(2000-06) Development and Implementation of the Long-Term Programme of Support for Haiti: Report of the Secretary-General (E/2000/63)

United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) • 2000 • 12 pages

Summary — First Secretary-General progress report to ECOSOC on the long-term support programme for Haiti, covering the prolonged political crisis, May 2000 elections, macroeconomic strains, declining aid, the new MICAH mission and the common country assessment.

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Key Findings

Haiti had lived in continuous political crisis since June 1997, with Parliament and local councils lapsed since January 1999 and a provisional government ruling without them; the first round of long-delayed elections finally took place on 21 May 2000 with very high turnout. The economy grew an estimated 2.2 percent in 1998/99, but the current account deficit reached 7.3 percent of GDP, inflation rose back to 10 percent, and the gourde lost about 17 percent against the dollar between October 1999 and March 2000. External aid fell to 356 million dollars in 1998 from 534 million dollars in 1995, and an estimated 500 million dollars in new lending was lost between March 1997 and December 1999 because Parliament could not approve loans, with wealth extremely concentrated (4 percent of Haitians holding 66 percent of resources). The common country assessment mobilized 18 working groups and over 200 experts, laying the groundwork for a national development strategy and an interim PRSP.

Full Description

Submitted pursuant to ECOSOC resolution 1999/11, this report reviews progress from August 1999 to May 2000 in developing the long-term programme of support for Haiti recommended by the Ad Hoc Advisory Group. It describes the institutional vacuum created by the postponed 1998 elections, the provisional government installed in March 1999, and preparation of the May 2000 legislative and municipal elections, for which more than 4 million of 4.3 million eligible Haitians registered. Economically, modest growth of 2.2 percent in 1998/99 coexisted with a widening current account deficit, renewed inflation, a gourde that lost about 17 percent against the dollar between October 1999 and March 2000, and fuel-related fiscal losses; external aid had fallen to 356 million dollars in 1998 from 534 million dollars in 1995, and an estimated 500 million dollars in new lending was lost because Parliament could not approve loans. The report outlines the mandate and delayed funding of the new MICAH mission for police, justice and human rights, UN agency activities, and the participatory common country assessment involving over 200 experts, intended to underpin a national development strategy and an interim poverty reduction strategy paper supported by the IMF and World Bank.

Topics

Geography

Time Coverage

1999-08 — 2000-05

Keywords

E/2000/63, ECOSOC, Secretary-General report, long-term programme of support, political crisis, 2000 elections, MICAH, common country assessment, UNDAF, poverty reduction strategy, aid decline, macroeconomic instability, series:ecosoc-adhoc-haiti

Entities

United Nations Economic and Social Council, Secretary-General of the United Nations, MICAH, MIPONUH, MICIVIH, René Préval, Conseil électoral provisoire, Jean Dominique, Adama Dieng, UNDP, World Bank, IMF, Inter-American Development Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO, WFP, FAO, PAHO/WHO, USAID, Institut haïtien de la statistique

Notes

UN document E/2000/63; Secretary-General report on the long-term programme of support for Haiti; ayitistats wave B