Haiti, 2003

It is my

honour to greet the President on behalf of the people of

Haiti, and I congratulate our dear friend and brother

Mr. Julian Hunte, President of this session of the

General Assembly.

After having celebrated in 1992 500 years of

Indian, black and popular resistance, the Republic of

Haiti will celebrate on 1 January 2004 the bicentennial

anniversary of its independence. From this moment on,

the first black republic of the world most warmly

welcomes you to that celebration of freedom. A

universal value, that freedom, won in 1804 by our

ancestors, must direct us, day and night, towards peace.

Because of the genocide inflicted first on the

Indians, then on 15 million Africans, wrested from

their native land and thrown in chains of slavery onto

the soil of Haiti in 1502, there could be no peace.

During those three centuries of genocide, our continent

provided 70 per cent of the entire world's gold, or

2,849 tons of gold, valued at $36 billion.

Of course, slavery is a crime against humanity. It

is therefore the binding obligation of our generation to

enshrine in the museum of civilization the gold book

dedicated to reparation and restitution.

Yesterday there was trafficking in blacks. Tomorrow

will be the celebration of blacks of blacks who are free

and free forever so that peace will finally reign.

Therefore, 1 January 2004, will be a celebration

for all freedom-loving blacks and whites; a celebration

and a holiday for all peoples who thirst for freedom and

peace. Thus, we wish to proceed from this bicentennial

of freedom to achieve a millennium of peace.

7

In that context, the Republic of Haiti is aiming at

sustainable development, to make it possible to achieve

the Millennium Development Goals adopted here in

2000 by the world's heads of State and Government.

The reduction by half, by 2015, of the percentage of

the world's population whose income is less than one

dollar a day is indeed an enormous challenge. Yes, it is

an enormous challenge to be met, given the

acceleration of economic globalization.

In this vast space of freedom, where,

unfortunately, it has not yet been possible to break the

chains of abject poverty, four fifths of the world's

inhabitants are users of only one fifth of the planet's

entire resources. While global production of basic food

products represents 110 per cent of global needs, 30

million people die of hunger every year. To achieve the

Millennium Development Goals in Haiti, the exercise

of power entails respect for fundamental freedoms,

tolerance and good governance; a war on the evils of

corruption, drug trafficking and impunity; investment

in human beings, security for all, and the holding of

free, honest and democratic elections.

For the birth of a new Haiti and the advent of a

better world, we are opposed to the extinction of

freedom, as well as to that of our species and

ecosystems. In the Caribbean and in Latin America, the

deterioration of the environment is affecting 300

million hectares of land and nearly 30 per cent of coral

reefs. Over the past three decades, of 400 million

hectares of natural forest that have perished throughout

the world, 40 per cent are in the Caribbean and Latin

American regions. It goes without saying that the

poorest segment of our peoples consequently suffer,

and their suffering is our pain.

While scientists at the Stockholm summit

emphasized the extermination of 150 species of birds

and the threat of extinction of 1,000 others, the burning

issue today focuses on life or the gradual extinction of

the human species. That is demonstrated by the

HIV/AIDS pandemic. There are 42 million infected

persons throughout the world; 3.1 million deaths; 13

million orphans whose parents have been decimated by

the virus; and 6,000 young people who are infected

with HIV every day.

The attempt to effectively combat this pandemic

means opting inevitably for the eradication of poverty.

The First Lady of the Republic has written that the

burden of the foreign debt and economic sanctions are

obviously not paving the way for such eradication.

Indeed, in the Caribbean and in Latin America,

the foreign debt entails an average net transfer of 25

billion dollars annually to the North. In other words,

the aggregate value of that debt exceeds half of the

gross domestic product (GDP) of the region.

Throughout this collective and historic march

towards the Millennium Goals, we hope that the

contribution of the rich countries to sustainable

development will rise from 0.2 to 0.7 per cent of their

gross national product (GNP).

Numerous observers have expressed their

gratification at observing the reduction in global

military spending on a worldwide scale during the last

decade of the twentieth century. From 1985 to 1998,

those expenditures declined from 1,210.5 billion to

803.7 billion dollars. The drop in military spending and

the rise in spending for human development will, we

believe, promote both human and economic growth.

The Republic of Haiti will continue, unceasingly, to

fight against violence and terrorism. It hopes, however,

that this uncontrollable need will not lead to stepping

up an arms race or the proliferation of deadly weapons

throughout the world.

Terrorism and bio-terrorism are by no means

mere hallucinations. To live in freedom and to live in

peace there is a need to eradicate violence wherever it

may come from. May we finally see the dawn of an era

of peace in the Middle East, in Afghanistan, in Africa,

in Asia and in Iraq, wherever wars are inflicting untold

suffering on mankind. Since 1989, the end of the cold

war, there have been more than 60 armed conflicts

claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of

individuals and creating more than 17 million refugees.

Violence and slavery are sources of darkness.

Peace and freedom are sources of light. Our world is

seeking that light. That light, like freedom, is

absolutely indispensable for life on earth.

Impoverished, but aware of its human, cultural and

historic riches, Haiti shines beyond the darkness of

colonization like a beacon of freedom.

Let us humbly say:

The first black republic of the world

Is and continues to be the geographical axis of

freedom for blacks.

8

(Spoke in Haitian Creole)

Haiti is the mother of liberty,

Her sons and daughters are the fruits of human

dignity.

(Spoke in French)

Haiti is the mother of liberty,

Her sons and daughters are the fruits of human

dignity.

May it shine, may it shine day and night, that

light of freedom! Thanks to Albert Einstein, we know

that light is made up of particles and therefore implies

a flow of photons. Thanks to Toussaint Louverture, we

know that liberty is a radiant source of light, giving off

photons of dignity, justice and peace. May the blazing

light of liberty shine throughout the world.

Our ancestors and your ancestors freed the slaves

from their chains. Today, let us unite to free the world

from the chains of inhuman poverty. Then we shall see

a reign of happiness, justice and peace at the heart of

all nations and in Haiti, where you will be all warmly

welcomed to celebrate the bicentennial of our

independence.