The goal of restoring democracy in Haiti was significantly advanced by the return, in October 1994, of the legally and democratically elected President of the Republic of Haiti, Reverend Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who had been forced into exile by a military coup in September 1991.
Pursuant to Security Council resolution 940 (1994) of 31 July 1994, the Multinational Force, led by the United States of America, started operation in Haiti on 19 September 1994. After the departure from the country of the military leadership, President Aristide returned to Port-au-Prince on 15 October. On the same day, the Security Council adopted resolution 948 (1994), effectively lifting all sanctions imposed against Haiti.
On 23 September, I appointed Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi as my new Special Representative for Haiti to replace Mr. Dante Caputo, whose resignation I had received with regret four days earlier. I also sent a small advance team to Haiti to assess requirements and prepare for the deployment of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH), as well as to monitor the operations of the Multinational Force.
On 25 October, President Aristide designated Mr. Smarck Michel as Prime Minister. The new Government took office on 8 November. Seven days later, I paid a visit to Haiti and assured President Aristide that the United Nations, in collaboration with OAS, would continue to assist the Government of Haiti in achieving a lasting transition to democracy.
Upon my return to Headquarters on 21 November, I reported to the Security Council. Responding to my recommendation, by its resolution 964 (1994) the Council authorized an expansion of the advance team to up to 500 members for the transition period.
In my report to the Security Council on 17 January 1995, I noted that, following the arrival of the Multinational Force and the subsequent disintegration of the Haitian Armed Forces (FADH), politically motivated violence and human rights abuses had decreased and Haitians were enjoying fundamental rights. At the same time, however, the collapse of the FADH had created a security void that contributed to an increased level of crime in the country.
The Security Council considered my report, the statement of 15 January by the commander of the Multinational Force and the accompanying recommendations of the States participating in the Force regarding the establishment of a secure and stable environment in Haiti. The Council determined that, as required by resolution 940 (1994), a secure and stable environment appropriate to the deployment of UNMIH existed in Haiti and it authorized me to recruit and deploy military contingents, civilian police and other personnel sufficient to allow UNMIH to assume the full range of its functions. The full transfer of responsibility from the Multinational Force to UNMIH was to be completed by 31 March and the mandate of UNMIH was extended for a period of six months until 31 July 1995. The Council also authorized the deployment of up to 6,000 troops and 900 civilian police observers.
On 13 April, I submitted a progress report on the deployment of UNMIH, informing the Council that the official ceremony of transfer of responsibilities from the Multinational Force to UNMIH had successfully taken place, as scheduled, on 31 March. My second visit to Haiti, on that occasion, provided a good opportunity to observe the beginning of the operation of UNMIH and to exchange views with the President of Haiti on the political and security situation in the country. The issue of security remained central to the entire United Nations operation, in particular at the time of elections. Legislative and local elections were held on 25 June under generally secure conditions. However, the elections were marked by organizational flaws and a partial rerun was held on 13 August. The second phase of the election is scheduled to be held in September.
On 31 July, the Security Council extended the mandate of UNMIH to the end of February 1996. The Mission continues to assist the Haitian authorities in maintaining a stable and secure environment and in protecting humanitarian convoys. UNMIH also provides the Haitian Provisional Electoral Council with logistical and financial assistance and its civilian police component guides the work of the Interim Public Security Force and trains the Haitian National Police on the job.
A core group of the International Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH) had returned to Haiti on 22 October 1994. In my report to the General Assembly on the situation of democracy and human rights in Haiti of 23 November 1994 (A/49/689), I proposed that MICIVIH should also contribute to the strengthening of democratic institutions.
The General Assembly, in its resolution 49/27 of 5 December 1994 on the situation of democracy and human rights in Haiti, requested the speedy return of all members of MICIVIH to Haiti. At present, the United Nations component has approximately 110 members. The Mission made a major contribution to the improvement of respect for human rights in Haiti, both during the military rule and since the restoration of the constitutional order last October. On 12 July, following my report of 29 June (A/49/926) and consultations with the Government of Haiti and the Secretary-General of OAS, the General Assembly extended the mandate of the United Nations component of MICIVIH until 7 February 1996.
MICIVIH continued to give priority to the monitoring and promotion of respect for human rights in Haiti. During the preparation of elections, the Mission facilitated and monitored respect for the freedom of expression and association as well as investigating allegations of intimidation and violence. Both UNMIH and MICIVIH worked closely with an OAS electoral observation mission set up in May 1995. UNMIH helped to ensure that the legislative and local elections on 25 June, while marred by organizational problems, took place in a secure environment, and MICIVIH staff assisted the electoral observation mission in the performance of its tasks. In its report on the 25 June elections, released by the Secretary-General of OAS on 13 July, the observation mission concluded that the elections had established a foundation that, although shaky, provided the basis for further positive progress towards the continuing evolution of an increasingly peaceful democracy in Haiti.
After the events of September 1991, United Nations agencies and the international community provided humanitarian assistance to Haiti to address the most pressing basic needs. The main sectors targeted for intervention under the humanitarian assistance programme to alleviate the situation of the poorest sectors of the population were health care, nutrition, water supply and sanitation, and agriculture. To allow for the continuation of the humanitarian programmes during the embargo, a humanitarian fuel supply programme was undertaken. A total of 3,632,277 gallons of fuel was distributed among the non-governmental organizations and other institutions involved in humanitarian aid.
With the return of constitutional government in October 1994 and the restoration of democracy after years of political instability and deteriorated socio-economic conditions, reorienting Haiti towards the path of economic development will be a daunting task. After a thorough review of the ongoing humanitarian activities, it was deemed necessary to find a new approach in order gradually to phase out the emphasis on strictly humanitarian relief, while facilitating the initiation of longer-term reconstruction initiatives.
An appeal for a six-month transitional period was launched on 6 December 1994 simultaneously in Port-au-Prince and Washington, D.C., by the Government of Haiti, the United Nations and OAS. The activities presented in the appeal reflected urgent needs that could be implemented rapidly and be of immediate positive impact. They were also intended to be sustainable in order to facilitate a smooth transition to medium- and long-term reconstruction and development efforts. The appeal requested $78 million to meet the needs for continued humanitarian and reconstruction assistance during Haiti's critical transition periods. As at 10 August, 54.1 per cent of the appeal target, or some $50.8 million, had been either received or pledged.
In 1995, cooperation between the Government and its development partners has moved from emergency and ad hoc initiatives to more strategically planned public works and employment-creation projects, leading, in particular, to major agreements with EU, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank in July 1995. UNDP activities centre on governance, economic growth and poverty eradication, and the Programme has also provided seed money for certain initiatives by donor countries. In order to coordinate development activities with the peace-keeping mission of UNMIH in a manner consistent with its mandate, my Deputy Special Representative has been concurrently appointed Resident Representative of UNDP.
On 13 November 1994, Tropical Storm Gordon caused heavy rains and floods that devastated sections of Port-au-Prince as well as the southern part of the country. The death toll was estimated at 1,122, and some 1.5 million people were affected. Altogether, 8,600 families became homeless and 61,500 were in need of emergency relief. Destruction of infrastructure, agricultural land and property was extensive and included 11,402 houses partially damaged and 3,905 completely destroyed.
Following the appeal for international assistance by the Government of Haiti, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator called on the United Nations Management Disaster Team to join the relief effort undertaken in support of the affected populations. The Department of Humanitarian Affairs sent a three-person team from United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination to strengthen the Humanitarian Coordinator's efforts to bolster the capacity of the special task force established by the Prime Minister.
In response to the emergency situation, the international community's cash contributions amounted to $8.6 million, of which United Nations contributions amounted to some $500,000. Relief items were received from the Department of Humanitarian Affairs warehouse at Pisa, Italy, as well as from the Governments of France, Japan and Mexico.
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