HCON
382 IH
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 382
Urging the President to end any embargo against Haiti
and to no longer
require, as a condition of providing humanitarian and
development assistance
to Haiti , the resolution of the political impasse in
Haiti , and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 18, 2002
Ms. LEE (for herself, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Ms. EDDIE
BERNICE JOHNSON of
Texas, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. PAYNE,
Mr. CONYERS, Mr.
CUMMINGS, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. OWENS, Ms. JACKSON-LEE
of Texas, Mr.
HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr.
CLAY, Ms. CARSON of
Indiana, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms.
MCKINNEY, Mr. TOWNS,
Ms. WATSON of California, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. RUSH, Mrs.
JONES of Ohio, Ms.
KILPATRICK, Mr. FATTAH, Ms. WATERS, Mr. FORD, Mr. SCOTT,
Mr. WYNN, Mr.
THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr.
RANGEL, Ms.
MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LEWIS
of Georgia, and Mr.
WATT of North Carolina) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Financial Services,
and in addition to the
Committee on International Relations, for a period to
be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Urging the President to end any embargo against Haiti
and to no longer
require, as a condition of providing humanitarian and
development assistance
to Haiti , the resolution of the political impasse in
Haiti , and for other
purposes.
Whereas Haiti is one of the most impoverished nations
in the Western
Hemisphere;
Whereas the quality of life in Haiti is increasingly
desperate as HIV and
AIDS infections are rapidly increasing to epidemic proportions,
such that
over 300,000 infected people have been identified and
deaths resulting in
such infections have led to an orphan population of
more than 163,000;
Whereas the infant mortality rate in Haiti continues
to rise, and only 1 in
every 10,000 Haitians has access to a physician;
Whereas only 40 percent of all Haitians have access
to potable water;
Whereas a dispute over the results of the parliamentary
elections of May
2000 has led to a political impasse that is stifling
the country and the
Organization of American States has attempted to negotiate
a settlement to
the political impasse for nearly 18 months without success;
Whereas these negotiations have been marred by political
violence, including
several attempts to undermine the elected government
in Haiti , and the
economic status of Haiti continues to spiral downward;
Whereas the Government of Haiti has achieved significant
progress in
resolving the impasse, including securing the resignation
of the declared
winners of the disputed senate seats and reducing the
terms of office of all
parliamentary officials elected on May 21, 2000;
Whereas a resolution adopted by the Organization of
American States on June
5, 2001, provides that the Secretary General has the
authority to normalize
relations between international financial institutions
and the Government of
Haiti based upon progress to resolve the political impasse;
Whereas the United States has enjoyed nearly 200 years
of bilateral
relations with Haiti and its successive governments;
Whereas the United States has recently levied an embargo
of all multilateral
development assistance, including loans approved by
the Inter-American
Development Bank and ratified by the Haitian Parliament,
pending a
resolution to the political impasse;
Whereas the Inter-American Development Bank acknowledges
that a major factor
causing economic stagnation in Haiti is the withholding
of foreign grants
and loans due to the political impasse;
Whereas the United States sponsored a resolution on
January 15, 2002, in the
Permanent Council of the Organization of American States,
which calls for an
expanded mission to Haiti ;
Whereas the international community is funneling some
bilateral assistance
to non-governmental organizations acting in Haiti and
has purposely bypassed
any development activity with the current Government
of Haiti ; and
Whereas a recent report from a special mission to Haiti
from the Caribbean
Community recognized the need for a large infusion of
multilateral
assistance and the need to work through the Government
of Haiti as an
appropriate and necessary process to achieve basic development
and
humanitarian goals in Haiti : Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the
Congress--
(1) urges the President to end any embargo against Haiti
and to no longer
require, as a condition of providing humanitarian and
development assistance
to Haiti , the resolution of the political impasse in
Haiti resulting from
the legislative elections of May 2000;
(2) urges the President to direct the Secretary of State
to intervene
directly on the behalf of the United States and the
people of Haiti to
mediate the political impasse, to provide constructive
guarantees to any
resolution to the crisis, and to recruit positive support
from the
Organization of American States, the European Union,
the Caribbean
Community, and other international bodies to sustain
any negotiated settlement;
(3) urges the President to direct the Secretary of State
to conduct an
immediate review of United States policy toward Haiti
, including adequate
and appropriate consultations with the relevant committees
of Congress;
(4) calls on the United States Agency for International
Development, the
World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the
Inter-American
Development Bank to convene a meeting of all donors
and potential donors to
Haiti , with the objective of launching a new and sustainable
humanitarian
initiative, including a lending program that will help
bolster the economic
base of Haiti ; and
(5) supports the expansion of the mission of the Organization
of American
States to Haiti and calls on the President to urge that
this mission work
constructively with the Government and people of Haiti
to advance their
goals and aspirations and not the objectives of other
governments or
international organizations.
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