THE SITUATION IN HAITI
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session held on June
4, 2002)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the Charter of the Organization
of American States recognizes representative democracy
as indispensable for the stability, peace, and development
of the region and that one of the essential aims of
the OAS is to promote and consolidate representative
democracy with respect for the principle of nonintervention;
BEARING IN MIND:
That the Inter-American Democratic Charter proclaims
that the peoples of the Americas have a right
to democracy and that their governments have an obligation
to promote and defend it; and that essential
elements of representative democracy include, inter
alia, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,
access to and the exercise of power in accordance with
the rule of law, the holding of periodic, free, and
fair elections based on secret balloting and universal
suffrage as an expression of the sovereignty of the
people, the pluralistic system of political parties
and organizations and the separation of powers and independence
of the branches of government; and
That the Inter-American Democratic Charter also states
that democracy and social and economic development
are interdependent and are mutually reinforcing
and that the promotion and observance of economic,
social, and cultural rights are inherently linked to
integral development, equitable economic growth, and
to the consolidation of democracy in the states of the
Hemisphere;
WELCOMING the efforts that the OAS and the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) have undertaken to continue contributing
to stronger democracy and socioeconomic development
in Haiti;
WELCOMING the support of the Group of Friends on Haiti,
for the efforts of the OAS and CARICOM to bring an end
to the political crisis in that country;
HAVING SEEN the alarming deterioration of the socioeconomic
situation in Haiti;
DEEPLY CONCERNED by the continuing political crisis
in Haiti;
RECALLING resolution AG/RES. 1831 (XXXI-O/01) of June
5, 2001, in which the General Assembly instructed the
Secretary General to increase his efforts, in consultation
with CARICOM and other interested countries, to contribute
further to the resolution of the existing political
crisis in Haiti, to its social and economic development,
to the strengthening of democracy, and to respect for
human rights in that country;
RECALLING AS WELL that the aforementioned resolution
instructed the Secretary General to work jointly with
member states toward normalizing relations between Haiti
and the international community, including the international
financial institutions, as progress is achieved in reaching
a sustainable solution to the crisis arising from the
May 21, 2000, elections;
RECALLING resolution CP/RES. 806 (1303/02) corr. 1,
of January 15, 2002, in which the Permanent Council
decided to call upon the international community to
provide effective and concrete support to the Government
of Haiti, Haitian civil society and democratic political
parties that operate within the Haitian Constitution
and the rule of law, in an effort to strengthen the
Haitian democratic institutions; reaffirmed the mandate
of the Secretary General; and instructed him to continue
these efforts;
HAVING SEEN the Report of the Secretary General on
the Implementation of CP/RES.806 (1032/02) corr. 1 and
AG/RES. 1831 (XXXI-O/01) (CP/doc.3609/02);
NOTING that the Secretary Generals Report recognizes
that the early completion of the negotiated agreement
on elections, is the single most important
contribution toward major progress in Haiti today, whether
the issue be improving the security climate or normalizing
Haitis relations with the international financial
institutions;
CONVINCED of the urgency of resuming and concluding
negotiations and of establishing a timetable for technically
feasible elections; and
BEARING IN MIND that Appendix I of the Report of the
Secretary General (CP/doc.3609/02) indicates that the
OAS delegation received full and effective collaboration
from the Government of Haiti which enabled the OAS to
begin to organize the Special Mission and that
the Special Mission was deployed and began to carry
out its mandates, within the framework of Haitian law
and with the full support of Haitian authorities,
RESOLVES:
1 To commend the Secretary General and the Assistant
Secretary General for their constructive steps taken
to implement CP/RES. 806, including the appointment
of a Commission of Inquiry into the events of December
17, 2001, the establishment of an Advisory Council on
Reparations, and the deployment of an OAS Special Mission
for Strengthening Democracy in Haiti.
2. To commend the Government of Haiti for its cooperation
in the deployment of the OAS Special Mission and for
its support extended to the members of the Mission.
3. To commend the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for
its active participation with the OAS in seeking a solution
to the crisis in Haiti and the Group of Friends on Haiti
for their ongoing support to the Secretary General and
his efforts.
4. To call upon the Government of Haiti, all Haitian
political parties and civil society to provide full
support for the dialogue process and for the activities
and recommendations of the OAS Special Mission, the
Commission of Inquiry, and the Advisory Council on Reparations.
5. To urge the Government of Haiti and all political
parties to resume in the spirit of compromise, negotiations
aimed at achieving a solution to the crisis and, taking
into consideration the Government of Haitis constitutional
electoral prerogatives, establishing a timetable for
technically feasible legislative and local elections
supervised by an independent, credible and neutral electoral
council.
6. To urge the Government of Haiti to strengthen efforts
to combat impunity and to place the highest priority
on strengthening judicial institutions, with a view
to establishing a climate of security conducive to reconciliation
among the parties involved in the crisis that arose
from the elections of May 21, 2000 and also conducive
to free, fair, and transparent elections and related
political party activities.
7. To request the Secretary General to continue to
work with the Special Mission and to assist the Government
of Haiti in reinforcing security, strengthening the
judicial system, protecting human rights and improving
overall governance.
8. To urge that the Government of Haiti and the international
financial institutions, in anticipation of a negotiated
solution to the political crisis and the eventual resumption
of normal economic cooperation, initiate discussions,
including consultations with relevant Haitian institutions
and organizations, to address the unresolved financial
and technical issues and procedural steps.
9. To request the Secretary General to use his good
offices to facilitate these discussions and ask
that he report regularly to the Permanent Council on
his efforts. .
10. To welcome and encourage the initial steps undertaken
by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights aimed
at improving respect for human rights in Haiti and urge
them to remain actively engaged in these efforts.
11. To urge the member states and the Group of Friends
on Haiti to continue to support the efforts of the OAS
Secretary General in Haiti to foster understanding and
dialogue and to request all parties in Haiti to exercise
restraint in their discussions and their conduct relating
to violence.
12. To request the Secretary General to report to the
Permanent Council or to the General Assembly, as appropriate,
on the implementation of this resolution.
|