Twenty Six Haitian-American Elected Officials Call on the State Department, the UN, OAS, CARICOM, IADB, IMF and World Bank to Act Immediately on the Dominican Republic

    Honorable Joseph Champagne, Mayor of South Toms River, New Jersey

The National Haitian American Elected Officials Network (NHAEON) strongly condemns the Dominican Republic court ruling (Sentencia 168-13) which renders stateless thousands of Dominicans, mainly of Haitian and Caribbean origin.

Media Contact: Joseph Makhandal Champagne, Jr., Esq., Chair

                       Tel: 732-240-0030 and email: nhaeon.chairman@gmail.com

The ruling officially states that any Dominican citizen without one parent of Dominican nationality will have their citizenship stripped retroactively to 1929.  This ruling violates the Dominican constitution and a number of international conventions. 

Consider the vast implications of this ruling.  Without citizenship, these Dominicans have no property rights; they are unable to use hospital facilities their children cannot go to school; their passports are void and they cannot travel.  They are in limbo.  An 80-year old grandmother living in the Dominican Republic for generations just lost everything – as have her children and grandchildren.  Most concerning to my organization is that a disproportionate number of Dominicans affected by this ruling are black and of Haitian descent.

Multilateral institutions, including the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations (UN), and the Inter American Human Rights Commission, have condemned the decision. Haitian President Michel Martelly addressed the OAS on February 7, 2014 calling for constant vigilance on this issue (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kk8Byb-kQA&list=PLkh9EPEuEx2sNOv3Z8kwhcHuDZXHHQTt8&index=3). Twelve days after that speech, CARICOM countries called on the OAS Permanent Council to consider the report of the Inter American Commission on Human Rights calling for the Dominican Republic to respect its international obligations (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq34GEHxU1E&index=2&list=PLkh9EPEuEx2sNOv3Z8kwhcHuDZXHHQTt8).

Many human rights organizations have joined the condemnation, including Amnesty International and the Robert Kennedy Center for Human Rights and Justice.  Human rights activist and winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize for Literature, Mario Vargas Llosa, has likened the Dominican court ruling to tactics used by the Nazis and the brutal Apartheid regime in South Africa.  Unfortunately for Haitians, who are the main ethnic group targeted by this ruling, there is a troubling historic precedence underpinning this comparison.  In 1937, Dominican President Rafael Trujillo directed the purge of black Haitian workers and murdered as many as 40,000 Haitians without repercussion.

In the face of international pressure, the Dominican Government has only minimally responded.  They have engaged the Haitian government in a bilateral dialogue, which has resulted in no serious solutions to date.  Rather, the Dominicans have focused on a tangential issue, namely “regularizing” undocumented workers, and have issued two decrees that provide papers to those citizens.  Undocumented workers are not the core issue.  The rendering stateless of tens of thousands Dominicans is the core issue.

NHAEON is calling upon multilateral institutions, the Dominican and Haitian Diaspora, as well as human rights groups, and the global community to mobilize against this state-sponsored ethnic cleansing of Dominicans of Haitian and Caribbean descent by calling for the following actions:

1)   UN Security Council, the Secretary General and the Organizations of American States officially condemn the ruling of the Dominican court;

2)   Additional efforts by the CARICOM to suspend Dominican Republic participation in multilateral organizations, including the OAS, UN, the African Union, European Union, and PetroCaribe.

3)   Call for the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Inter American Development Bank to consider sanctions;

4)   Appeal for U.S. Diplomatic intervention and for Haitian Americans to build coalitions with our friends and allies in the Congressional Black Caucus, the Latino Caucus, the Progressive Caucus, the NAACP, Urban League, and religious groups to join us in protecting the citizenship of all Dominicans; and,

5)   Mobilize the Dominican and Haitian Diaspora to boycott the Dominican government and businesses and request host nations to condemn the Dominican ruling and impose trade sanctions.

ABOUT NHAEON

National Haitian American Elected Officials Network in the United States (NHAEON) is a non-partisan coalition determined to promote Haitian culture, education, welfare and well being while improving relations between the United States and Haiti.  NHAEON is committed to bringing a renewed national and local focus on key legislative, diplomatic, security, economic and human rights issues affecting Haiti.

State Department Human Rights on the Dominican Republic, see: http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm#wrapper

Republique Dominicaine: Les parias haïtiens des Caraïbes par MARIO VARGAS LLOSA (ESPAÑOL DESPUÉS LA VERSION FRANCÉS)

La décision de la Cour constitutionnelle dominicaine qui ouvre la porte à la "dénationalisation" de milliers de citoyens d'origine haïtienne nés en République dominicaine est inique, clame Mario Vargas Llosa, Prix Nobel de littérature 2010, qui la compare aux lois hitlériennes des années 1930.

Juliana Deguis Pierre est née il y a vingt-neuf ans de parents haïtiens en République dominicaine et n'est jamais sortie de son pays natal. Jamais elle n'a appris le français ni le créole, et elle parle uniquement ce bel espagnol aux intonations dominicaines si chantantes. Munie de son certificat de naissance, Juliana a déposé une demande de carte d'identité à la Junta Central Electoral, l'état civil dominicain, qui la lui a refusée, lui confisquant de plus le certificat en arguant de "patronymes suspects".

Juliana a présenté un recours, et le 23 septembre 2013, le tribunal constitutionnel dominicain a rendu son verdict, refusant la nationalité dominicaine à tous ceux qui, comme cette jeune femme, sont enfants ou descendants de "migrants" clandestins. La décision du tribunal suscite un tollé international contre la République dominicaine et fait de Juliana Deguis Pierre l'incarnation de la tragédie des quelque 200 000 Dominicains d'origine haïtienne (estimation de Laura Bingham, de l'Open Society Justice Initiative) qui se retrouvent ainsi apatrides, privés, pour beaucoup de façon rétroactive, de leur nationalité.

La conclusion du tribunal constitutionnel dominicain est une aberration juridique qui semble directement inspirée des lois hitlériennes des années 1930, édictées par des magistrats nazis dans le but de priver de la nationalité allemande les Juifs pourtant établis dans ce pays depuis des années (des siècles, même) et parfaitement intégrés dans la société. La décision est en tout état de cause en infraction avec un arrêt de la Cour interaméricaine des droits de l'homme (dotée d'une convention à laquelle la République dominicaine fait partie) qui, en septembre 2005, avait déjà condamné ce pays pour négation du droit à la nationalité de deux petites Dominicaines nées comme Juliana de parents haïtiens, Dilcia Yean et Violeta Bosico. Il est évident, au vu de ce précédent, que la Cour interaméricaine, si elle était saisie, réaffirmerait ce droit et que la République dominicaine serait contrainte de s'y plier, sauf à décider – ce qui est très peu probable – de se mettre à l'écart du système judiciaire interaméricain et de devenir un pays paria.

Cruauté, inhumanité et hypocrisie des juges

Rappelons, comme l'a fait The New York Times le 24 octobre, que deux juges du tribunal constitutionnel dominicain ont voté contre cette décision et, en s'opposant à une mesure ouvertement raciste et discriminatoire, ont sauvé l'honneur de l'institution et de leur pays. Les magistrats du tribunal motivent leur refus de la nationalité à des personnes comme Juliana Deguis Pierre par la "situation irrégulière" des parents. En d'autres termes, il s'agit de faire payer aux enfants (voire aux petits-enfants et aux arrière-petits-enfants) un délit que sont présumés avoir commis leurs ascendants. Comme au Moyen Age, comme les tribunaux de l'Inquisition, l'arrêt constitutionnel dominicain part du principe que les délits sont héréditaires et se transmettent, par le sang, de génération en génération.

A la cruauté et à l'inhumanité de ces juges vient s'ajouter l'hypocrisie. Ils savent très bien que l'immigration "irrégulière" ou clandestine des Haïtiens en République dominicaine, qui a commencé au début du XXe siècle, est un phénomène social et économique complexe. Bien souvent, et précisément dans les périodes les plus favorables économiquement, cette immigration a été encouragée par les propriétaires terriens et chefs d'entreprise dominicains eux-mêmes, soucieux de disposer d'une main-d'œuvre bon marché sur les plantations de canne à sucre, dans le bâtiment ou pour les travaux domestiques, et ce au vu et au su des autorités, conscientes du bénéfice économique que pouvait tirer le pays (en tout cas ses classes moyennes et supérieures) de ces flots de clandestins d'ailleurs maintenus dans des conditions de vie extrêmement précaires, majoritairement sans contrat de travail ni sécurité sociale, ni protection juridique d'aucune sorte.

Los parias del Caribe, MARIO VARGAS LLOSA

PIEDRA DE TOQUE. La sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional de la República Dominicana sobre el caso de Juliana Regis Pierre es un desatino que niega la nacionalidad a los hijos de inmigrantes irregulares

http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/10/31/opinion/1383233998_965346.html

Juliana Deguis Pierre nació hace 29 años, de padres haitianos, en la República Dominicana y nunca ha salido de su tierra natal. Jamás aprendió francés ni créole y su única lengua es el bello y musical español de sabor dominicano. Con su certificado de nacimiento, Juliana pidió su carnet de identidad a la Junta Central Electoral (responsable del registro civil), pero este organismo se negó a dárselo y le decomisó su certificado alegando que sus " apellidos eran sospechosos ". Juliana apeló y el 23 de septiembre de 2013 el Tribunal Constitucional dominicano dictó una sentencia negando la nacionalidad dominicana a todos quienes, como aquella joven, sean hijos o descendientes de " migrantes " irregulares. La disposición del Tribunal ha puesto a la República Dominicana en la picota de la opinión pública internacional y ha hecho de Juliana Deguis Pierre un símbolo de la tragedia de cerca de 200.000 dominicanos de origen haitiano (según Laura Bingham, de la Open Society Justice Initiative) que, de este modo, la mayoría de ellos de manera retroactiva, pierden su nacionalidad y se convierten en apátridas.

La sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional dominicano es una aberración jurídica y parece directamente inspirada en las famosas leyes hitlerianas de los años treinta dictadas por los jueces alemanes nazis para privar de la nacionalidad alemana a los judíos que llevaban muchos años (muchos siglos) avecindados en ese país y eran parte constitutiva de su sociedad. Por lo pronto, se insubordina contra una disposición legal de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (de la que la República Dominicana forma parte) que, en septiembre de 2005, condenó a este país por negar su derecho a la nacionalidad a las niñas Dilcia Yean y Violeta Bosico, dominicanas como Juliana, e igual que ella hijas de haitianos. Con este precedente, es obvio que, si es consultada, la Corte Interamericana volverá a reafirmar aquel derecho y la República Dominicana tendrá que acatar esta decisión, a menos que decida —algo muy improbable— retirarse del sistema legal interamericano y convertirse a su vez en un país paria.

Hay que señalar, como lo hace The New York Times el 24 de Octubre, que dos miembros del Tribunal Constitucional dominicano dieron un voto disidente y salvaron el honor de la institución y de su país oponiéndose a una medida claramente racista y discriminatoria. El argumento utilizado por los miembros del Tribunal para negar la nacionalidad a personas como Juliana Deguis Pierre es que sus padres tienen una " situación irregular ". Es decir, hay que hacer pagar a los hijos (o a los nietos y bisnietos) un supuesto delito que habrían cometido sus antepasados. Como en la Edad Media y en los tribunales de la Inquisición, según esta sentencia, los delitos son hereditarios y se transmiten de padres a hijos con la sangre.

La decisión convierte en apátridas a más de 200.000 dominicanos de origen haitiano

A la crueldad e inhumanidad de semejantes jueces se suma la hipocresía. Ellos saben muy bien que la migración " irregular " o ilegal de haitianos a la República Dominicana que comenzó a principios del siglo veinte es un fenómeno social y económico complejo, que en muchos períodos —los de mayor bonanza, precisamente— ha sido alentado por hacendados y empresarios dominicanos a fin de disponer de una mano de obra barata para las zafras de la caña de azúcar, la construcción o los trabajos domésticos, con pleno conocimiento y tolerancia de las autoridades, conscientes del provecho económico que obtenía el país —bueno, sus clases medias y altas— con la existencia de una masa de inmigrantes en situación irregular y que, por lo mismo, vivían en condiciones sumamente precarias, la gran mayoría de ellos sin contratos de trabajo, ni seguridad social ni protección legal alguna.

Uno de los mayores crímenes cometidos durante la tiranía de Generalísimo Trujillo fue la matanza indiscriminada de haitianos de 1937 en la que, se dice, varias decenas de miles de estos miserables inmigrantes fueron asesinados por una masa enardecida con las fabricaciones apocalípticas de grupos nacionalistas fanáticos. No menos grave es, desde el punto de vista moral y cívico, la escandalosa sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional. Mi esperanza es que la oposición a ella, tanto interna como internacional, libre al Caribe de una injusticia tan bárbara y flagrante. Porque el fallo del Tribunal no se limita a pronunciarse sobre el caso de Juliana Deguis Pierre. Además, para que no quede duda de que quiere establecer jurisprudencia con el fallo, ordena a las autoridades someter a un escrutinio riguroso todos los registros de nacimientos en el país desde el año 1929 a fin de determinar retroactivamente quiénes no tenían derecho a obtener la nacionalidad dominicana y por lo tanto pueden ser ahora privados de ella.

Si semejante paralogismo jurídico prevaleciera, decenas de miles de familias dominicanas de origen haitiano (próximo o remoto) quedarían convertidas en zombies, en no personas, seres incapacitados para obtener un trabajo legal, inscribirse en una escuela o universidad pública, recibir un seguro de salud, una jubilación, salir del país, y víctimas potenciales por lo tanto de todos los abusos y atropellos. ¿Por qué delito? Por el mismo de los judíos a los que Hitler privó de existencia legal antes de mandarlos a los campos de exterminio: por pertenecer a una raza despreciada. Sé muy bien que el racismo es una enfermedad muy extendida y que no hay sociedad ni país, por civilizado y democrático que sea, que esté totalmente vacunado contra él. Siempre aparece, sobre todo cuando hacen falta chivos expiatorios que distraigan a la gente de los verdaderos problemas y de los verdaderos culpables de que los problemas no se resuelvan, pero, hemos vivido ya demasiados horrores a consecuencias del nacionalismo cerril (siempre máscara del racismo) como para que no salgamos a enfrentarnos a él apenas asoma, a fin de evitar las tragedias que causa a la corta o a la larga.

El racismo aparece cuando hacen falta chivos expiatorios que oculten los verdaderos problemas

Afortunadamente hay en la sociedad civil dominicana muchas voces valientes y democráticas —de intelectuales, asociaciones de derechos humanos, periodistas— que, al igual que los dos jueces disidentes del Tribunal Constitucional, han denunciado la medida y se movilizan contra ella. Es penoso, eso sí, el silencio cómplice de tantos partidos políticos o líderes de opinión que callan ante la iniquidad o, como el prehistórico cardenal arzobispo de Santo Domingo, Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, que la apoya, sazonándola de insultos contra quienes la condenan. Yo creía que los peruanos teníamos, con el Cardenal Juan Luis Cipriani, el triste privilegio de contar con el arzobispo más reaccionario y antidemocrático de América Latina, pero veo que su colega dominicano le disputa el cetro.

Quiero mucho a la República Dominicana, desde que visité ese país por primera vez, en 1974, para hacer un documental televisivo. Desde entonces he vuelto muchas veces y con alegría lo he visto democratizarse, modernizarse, en todos estos años, a un ritmo más veloz que el de muchos otros países latinoamericanos sin que se reconozca siempre su transformación como merecería. El segundo de mis hijos vive y trabaja allá y entrega todos sus esfuerzos a apoyar los derechos humanos en ese país, secundado por muchos admirables dominicanos. Por eso me apena profundamente ver la tempestad de críticas que llueven sobre el Tribunal Constitucional y su insensata sentencia. Éste es uno de esos momentos críticos que viven todos los países en su historia. Lo fue también cuando ocurrió el terrible terremoto que devastó a su país vecino, Haití, en enero de 2010. ¿Cómo actuó la República Dominicana en esa ocasión ? El Presidente Leonel Fernández voló de inmediato a Puerto Príncipe a ofrecer ayuda y ésta se volcó con una abundancia y generosidad formidables. Yo recuerdo todavía los hospitales dominicanos repletos de víctimas haitianas y los médicos y enfermeras dominicanos que volaron a Haití a prestar sus servicios. Esa es la verdadera cara de la República Dominicana que no puede verse desnaturalizada por las malandanzas de su Tribunal Constitucional.

 © Derechos mundiales de prensa en todas las lenguas reservados a Ediciones EL PAÍS, SL, 2013.

 © Mario Vargas Llosa, 2013.

Donors Eliminate Haiti’s Debt to International Financial Institutions

U.S. Department of Treasury: United States, Other Donors Eliminate Haiti’s Debt to International Financial Institutions

Achievement of Debt Relief by International Partners Among Swiftest in History

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced that the United States, the International Financial Institutions (IFIs), and other donors have together reached the goal of eliminating the total debt stock that Haiti owed to the IFIs at the time of the January earthquake. Today's announcement comes just six months after Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner stated his intention to work closely with partners around the world to relieve Haiti's debt. This achievement is among the fastest complete IFI debt reductions in history.

"With President Obama's signing of the FY 10 Supplemental Appropriations Act, Haiti can take another important step forward on the path to rebuilding," said Secretary Geithner. "We are proud to stand together with our international partners at the forefront of this decisive response."

Treasury also noted the key support of the U.S. Congress, which passed the FY 10 Supplemental Appropriations Act, providing the Administration with a contribution of up to $248 million towards an international agreement to cancel Haiti's debt at the multilateral development institutions. In addition, Secretary Geithner praised the multilateral development institutions for structuring debt relief in a manner that would unlock $318 million in grant funding for Haiti.

"This innovative proposal not only achieved full cancellation of debt, but also increased resources available for Haiti's recovery over the near and long term," Secretary Geithner continued. The additional funding can be used to support Haiti's recovery by financing such activities as the building of schools, restoration of basic services, and boosting of agriculture and employment programs.

In particular, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), as part of the debt relief agreement, will make available $295 million in new grant flows to Haiti. Similarly, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will convert $23 million in loans to grants.

For its part, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) took the unprecedented step of creating a new facility, the Post-Catastrophe Debt Reduction (PCDR) Trust, to join international debt relief efforts for Haiti as well as to help very poor countries hit by catastrophic natural disasters in the future. The IMF fully financed the PCDR Trust using internal IMF resources.

When the earthquake struck, Haiti owed $447 million to the IDB, $51 million to IFAD, $39 million to the International Development Association (IDA), and $158 million to the IMF. On April 23, IFAD's executive directors approved a 100 percent debt relief package for Haiti.[1] On May 28, the World Bank announced the cancellation of Haiti's IDA debt.[2] On July 21, the IMF cancelled Haiti's $268 million in outstanding debt to the IMF, including the $110 million emergency loan approved immediately after the earthquake.[3] With the U.S. contribution to the IDB, the Treasury-led effort to eliminate the entirety of Haiti's pre-earthquake debt obligations to the IFIs will be fully achieved.

###

IFAD Executive Board approves debt relief for Haiti

Agreement sets up US$50 million debt relief programme for outstanding debt

Rome, 23 April 2010 – Things are looking up for the people of Haiti with the Executive Board of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) approving a debt-relief package for the disaster-stricken nation in its meeting this week.

“The agreement provides the basis for permanent debt forgiveness of Haiti’s debt burden to our organization,” said Kanayo F. Nwanze, IFAD President. “Without this type of relief, Haiti would have been hard pressed to repay its outstanding loans to the organization, to the detriment of the critical reconstruction and development activities. With the generous contributions from our members – plus a significant investment on our part – we are breaking that cycle.”

The net present value of Haiti’s debt to IFAD is US$50.7 million. Under the agreement, IFAD ― an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries ― will contribute up to 30 per cent of the debt relief requirement, with member states needing to contribute the remaining 70 per cent.

“A small portion of Haiti’s debt was already forgiven by organizations like IFAD under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative, but the bulk remained,” said Josefina Stubbs, Director of IFAD’s Latin America and the Caribbean Division. “By relieving the country of this burden, we are freeing up funds for redevelopment and reconstruction.”

The process of reconstruction and development in Haiti has already begun. IFAD responded rapidly to the January earthquake with a $2.5 million grant for irrigation and watershed rehabilitation in a project that is expected to benefit some 12,000 households in rural areas directly affected by the earthquake.

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Press release No.: IFAD/29/2010

World Bank Announces Total Cancellation of Haiti’s Debt
	Available in: العربية, Español, Français
Press Release No:2010/439/LCR/CFP
Contacts: In Washington: Sergio Jellinek (202) 458-2841 sjellinek@worldbank.org Angela Furtado (202) 473-1909 afurtado@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, May 28, 2010 -- The World Bank today announced that the remaining US$36 million of debt owed by Haiti to the International Development Association (IDA), the Bank’s fund for the poorest countries, has been cancelled. Haiti now has no further amounts payable to the World Bank. “Relieving Haiti’s remaining debt is part of our effort to pursue every avenue to help Haiti’s reconstruction efforts,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. “We will continue to work in close cooperation with the Haitian government and our international partners to support the country’s recovery and longer-term development.” This cancellation by the World Bank of Haiti’s debt to IDA was made possible by contributions from Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Since the earthquake that struck Haiti in January this year, the World Bank has made available US$479 million in grants to support Haiti’s recovery and development through June 2011. It is also the trustee as well as a partner working to support Haiti’s reconstruction and development through the multi-donor Haiti Reconstruction Fund, to which Brazil became the first country to contribute earlier this month. In July 2009, Haiti won $1.2 billion in debt relief from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other creditors. -#-

IMF Executive Board Cancels Haiti’s Debt and Approves New Three-Year Program to Support Reconstruction and Economic Growth

Press Release No. 10/299
July 21, 2010

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved the full cancellation of Haiti’s outstanding liabilities to the Fund, of about SDR 178 million (equivalent to US$268 million). The Board also approved a new three-year arrangement for Haiti under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) requested by the authorities to support the country’s reconstruction and growth program.

Both decisions form part of a broad strategy to support Haiti’s longer term reconstruction plans, following the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010. The cancellation of existing debt was advocated by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the days following the disaster as part of a concerted international effort to launch a “Marshall Plan” for the reconstruction of the country. The new program provides a strong and forward-looking framework to support economic stability and reconstruction in the country, and will also help catalyze donors’ contributions.

“Donors must start delivering on their promises to Haiti quickly,” Mr. Strauss-Kahn said, “so reconstruction can be accelerated, living standards quickly improved, and social tensions soothed.” At a high-level donors' conference in March, the international community pledged US$ 9.9 billion to Haiti’s reconstruction, of which US$ 5.3 billion is to be disbursed over the next 18 months.

Resources freed by IMF debt relief will help Haiti to meet substantial balance-of-payments needs exacerbated by the earthquake. The debt relief is financed by the Post-Catastrophe Debt Relief (PCDR) Trust Fund, recently established by the Fund to help very poor countries hit by catastrophic natural disasters (see attached factsheet).

The new ECF arrangement will provide SDR 40.9 million (about US$ 60 million) over three years to boost Haiti’s international reserves and help the central bank manage potential swings in the value of the local currency - important to avoid raises in the prices of basic commodities consumed by the poor - without adding to the country’s net debt. Financing under the ECF carries a zero interest rate until end-2011 and thereafter zero to 0.5 percent, with a maturity of 10 years and a grace period of 5½ years. The temporary interest waiver is part of the package that was approved in July 2009 to support the IMF’s lending to low-income countries, financed from the IMF’s internal resources, including the use of resources linked to the gold sales, and through bilateral contributions (see Factsheet “Financing the Fund’s Concessional Lending to Low-Income Countries”). The new program also includes important policy commitments from the authorities that will help protect macroeconomic stability, and strengthen fiscal governance.

“The new program will provide a coherent macroeconomic framework to support the implementation of our Action Plan and ensure efficient spending and absorption of aid inflows,” Haiti’s Minister of Economy and Finance Ronald Baudin said.

Technical Assistance

The IMF will also provide a comprehensive medium-term technical assistance program aimed at strengthening state institutions, concentrating in the areas of tax policies, revenue administration, budget preparation and execution, and helping the country in organizing its first ever issuance of government securities.

“Improving the business environment and fostering private credit and investment will be essential to support growth,” Charles Castel, Governor of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti said. “The Fund’s technical assistance will help rebuild economic institutions and build capacity.”

Following the Executive Board discussion on Haiti, Mr. Naoyuki Shinohara Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, issued the following statement:

“The January 2010 earthquake was devastating for Haiti, after several years of progress in maintaining economic stability, resuming growth, and implementing essential reforms. The authorities are to be commended for good policy implementation in the six-month period since the earthquake, in spite of limited financial resources and weakened capacity.

“Haiti meets the eligibility and qualification conditions for debt stock relief under the PCDR Trust Fund. Resources freed by debt stock relief under the PCDR Trust Fund are critical to meeting the large and protracted balance-of-payments needs exacerbated by the earthquake and subsequent recovery efforts, and to placing Haiti's debt on a sustainable path. Debt relief from the Fund is part of a concerted international effort to cancel Haiti's remaining debt after the earthquake.

“The newly approved ECF-supported arrangement provides a coherent macroeconomic framework to support the authorities' reconstruction and growth objectives. The macroeconomic outlook, and implementation of the authorities' reconstruction plan, depends crucially on the timely disbursement of the large donor pledges. Furthermore, improvements in infrastructure and the business environment will be essential to raise medium-term growth, by attracting private investment and expanding the export base. The establishment of a partial credit guarantee fund will help restart private sector credit

“The Fund-supported program aims at smoothing the impact on the economy of large expected aid flows, projected to triple to about 15 percent of GDP over in the next 3 years. Fiscal objectives are to raise domestic revenue, align the budget and its financing with reconstruction priorities, and continue strengthening fiscal governance. Monetary and exchange rate policies will be upgraded to facilitate the absorption of aid inflows, while avoiding large swings in the exchange rate and keeping inflation under control The program is supported by a comprehensive medium term technical assistance strategy, coordinated with Haiti's development partners.”

ANNEX

Recent Economic Developments

The earthquake of January 12, 2010 caused unprecedented destruction of human and physical capital, with losses estimated at 120 percent of 2009 GDP. The disaster struck the country at a time when its outlook was improving after several years of prudent macroeconomic management. In 2009, Haiti’s growth reached almost 3 percent, the second-fastest rate in the Western Hemisphere.

A still fragile recovery is taking place after the earthquake. Agricultural production, construction and textile manufacturing are supporting economic activity, while remittances, which grew by 12 percent between January and May of 2010 (over the previous year), are supporting consumption and imports. Exports are recovering, although the trade deficit is still widening.

Main Program Objectives

The program is focused on macroeconomic policies that can support growth and the Haitian authorities’ reconstruction plan, as well as help manage the aid inflows. It includes improving the efficiency and transparency of spending, increasing revenues, modernizing monetary and exchange rate operations, and enhancing credit growth.

Growth: GDP is projected to expand by 9 percent in fiscal year 2011-12, due mostly to reconstruction activity, and 6 percent by 2015.

Inflation: expected to reach 8.5 percent in the current fiscal year and to decline to 7 percent by 2013.

Fiscal strategy: to boost revenue collection to 13 percent of GDP by 2013, from 10% percent currently. The authorities’ objective is to enhance the quality and effectiveness of reconstruction spending and rebuild a more modern and efficient tax administration.

Monetary policy: the program aims at building a sustainable external position while absorbing the reconstruction-related foreign exchange flows. To enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy, further steps will be taken to improve the Bank of the Republic of Haiti’s independence. The authorities also aim at gradually developing a market for government securities.

Lugar Calls for Business Reform; Proposes Haitian-American Enterprise Fund By Stanley Lucas

Summary

On July 22, Senator Lugar released a report, authored by senior staff members, entitled, “Without Reform, No Return on Investment in Haiti” (see http://lugar.senate.gov/issues/foreign/lac/haiti/pdf/investment.pdf ). The report summarizes the limited impact of US and foreign investment in Haiti over the past two decades and the serious hurdles to setting up a business. In order to jumpstart the private sector, Lugar has proposed the establishment of a Haitian American Enterprise Fund. The bill was introduced on April 14 and is pending review in the Committee on Foreign Affairs (see http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.3202: ). The Fund would be modeled on the successful models of the enterprise funds created in the 1990s for Poland, Hungary, and other European countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Analysis

Lugar’s team hit the nail on the head by pinpointing the reform of the business sector as the key to sustainable economic growth. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, former President Bush economist Glen Hubbard wrote a similar piece (see http://solutionshaiti.blogspot.com/2010/02/true-marshall-plan-for-haiti-by-glenn.html ) arguing that the success of the Marshall Plan in post-WWII Europe was based on the vibrant private sector, which was lacking in Haiti. To be sure, Haiti needs business reform and to formalize the private sector. The Haitian American Enterprise Fund is an interesting approach, but must be structured in a way that allows all Haitians access to the Fund. As the Fund is currently outlined, it will do nothing more than further strengthen Haiti’s elite business cartel and the current discredited leadership.

The report misses a critical element of why the business sector is in such disarray, and why there is almost no political will to make the necessary reforms. Haiti’s economy is controlled by a business cartel known as the “Groupe de Bourdon”, named after an affluent neighborhood. This cartel controls about 95% of the economy – and contributes a mere 4% of the income taxes collected. In the private sector they control food importation, the agriculture sector, banks, transportation, etc. They essentially monopolize all sectors, including the informal sector. For example, many people in the informal sector will buy bags of rice or other consumer products and then sell these items in the market for a slight mark up. They buy these products from the Groupe at an extremely high interest rate. It is feudalism at its best.

They do this with the support and participation of the Preval Administration. They financed Preval’s campaign, and in return, they gained control of the public and private sector. In the public sector, they leveraged their access to the President, they put in place the ministers of finance, commerce, public works, the directors generals of the tax offices and office to acquire state lands, the port and customs, the governor of the central bank, and economic advisors to the president. They also secured a monopoly of oil (via Petro Caraibe) and grains through PL480, a USAID program for Haiti. It is also the Groupe that is responsible for the incredible interest rates of 48-60% on small business loans and the limited access to credit. With this access they were able to acquire profitable state institutions for pennies on the dollar under the guise of privatization.

This Groupe also has the means to access the US Government, Congress and international aid. Several members of the cartel briefed the senate staffers. Unfortunately, the Lugar staff did not take the opportunity to meet with the local chambers of commerce and entrepreneurs that have been dedicated to bringing opportunity to all Haitians. This powerful group has effectively lobbied US codels, international delegations, Clinton, UN, IADB, and the World Bank. With the support of the Haitian government they have secured international aid funds to finance pet projects that do not at all benefit the Haitian people as a whole. For example, they are trying to secure an $80 million grant to build their own private university rather than modernizing and rebuilding the affordable state university. These loans and grant are taken on behalf of the Haitian people but finance their own end.

The report also misses the reason why there is a “dearth” of political will to make business reforms. The report states that President Preval is “resistant to overtures by the World Bank and other international partners to make difficult decisions, ostensibly because he fears being labeled a dictator by political adversaries if he makes certain reforms by decree.” First, it is unclear why these reforms would need to be made by decree. There is a legislature that is motivated to show some progress on important issues in advance of elections. But more fundamentally questionable is the assessment of Preval’s motives. He was unafraid of illegally extending his term in office and unafraid of passing the Emergency and Reform Act nullifying Haitian civil liberties. It is doubtful that he would be afraid to pass business reform measures that would make access to credit more possible and streamline regulatory procedures. President Preval is “resistant to international overtures” because the current system benefits him personally and his associates in the business cartel.

Finally, it is also somewhat confusing as to why the Dominican Republic factors so prominently into the report. Staff members met with as many representatives of the DR private sector as the Haitian private sector. As noted, the relationship between the two countries has been strained due to poor treatment of Haitian workers and a host of other issues. It is unclear why the DR private sector is bemoaning the fact that Haitian leaders are not looking at “island wide” recovery. The DR did not sustain the damage that Haiti did, and has likely only benefitted from the disaster with the increased numbers of aid workers and aid importation through their airports and ports.

Recommendations

The Haitian-American Enterprise Fund is an excellent idea, but there are additional efforts that could be undertaken to ensure that the private sector is bolstered:

· The Fund should be structured in a way that takes into account an entrenched business cartel and allows all Haitians access to the opportunities the Fund presents.

· While the Fund idea is strong and proven, it would be better as part of a more robust and comprehensive plan that includes technical assistance for legislative and regulatory reform to Haiti’s cumbersome business codes, training the judiciary and professionalization of government staff.

· Considering their past two decades performance, US AID Haiti’s capability to implement such a Fund should be reviewed. The US AID Haiti mission among the highest funded missions worldwide, but has not demonstrated a proven track record of results for the level of funding they have received.

· The report neglects to discuss the role of the Haitian Diaspora’s role as a key resource in supporting the building of the business sector. Unfortunately, the Lugar staff did not meet with prominent Haitian Diaspora business leaders in the US. This has been an issue for the Diaspora with the Administration and Congress throughout the rebuilding process and has left the Diaspora community wondering why they have been so seriously marginalized from the process.

· The regional and departmental Chambers of Commerce have also been neglected these organizations which have proven more representative of Haitian interests. They could use capacity building and professionalization programs. In addition, they are an excellent and more balanced source of information.

· In light of Preval’s resistance to implement private sector reforms, the Congress could consider working directly with Haiti’s legislature, which is highly motivated to undertake meaningful reform, especially with upcoming elections. Congress could consider establishing an interparliamentary exchange program with the Haitian legislature.

· Finally, the report mentions that critical lack of infrastructure is a primary obstacle to doing business in Haiti. This is an excellent area for US aid as it provides immediate job opportunities for Haitians, opportunities for US companies and tangible results. Most importantly, investing in infrastructure skirts the complicated political issues, such as FDI and the DR.

Senator Lugar Calls for Haitian Elections, but Challenges are Significant by Stanley Lucas

On June 10, Senator Lugar released a report to the Members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations entitled, "Haiti: No Leadership No Elections" (for a copy of the report, see: http://lugar.senate.gov/issues/foreign/lac/haiti/pdf/report.pdf ). The report, prepared by his key staffers after a visit to Haiti, calls for President Preval to immediately initiate procedures to move forward with November 28, 2010 elections.

While we can all agree that Haiti has a leadership crisis and that a democratically elected leader must emerge, the report misses or dismisses several hurdles that will undermine the credibility of the elections and, more importantly, will pose a serious threat to the safety of the Haitian people. The report focuses largely on procedural aspects, such as issuing electoral registration cards and submission of the Presidential request so the organization work can commence and international aid money can begin to flow in. But the report, unfortunately, complete misses the security aspect of elections and does not factor in the historical precedent for discredited elections to throw the country into complete chaos. The report concludes that the leadership vacuum is more detrimental than the challenges stemming from less than perfect elections. They cite Afghanistan and Iraq as prime examples of this theory.

HURDLES TO NOVEMBER ELECTIONS

1. Electoral Infrastructure Cannot Be Rebuilt by November

The earthquake affected 3 million people, and five months later 2.1 million of them are still living in makeshifts camps 1,350 in total without potable water, healthcare, food, or basic services. Approximately, 90,000 citizens left Port-au-Prince to the Central Plateau; 160,000 went to the Artibonite Department; and, 60,000 went to the Grande Anse. Other Departments have also absorbed people, but there are no official or unofficial numbers yet.These citizens are putting pressure on the public infrastructure of the Departments that they are using as temporary residencies. The public schools and other public facilities have essentially turned into public housing. And finally, of the 140 municipalities in Haiti, the earthquake directly affected 80 and indirectly 40.

The earthquake took an equally alarming toll on the meager electoral resources existing in Haiti:

The headquarters of the electoral council was destroyed;

66% of the polling stations in four geographic department were destroyed;

6,000 schools collapsed along with most of the public government buildings that usually serve as registration and voting centers;

     Of the 4.5 million voters, more that 45% of the voters have lost their electoral registration card, which is mandatory to vote. Approximately, 1.9 million people will need new registration cards and the National Office of Identification (ONI) issuing these cards says that they can produce only 60 cards a day. Many have also lost their national identify cards, birth certificates and ownership papers making it extremely challenging to establish identities for the reissuance of electoral cards; and,

     Approximately 300,000 Haitians lost their lives in the earthquake and probably 70% of them were registered voters; therefore, the voters' list will need to be updated to reflect that loss.

The electoral process has 23 steps from the installation of the electoral council to the publication of the results in the middle of that you have the naming of the municipal and regional oversight officials, issuance of the electoral law, voter and candidate registration, training for officials, etc. Under normal circumstances, it takes ten months to organize legislative and presidential elections.

While the electoral council may tell the U.S. Government that they can organize elections, given these facts, the logistics for a November election are completely unrealistic.Additionally, they have also neglected to factor in that Haiti is facing the added serious threat this summer of the worst hurricane season in decades. It is likely that more than 13 violent storms could hit the country this summer, which will clearly require further aid not to mention emergency planning.

2. The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) Has No Credibility

The Lugar report references and IFES report that states that while the CEP is technically capable of organizing elections, "giving the mandate of organizing the upcoming elections to the current CEP would mean that the electoral process will be considered flawed and questionable from the beginning."

The CEP has been politically discredited for previous participation in rigged and manipulated elections in April and June 2009 in favor of President Preval's party, Inite. As a result, civil society groups, political parties, churches, private sector representatives, and the Haitians Diaspora have called for the naming of nine new members in accordance with Article 289 of the Constitution.

Poll worker on election day

Technically, the CEP lacks the infrastructure or expertise to organize elections. U.S. assistance to Haiti's elections started in 1989 at the request of Provisional President Pascale Trouillot.From 1989 to 2010 the United States spent US$400 million supporting Haiti's elections. After 21 years of technical and financial support to Haiti's electoral process, there is nothing to show for that investment: no credible or permanent electoral council, no official voter registry, no professional staff, no IT system, and no permanent infrastructure (such as ballot boxes or ballot formats). Every two years, the entire process needs to be recreated by a provisional electoral council, the CEP, with international assistance and maybe some leftover ballot boxes.

Haiti's electoral machine has not been institutionalized because no benchmarks were put in place to ensure the construction of an impartial and competent electoral council. The beneficiaries of U.S. funding, the United Nations, have a poor track record in institutionalizing electoral processes around the world. Instead of building sustainable indigenous capacity, they typically engage expensive consultants and foreign companies to organize and administer the elections. All the expertise leaves the country after the elections, and there is no effort to build capacity. This practice must change.

3. The Security of the Haitian People Cannot be Ensured

The Preval machine along with his allies in the corrupt business cartel, Groupe de Bourdon, want to preserve their power and privilege and will continue to employ violence and intimidation in that quest. There is no doubt that they are planning to intimidate voters and employ violence to influence the vote. This puts the entire electorate in danger, and there are no security forces to mitigate that risk.

The MINUSTAH (or UN headquarters) was completely demolished in the earthquake and has not been rebuilt. They do not currently have the capacity or credibility among the Haitian people to ensure safety during the elections.

The Haitian police are trying to be professional, but they lack capacity. MINUSTAH has been in country since 2004 and has received $732 million per year (or more than $4 billion) to train the Haitian police force and undertake peacekeeping operations. But the results are minimal compared to the money spent, and consequently the Haitian police, while eager and committed, are not fully trained. Same thing happened in Iraq and Afghanistan. Spending money but never built up capacity

Finally, and most importantly, while the police are trying their best to get guns off the streets, the Presidential Disarmament Commission, CNDDR, undermines their efforts. One of the two presidential advisors leading commission, Jean Philippe Jean Baptiste a.k.a Samba Boukman, was the chief architect and implementer of "Operation Bagdad" which resulted in the murder of 1,900 people, among them 100 police officers, the kidnapping of more than 800 people, and the rape of 400 women. For more see here: http://www.rnddh.org/article.php3?id_article=300Every time the police arrest gang members and confiscate their weapons, they are required to turn them over to the CNDDR, which in turn distributes them to government loyalists.

4. Preval Already Undermining the Electoral Process

President Preval already has a questionable record on democracy, security and electoral manipulation, for more see here: http://solutionshaiti.blogspot.com/2008/01/president-rene-prevals-questionable.html . The April 6, 1997 elections were rigged by Presidents Preval and Aristide, and resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister Rosny Smarth who opposed the manipulation of the results in favor of the ruling Lavalas Party. This electoral crisis also led to the dissolution of parliament by Preval in January 11, 1999. They again rigged the elections of May 21 and November 2000, which led to the resignation of President Aristide on February 29, 2004. Political instability and violence ensued after each of these elections. The people did not then swallow false electoral results for the sake of stability and they will not do so this time either.

President Preval has already begun to undermine the electoral process by extending his term in office by three months unless a successor is chosen prior to the expiration of his term. This violates the decree that installed him as president (the official decree of March 24, 2006 states that Preval's term would be over on February 7, 2011) as well as Article 134.1 and 134.3 of the Constitutions which states that the President cannot extend his term in office under any circumstances.

In addition the President enacted an Emergency and Reconstruction Law, which violates many aspects of Haiti's constitution. The law suspends civil liberties (such as the right to organize and the right of free speech) and gives him the authority to arrest and detain any citizen indefinitely and without justification. Additionally, the law gives foreigners political rights in Haiti and eliminates the Haitian government's authority to control expenditures for eighteen months (to given foreign actors complete control over the aid money deployment).Parliamentary oversight has been put aside as has the authority of the office issuing RFP's for the public sector, the inspector general of finance, and the General Accounting Office. The role of the ministers has been narrowed as well. In other words, all key Haitian state institutions have been illegally suspended giving a tiny group of people close to President Preval and the international community total control. All checks and balances have been eliminated.

The constitutionality of both of these actions (the term extension and reconstruction law) has been challenged in the Haitian courts and is pending verdict. 

A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE

The Lugar report quotes the US Ambassador to Haiti as saying,

"If elections are not held before President Preval's extended mandate expires, Haiti may be confronted by a vacuum of power at every level of government. If this occurs, a government of transition would need to be established, which would be difficult to form and likely lack popular support."

In fact, a transitional government is not difficult to form; there is precedent. Article 149 of the Constitution mandates the President of the Supreme Court assume provisional presidency for the purpose of organizing elections and running the day-to-day aspects of governance. This provision has been successfully invoked twice in the past two decades in 1990 for the successful election of Aristide, and in 2004 for the successful election of Preval.Both elections were viewed as free and fair by the people of Haiti and the process of organization was viewed as credible and legitimate. In other words, in the minds of the Haitian people, this is a credible process that has worked in the past.

Given all the challenges to elections and the extreme safety and security risks with rushing forward to organize elections that have the overwhelming odds of being less than perfect, invoking Article 149 is an attractive, credible and safe option for addressing Haiti's leadership crisis in the near term.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following are general recommendations for conditions that should be put in place for credible elections to move forward.

Recommendation 1. Reorganize the CEP.

     Name new impartial, independent leaders of the CEP in accordance with Article 289 of the Constitution.

     Name new Departmental leaders for the CEP as the current leadership has participated in previous manipulation and needs to be replaced.

     Create the position of Executive Director responsible for the technical aspects and management of elections.

     Refocus international assistance from election administration to capacity building in an effort to put in place a more permanent electoral infrastructure.

     MINUSTAH must have accountability as well. Benchmarks should be put in place for their capacity building efforts.

Recommendation 2. Develop a Security Plan.

     The CNDDR must be dissolved in order to truly get guns off the streets.

     MINUSTAH should be subject to benchmarks for police capacity building as well as for election security.

     MINUSTAH should provide special training for the unique challenges of securing polling stations.

     There must be a plan to disarm the gangs.

Recommendation 3. Set Realistic Deadlines for Technical Procedures to be Met

     Scrubbing the election registry and issuing new cards should be transparent and diligent.Rushing this process will result in mistakes and will open the door for the elections to be discredited.

A FINAL NOTE ON ELECTIONS " AND PRIORITIES

What is concerning more broadly and certainly beyond Senator Lugar's report is the international community's focus on who will be the next leader of Haiti. Certainly Haiti needs and deserves a strong, effective leader. But equally important is having strong, effective institutions. Haiti's ministries, electoral council, judiciary, legislature, and security forces are almost totally and completely inept. We saw concrete proof of this in their complete and total lack of emergency response to the earthquake. There was no plan, no process and no clue about where to begin. The international community stepped in and each organization did their own thing without coordination and chaos ensued.

In order to ensure that Haiti does not need to face constant leadership crises, the international community could play an important and critical role in working to strengthen the Haitian institutions rather than singularly focusing on finding the perfect leader. This approached has resulted in disaster time and time again. Aristide manipulated the international community several times. He requested occupation and then flipped. He requested evacuation and then was restored to power. It simply does not work. Haiti needs a strong foundation to enforce accountability or even the strongest leader will not succeed.

We can all agree that elections are critical. But they are relatively meaningless if we cannot ensure the safety of the people or the credibility of the elections. Less than perfect elections are not and have never been acceptable to the Haitian people. Every single political crisis since 1995 has been sparked by less than perfect elections. The people will not look the other way simply because they are suffering. In fact, they will hold these elections to a higher standard because they are more important than ever.With no hope in sight, no shelter, no access to healthcare, education or regular meals, this is the only opportunity for the people actually living in these tent cities to have a voice in their country. They know that. And organizing and certifying less than perfect elections will certainly ignite the simmering frustration. Already people are protesting in the streets against the unconstitutional Emergency and Recovery Law.

Finally, there is considerable anxiety that the effort and focus required to organize elections, which we can all agree will be flawed, will distract from the real and urgent priorities of getting aid to the people and preparing for the serious threat of the coming hurricane season.Little measurable progress is being made and it is heartbreaking to see the people in makeshift tents bracing against forecasts for the worst hurricanes in decades. There are other more pressing priorities that need full focus and attention so when we have a tested and legitimate process to address the leadership challenge, it seems like we should take advantage of that and roll up our sleeves to focus on the urgent tasks at hand.