ARTICLE - ANOTHER PLEA FOR HAITI

ANOTHER PLEA FOR HAITI
(Caribean360) -

NEW YORK, United Nations – Special Representative of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government on Haiti, P J Patterson has expressed grave concerns to the United Nations Security Council that the ordinary Haitian was not feeling the impact of the recovery efforts to date.

The former Jamaican prime minister acknowledged the efforts of the international community in the reconstruction programme in Haiti, but hastened to point out that the pledges had fallen short and “the inflows to the Haiti Recovery Fund have been insufficient to make a visible impression on the ordinary Haitian even as another Hurricane season draws nigh.”

“Now, more than ever, the people of Haiti are entitled to see tangible democratic dividends which have a significant impact on the quality of their lives, in particular durable shelter for those internally displaced, access to basic services which include water and sanitation, the provisions of jobs,” he told the Security Council on Wednesday.

Against this background, Patrick made an impassioned plea for the international community to honour pledges to the disaster-ravaged nation and called for greater coordination in the reconstruction efforts.

He was at the United Nations Headquarters in participating in an open debate of the Security Council on the Haiti, promoted by Colombia

Patterson told the meeting that CARICOM regarded “strong, robust and flexible institutional capacity as a sine qua non for sustainable development, good governance and security” and, in this context, pointed to the dire need for the international community to focus on rebuilding Haiti’s institutional and administrative capacity.

“The restructuring, strengthening and building of Haiti’s institutional capacity is the lynchpin and lies at the heart of any plan for National Recovery and Sustainable Development,” he said.

Pointing to CARICOM’s role in the recovery efforts, Patterson reminded the meeting that the Community was concentrating its efforts on institutional development and augmentation by making available, experienced personnel in different areas of governmental administration; providing opportunities for training in areas of high need and helping to establish regional standards in such areas as in the establishment of a Building Code, Regional Standards for Goods and Professional Services.

He reiterated CARICOM’s desire to work with UN Agencies, and hemispheric groupings that had expressed an interest in those areas and emphasized the need to avoid duplication through greater coordination and to fulfill the urgent needs of the Government of Haiti and its people.