Haiti Democracy Project

www.haitipolicy.org

(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 General’s 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 Haiti’s 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 Haiti’s 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.