ARTICLE - LAMOTHE - AT OAS - BOLIVIA

LAURENT LAMOTHE AT THE 42ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE OAS IN BOLIVIA (SPEECH)
(Haiti Libre) -

The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Laurent Lamothe spoke this Monday, June 4, 2012, at the 42nd Ordinary Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), held from June 3 to 5 in Cochabamba, Bolivia, on the theme of "Food Security with Sovereignty in the Americas".

From the outset, Laurent Lamothe made a reminder of the struggle of the Haitian and Bolivian peoples for the emancipation and unity of Latin America. "It is this unity that the two peoples continue to defend vigorously", affirmed the Prime Minister, who reiterated his commitment to give as soon as possible the expected results in the 5 "E's"; Environment, Energy, Education, Rule of Law, Creation of Jobs.

Laurent Lamothe also mentioned some points of common interests, as the issue of reform of the cadastre,the civil registry, justice and parliamentary elections that will be free and fair in Haiti under his Government. He also discussed all the efforts of Haiti to combat extreme poverty and defend human rights, starting with the right to health or food safety.

Speech of Laurent Lamothe:

"Mr. Secretary General of the OAS,
Mr. President,
Distinguished Heads of Government,
Honourable Ministers of Foreign Affairs and members of the various Governments of the region Distinguished guests

I am very pleased to be with you today to speak on behalf of the Republic of Haiti, and transmit to you the solidarity greetings from President Michel Joseph Martelly. I want to congratulate the President of our Assembly for the excellence and dynamism with which he directs the work of the 42nd session. I take this opportunity to thank the Government and people of Bolivia for the welcome they gave me when I came here to Cochabamba. This suits me even more to heart than my father, Dr. Louis Lamothe, who was for a long time the Honorary Consul of Bolivia in Haiti, which has allowed to significantly strengthen the ties between our two countries in the sense of honor and in a spirit of great responsibility.

As soon as we speak of Bolivia we think first of all of Simon Bolivar and that the Haitians after the Independence in 1804, helped in his struggle for the emancipation and unity of Latin America. And it is this unity that we continue to defend vigorously, and that has guided the current Secretary General of the OAS in the excellent work done within the framework of the preparation of this General Assembly.

I can tell you that our objectives are the same: we seek a new impetus to improve the living conditions of people in the region. In Haiti, for example, the Government I have the honor to lead has made a strong commitment to give as soon as possible the expected results in the five E's or the following priority areas: Environment, Energy, Education, Rule of Law, and the Creation of Jobs.

We want to accomplish all of this with the help of the OAS partners and friendly countries. In this sense we will respect gender equity promoted by the OAS through various resolutions; this is why 40% of the Ministers of the current Haitian government are women. We are perhaps one of the few governments of this planet to achieve this performance, and we intend to continue this trend to achieve the objectives set by the United Nations in this field. Another important point of good governance remains our fight in favor of business diplomacy for sustainable development. Our fundamental ambition is to make Haiti a country open to direct investment, in strict compliance with national interests and the sovereignty of our nation. To achieve this objective we have begun to put in place the necessary arrangements to welcome investment from the countries of the OAS, at the legal level, and in terms of security and infrastructure.

Over the last 3 months Haiti has chaired the Permanent Council of OAS emphasizing these priorities. We discussed some points of interest, such as the issue of reform of the cadastre, the civil registry, justice and parliamentary elections that will be free and fair in Haiti under my Government. We also discussed all the efforts of Haiti to combat extreme poverty and defend human rights, starting with the right to health or food safety.

Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary General,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

As you know, the theme of the 42nd Ordinary Session of the General Assembly is "Food Security with Sovereignty in the Americas". This theme is particularly close to my heart because it is a central concern of my government.

At the last Summit of the Heads of State and Government of America that took place in Cartagena, Colombia this theme has also attracted the attention of Heads of State and Governments, because according to recent statistics there are 59 million people; 19 million children who suffer from hunger in our hemisphere. We must recognize that this topic has never really occupied a strategic position in the past on the agenda of our organization. What is a great first and that requires that we adopt at the end of the 42nd Assembly of the OAS a declaration on ways to ensure security and food sovereignty in the Americas, while strengthening the IICA throughout the Americas.

The OAS Secretary General said a few days ago that he returned to our country "to develop and strengthen public policies designed to promote investment in agriculture, strengthening of agricultural markets, market integration of small producers and fair trade.

" These concerns are also mine and those of President Martelly, not only through the implementation of the Programme "Aba grangou", but also the creation of a Ministry of the Fight Against Extreme Poverty. In this sense we will work on two areas: production, and the environment.

Within two weeks will be held in Brazil, the Earth Summit in Rio+ 20. The question of the environment and a green economy will be the focus of discussions of this Summit, and it is not completely foreign to the theme of this Assembly, since similar themes concerning the future of our planet and of humanity in a sustainable environment will be discussed. In Haiti, our Government and the President of the Republic pays great attention to these new approaches.

This 42nd Assembly also allows me in my capacity as Prime Minister of Haiti to applaud the efforts of the OAS, not only for food security, but also in the field of tourism security, port and airport security, and in cyber security. I take this opportunity to publicly congratulate the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism for the work done to date, not only at the hemispheric level in general, but also in Haiti through the work of training of our executives.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The 42nd Assembly challenges us with many emergencies, including economic emergencies. The world continues to feel the effects of the great financial crisis, even though in the Caribbean, despite some gray areas, the financial and economic climateis are still stable. However, we are not immune from a possible economic and financial disaster. We should go beyond the Cochabamba Declaration on Food Sovereignty in the Americas to provide what we will do in a coordinated manner across all components of the inter-American system. We want to talk of CELAC, of UNASUR, of Alba, CARICOM, the Association of Caribbean States, of MERCOSUR; all these entities that constitute the wealth our Americas should coordinate among themselves, and with the OAS to strengthen the economy of the region.

In my capacity as Prime Minister of Haiti and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, I believe in the virtue of action, from well-planned programs, to avoid surprises, and forge a new America, through a new OAS gathering in the three Americas with the thoughts of Toussaint Louverture, Alexandre Pétion, Simon Bolivar, George Washington, Jose Marti or of Sandino.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I can not conclude without publicly thanking all governments that support the Haitian government in its struggle for its integral reconstruction, sustainable development, with the Haitian people. We reiterate once again, our confidence in the work of the Organization of American States in Haiti. We also reaffirm once again, our commitment and that of the Haitian Government, to realize the objectives that we have set for ourselves since the adoption of the motto "Union is Strength." To this we add a new slogan, Haiti united is "open for business".

We invite you all to come to Haiti as during the time of Simon Bolivar; this time not to seek help for your independence, but to come to find fraternal solidarity that unites us forever, and that will strengthen the independence and sovereignty of all the American States through work, wealth creation, sustained investment, and the determination to support each other in order to finally promote this bright future that we all dream of for the Americas and all its people. Thank you"