SELA PROPOSES ACTION COMMITTEE TO SUPPORT THE RECONSTRUCTION OF HAITI
20 enero 2010
Fuente:
Fuente:
SELA Press Office
Caracas, 20 January 2010 – In view of the devastation triggered by the earthquake – with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale – that struck Port-au-Prince on Tuesday 12 January and the situation of extreme vulnerability faced by the Haitian population, the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) considers it a top priority to urge the Member States of SELA to create an Action Committee to Support the Reconstruction of Haiti.
The actions to respond to emergencies and provide humanitarian aid currently being taken by the international community must be complemented with medium and long-term actions that contribute to the reconstruction of the infrastructure and the economy of Haiti.
Similar initiatives have been implemented in the past within the framework of SELA with the creation of the Action Committee to Support the Reconstruction of Guatemala in 1976 and the Action Committee for the Reconstruction of Nicaragua in 1979.
The creation of the Action Committee to Support the Reconstruction of Haiti would be subject to the guidelines and priorities set forth by the government of Haiti and its fundamental objectives would be as follows:
To contribute to organizing and strengthening regional technical cooperation to support the main programmes that the Government of the Republic of Haiti decides to promote.
To provide technical, economic and financial cooperation upon request of the Haitian authorities mainly in the following areas: education, health, food security, housing, physical infrastructure, institutional capacity building, environmental sanitation, and assistance for the organization, administration and management of cooperatives as well as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
To prepare, or in any case to study and evaluate, feasibility projects for the establishment in Haiti of productive plants and/or enterprises, as well as infrastructure projects in accordance with the priority needs for economic and social development as defined by the Haitian government authorities.
To obtain financial and technical resources to complement reconstruction programmes in Haiti.
To support the regional and extra-regional arrangements required for the appropriate operation of an International Fund for the Reconstruction of Haiti.
To coordinate its own activities with those technical and financial cooperation activities conducted by the United Nations System and the International financial community to support national reconstruction in Haiti. There must be a similar coordination with subregional integration organizations and technical, economic and financial cooperation institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean;
To strengthen Haiti’s negotiating capacities, with the support of Latin America and the Caribbean, on the international scene.
And to undertake concrete actions as regards any other mechanisms to support Haiti’s Reconstruction Programme, as long as this Action Committee is operative, upon request of the authorities of the Republic of Haiti.
Due recognition is made of the important and effective cooperation efforts undertaken, at this tragic moment, by the governments, public and private institutions, and individuals in the region to help our Haitian brethren. Nevertheless, the ultimate objective must be to firmly support the reconstruction of that country and encourage sustainable progress in terms of development with social inclusion in that Caribbean nation.
Initiatives such as the creation of an Action Committee to Support the Reconstruction of Haiti will substantially contribute, on the basis of Latin American and Caribbean cooperation, to accomplish that ultimate goal.
The Action Committees are flexible and specialized cooperation mechanisms established to conduct studies, outline and implement specific programmes and projects, and prepare and adopt joint negotiating positions of interest for the States that make up the committees.
They are created upon a decision by the Latin American Council or by more than two interested Member States of SELA. The Committees remain open for participation of other Member States, which may join whenever they deem it convenient.
The Action Committees are of a temporary nature, and are dissolved once their objectives are fulfilled or may become Permanent Bodies. They are financed by the participating countries, and the Permanent Secretariat supports their activities by making its technical and institutional capacities available to them and keeping the Latin American Council duly informed about their progress.
It must be noted that compliance with the objectives related to regional cooperation, through the Action Committees, is mandatory only for the Member States participating in them; they should be in line with SELA’s objectives, and should have no discriminatory effects, or lead to conflicting situations to the detriment of other Member States.
Caracas, 20 January 2010 – In view of the devastation triggered by the earthquake – with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale – that struck Port-au-Prince on Tuesday 12 January and the situation of extreme vulnerability faced by the Haitian population, the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) considers it a top priority to urge the Member States of SELA to create an Action Committee to Support the Reconstruction of Haiti.
The actions to respond to emergencies and provide humanitarian aid currently being taken by the international community must be complemented with medium and long-term actions that contribute to the reconstruction of the infrastructure and the economy of Haiti.
Similar initiatives have been implemented in the past within the framework of SELA with the creation of the Action Committee to Support the Reconstruction of Guatemala in 1976 and the Action Committee for the Reconstruction of Nicaragua in 1979.
The creation of the Action Committee to Support the Reconstruction of Haiti would be subject to the guidelines and priorities set forth by the government of Haiti and its fundamental objectives would be as follows:
To contribute to organizing and strengthening regional technical cooperation to support the main programmes that the Government of the Republic of Haiti decides to promote.
To provide technical, economic and financial cooperation upon request of the Haitian authorities mainly in the following areas: education, health, food security, housing, physical infrastructure, institutional capacity building, environmental sanitation, and assistance for the organization, administration and management of cooperatives as well as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
To prepare, or in any case to study and evaluate, feasibility projects for the establishment in Haiti of productive plants and/or enterprises, as well as infrastructure projects in accordance with the priority needs for economic and social development as defined by the Haitian government authorities.
To obtain financial and technical resources to complement reconstruction programmes in Haiti.
To support the regional and extra-regional arrangements required for the appropriate operation of an International Fund for the Reconstruction of Haiti.
To coordinate its own activities with those technical and financial cooperation activities conducted by the United Nations System and the International financial community to support national reconstruction in Haiti. There must be a similar coordination with subregional integration organizations and technical, economic and financial cooperation institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean;
To strengthen Haiti’s negotiating capacities, with the support of Latin America and the Caribbean, on the international scene.
And to undertake concrete actions as regards any other mechanisms to support Haiti’s Reconstruction Programme, as long as this Action Committee is operative, upon request of the authorities of the Republic of Haiti.
Due recognition is made of the important and effective cooperation efforts undertaken, at this tragic moment, by the governments, public and private institutions, and individuals in the region to help our Haitian brethren. Nevertheless, the ultimate objective must be to firmly support the reconstruction of that country and encourage sustainable progress in terms of development with social inclusion in that Caribbean nation.
Initiatives such as the creation of an Action Committee to Support the Reconstruction of Haiti will substantially contribute, on the basis of Latin American and Caribbean cooperation, to accomplish that ultimate goal.
The Action Committees are flexible and specialized cooperation mechanisms established to conduct studies, outline and implement specific programmes and projects, and prepare and adopt joint negotiating positions of interest for the States that make up the committees.
They are created upon a decision by the Latin American Council or by more than two interested Member States of SELA. The Committees remain open for participation of other Member States, which may join whenever they deem it convenient.
The Action Committees are of a temporary nature, and are dissolved once their objectives are fulfilled or may become Permanent Bodies. They are financed by the participating countries, and the Permanent Secretariat supports their activities by making its technical and institutional capacities available to them and keeping the Latin American Council duly informed about their progress.
It must be noted that compliance with the objectives related to regional cooperation, through the Action Committees, is mandatory only for the Member States participating in them; they should be in line with SELA’s objectives, and should have no discriminatory effects, or lead to conflicting situations to the detriment of other Member States.
