Haiti was barely recovering from the 2008 storms which left 800 dead and caused over $1 billion in damage when the 7.0 earthquake hit on 12 January 2010, killing an estimated 250,000, including a number of senior government and UN officials, injuring another 300,000, and displacing 1.5 million, half of whom fled to other provinces and cities unprepared to receive them. The quake produced urgent reconstruction costs estimated at $11.5 billion, destroyed over 80 per cent of Port-au-Prince and several towns and villages close by. It flattened the seats of all three branches of government along with fifteen of the seventeen ministries, 45 per cent of the police stations and a number of courts.
Almost three months after the quake struck, the Haitian government and donors gathered in New York on 31 March for a critical reconstruction strategy conference. Hundreds of thousands of Haitian citizens continue to experience severe hardship and increasing crime, violence and sexual abuse in precarious, spontaneous settlements in Port-au-Prince. Many others are holding out in the locations they have fled to after the disaster, which, however, are unprepared to guarantee their livelihoods. The humanitarian situation in Haiti is still critical and worst despite huge amounts of money collected by aid agencies, NGOs, churches, charities and individual donations from across the planet to respond to this humanitarian emergency disaster in Haiti.
Haitians in government, the state, civil and political society, the business community and the diaspora must come together and tackle with well-coordinated and generous donor support, nothing less than the building of a better, more prosperous and safer country. That can only be done through an integrated, long-term reconstruction strategy based on a very broad political and social consensus that also takes into account a number of pressing political and stabilisation issues. These include building a consensus on what to do about the postponed parliamentary elections, pending constitutional reforms and the forthcoming presidential polls, restoring security and rule of law, especially in the capital, and meeting immediate socio-economic needs, so as to reduce severe hardship among the population. A transparent and accountable multi-donor funding mechanism and an efficient Haitian government-led implementing structure have to be created. I welcome the full cancellation of Haiti’s foreign debt by the IMF and the World Bank. This will allow the Haitian government to provide funding for reconstruction (building schools, hospitals, roads and infrastructure) instead of squandering millions of pounds every month to service and repay this unfair and burden foreign debt.
The international community, including the UN Stabilisation Mission (MINUSTAH), the group of friends and the main donors, need to do everything in their power to support a recovery and reconstruction process that has to be Haitian-owned and Haitian-led. This includes overcoming past aid coordination problems, efficient allocation of technical support and expedited disbursement of funds. Actions by the government, MINUSTAH, the UN system and donors with respect to the emergency response, post-disaster stabilisation and reconstruction are all necessary and urgent.
Resolve to build Haiti back better should be the focus of the international community, including a joint commitment to reconstruction over at least a decade and a first round of pledges that match the magnitude of the past disaster and of the task ahead. The challenge is that great, but now is the moment to lift Haiti from under the dust and rubble and transform it into a less vulnerable and more equitable nation. The opportunity must not be lost.
Haiti’s earthquake produced enormous devastation that threatens political and socio-economic stability and poses huge recovery and reconstruction challenges. Historical institutional and governance weaknesses and deep poverty compound a major humanitarian crisis that could become very difficult to control if the security environment deteriorates further. The disaster prompted postponement of legislative elections and casts uncertainty over whether presidential elections can be held at year’s end as planned. After mid-May, the legislature was supposed to have left office, and the country will be missing critical parts of its institutional anatomy. The government must thus reach out now to civil, political and economic society to forge a robust consensus on how democracy can be upheld until elections without sacrificing the incumbent’s ability to take tough and urgent decisions on reconstruction. These need to be based on a Haitian-led long-term strategy supported by all sectors of society and the international community and pay due attention to restoring security and rule of law. Therefore I strongly recommend:
1. To the Haitian government: to assess fully the post-disaster situation with the help of the UN-led emergency relief clusters and agree urgently on a coherent plan, including a budget and timelines to transition into a recovery phase, that meet shelter, sanitation, food aid, post-trauma care and quick income generating opportunity needs for the displaced both in quake-affected areas and outlying cities and departments receiving internally displaced persons (IDPs) – To urge the world food programme and donors to maximise purchase of Haitian food production to meet emergency needs and to pursue local purchase as a way to expand the country’s agricultural production.
2. To Haiti’s political leaders regarding post-disaster political challenges: To commit to a consultative and inclusive process to resolve institutional and legitimacy problems and ensure an enabling climate for reconstruction by beginning preparations for inclusive elections afresh with an assessment of their technical post-disaster challenges, a provisional electoral council (CEP) agreed upon by the executive after consultation and, hopefully, consensus with political parties and a broad spectrum of political leaders, and a realistic calendar.
3. To the Haitian government and donors: To put reconstruction firmly on track by: – establishing broad and robust consensus within the government and between it and society on a long-term building-back-better strategy that is Haitian-led, engages all social, economic and political sectors, and promotes a more equitable, prosperous, less vulnerable country through: modernisation, decentralised political and economic governance, rural development, watershed management and promotion of alternative fuels to end charcoal dependence – taking into account both the 2008 and 2010 post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) and the 2007 poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP)
4. To the UN security council: To maintain the mission’s authorised post-quake strength and prepare to: – strengthen fulfillment of MINUSTAH’s mandate by encouraging the department of peacekeeping operations (DPKO) to integrate the various components of the mission as much as possible and to seek to harmonise the work of the UN country team with the implementation of the mission’s mandate – strengthen MINUSTAH’s mandate to focus on saving and protecting lives and averting threats to stability and peace during recovery and reconstruction and task the mission to do contingency planning in the event of any new emergency – ensure that the mandate enables MINUSTAH and UNPOL on behalf of, and in close consultation with, the Haitian national police to guarantee security, particularly for vulnerable women and children within IDP camps – renew the mission’s mandate in October 2010 for at least two years to optimise planning – synchronise troop rotations with recovery and reconstruction schedules, and – determine how best the mission can support reconstruction once the Haitian authorities present a final strategy.
Meanwhile, noise and excitement is growing about the possible entry of Fugees singer Wyclef Jean into the race to be Haiti’s next president. Not even his all bandmates have been forthcoming in welcoming his bid and his lack of experience of life in Haiti is already being pointed to. At a time when the country needs good governance – something it is rarely had in its history – the 28 November 2010 election will be a crucial turning point.