therein are intrinsic to us all.
As a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, this fact resonates so loud with me ¨C at a deeply personal level. Haiti is an integral member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
And, more importantly, the people of the Caribbean ¨C have extraordinary admiration for the Haitian people, rooted in its pioneering and proud history of self-determination and independence.
I came away thinking that the international community must continue to show Haitian and other regional leaders that they are not alone in their concerns and commitment to the future of Haiti.
I thank you.