Haiti, 2004

It is a

pleasure for me, on behalf of the people and the

Government of Haiti and on my own behalf, to express

to you, Sir, my heartfelt congratulations on your

election on 10 June to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its fifty-ninth regular session. The

outstanding qualities that have won you this distinction

undoubtedly constitute a guarantee that our work will

progress well. I am convinced that advances will be

made in the search for viable and lasting solutions to

the different problems confronting the international

community. I also wish to express our gratitude to

Minister Julian Hunte of Saint Lucia, whose far-

sightedness and sense of balance gave decisive weight

to his initiatives to give new dynamics to the work of

the General Assembly during the last session.

I also want to pay tribute to the Secretary-General

of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, and to reiterate

to him, on behalf of the Haitian people, our deepest

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appreciation for the constant interest that he has shown

in Haiti. This is also an opportunity for me to express

to you, Mr. President, and to the United Nations family

my deepest thanks for the expressions of sympathy

towards — and solidarity with — the Haitian people,

once again struck by terrible floods on 18 and

19 September 2004.

Since 1945, our Organization has given proof of

its capacity for survival and renewal. Nonetheless, the

recent course of events in certain parts of the world is

of constant concern. The imposing of terror as a form

of political expression is completely unacceptable. In

this regard, Haiti endorses the relevant resolutions of

the Security Council. The spiral of violence, which

tragically affects civilian populations here and

elsewhere, is an attack on human dignity and on the

culture of peace that the United Nations embodies. The

United Nations must necessarily play its role in the

forefront, in accordance with the United Nations

Charter, in the settlement of disputes that threaten

international peace and security. The Republic of Haiti

wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the ideals and to

the principles of universality of our Organization and

to the objectives of peace and development to be

attained through international cooperation.

While the Republic of Haiti celebrates, this year,

the bicentenary of its independence, it has had to

request the solidarity of the United Nations to help in

the stabilization of the situation in the country,

following the events of 29 February 2004. The Haitian

people express their appreciation to the Security

Council, which, at my request, gave the international

community the mandate to help Haiti in the process of

political transition by virtue of Security Council

resolutions 1529 (2004) and 1542 (2004).

Seven months after the major political events that

took place in Haiti, I have come here to bear witness to

the hopes that democratic renewal is inspiring in the

Haitian population. I am also here to say, on behalf of

the Haitian people and their Government, that the

Republic of Haiti has never felt as close to the

principles and the objectives of the United Nations,

which, at the height of our distress, showed its interest

in a future of freedom, democracy and collective well-

being in Haiti.

On 29 February 2004, in accordance with the

principles of the Haitian Constitution and in my

capacity as Chief Justice of our Supreme Court, I took

my oath as interim President of the Republic. Fifteen

days later, a Government of transition was established,

with the participation of the political and social forces

of the country. The transition over which I am

presiding is designed to be inclusive. The democratic

process has begun. Political parties are forming, and

others are reorganizing themselves. A constant and

fruitful dialogue has begun between the authorities of

the State, the political class and civil society

organizations in the country. In that same spirit, a

mutually satisfactory agreement was reached on

18 September between the Government authorities and

the representatives of the demobilized military. This

thus spared the nation a bloodbath and a pointless

fratricidal struggle.

I pledged, before the Haitian nation, to put an end

to the political transition that dated back some 20

years. May this transition put an end to the transition.

General elections will be organized in 2005. The

Government resolutely supports this process, and, on

7 February 2006, I must and will hand power over to a

democratically elected President.

I thank those States that made the deployment of

the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti

(MINUSTAH) possible, particularly those that have

made or will make contingents available to the

mission. I invite MINUSTAH to work more closely

with the Haitian authorities for genuine disarmament in

the country. It is not admissible that armed groups

commit their misdeeds with impunity, without being

the least disturbed by the presence of MINUSTAH.

The Haitian national police is steadily strengthening.

The transitional Government counts on international

cooperation to make that strengthening not only

quantitative, but qualitative, in terms of training and

equipment.

Without the active and sustained support of the

international community, the objectives of the

transitional Government might not be achieved. That

failure would mean a return to anarchy and chaos in

Haiti and would be a grave setback to the United

Nations.

However, Haiti has a fresh look. All freedoms are

guaranteed, international commitments are respected

and justice again prevails. Unfortunately, the

Government of Haiti and its intentions were recently

questioned, following a verdict in which no member of

the executive branch had any role whatsoever, and that,

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in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of the

Republic.

The necessary reform of the Haitian judicial

system is clearly an imperative. But it is fundamentally

unjust to blame the present Government of brazen

interference in judiciary proceedings or to

systematically bleed magistrates and the civil servants

in charge of establishing the law.

The Government of Haiti is extremely sensitive

to the comments and remarks of its friends and partners

with whom it is cooperating in all fields of political,

economic and social governance; but it refuses to be

associated with or connected to decisions that involve

only one organ of the State, which acted completely

independently, even if those decisions might raise

certain questions.

What must not be forgotten is that I am still

President of the Court of Appeals, provisionally

exercising the function of President of the Republic.

Therefore, I cannot tolerate any arbitrary action, nor

can I tolerate any interference of the political authority

in the judiciary system. Justice must be independent.

Guaranteeing security, promoting freedom and

human dignity, promoting economic growth and social

development, preparing the provisional electoral

council for the holding of honest, credible and clean

elections — those are the objectives that the

Government of Haiti intends to achieve through its

programme of action, within the current climate of

exceptional difficulties.

For that reason, I make a solemn appeal from this

rostrum to the international community, to friendly

countries, to the specialized agencies of the United

Nations system, and to all of those for whom solidarity

is not just word that special attention, beyond symbolic

gestures, be given to the Republic of Haiti so that a

substantial and well-directed cooperative effort may

help mobilize the necessary resources, with a view to

immediate and long-term action, and may promote the

return of sustained growth in Haiti following years of

stagnation.

The people of Haiti are starting anew, and it is

natural that at this time they should turn to the United

Nations. Based upon the values and objectives that we

share, Haiti seeks the understanding of its natural

partners so that it can at last break the infernal cycle of

violence and isolation in which it has lived for too

long.