(1999) Rapò Gwoup Konsiltatif Ad Hoc sou Ayiti a (E/1999/103)

99-19835 (E) 130799 United Nations E/1999/103 Economic and Social Council Distr.: General 2 July 1999 Original: English Substantive session of 1999 Geneva, 5–30 July 1999 Agenda item 7 Coordination, programme and other questions Report of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti Note by the Secretary-General In accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution1999/4, the Secretary- General has the honour to transmit herewith to the Council, for its consideration, the report of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti. E/1999/103 2 Report of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti Contents Paragraphs Page I. Introduction..............................................................1–10 3 II. General economic and national context...................................... 11–18 4 III. Role of the United Nations system...........................................19–23 5 IV. Adequacy, coherence, effectiveness and coordination of the international community’sassistancetoHaiti .............................................24–42 6 A. Adequacyofassistance ...............................................24–25 6 B. Coherenceofassistance ..............................................26–27 6 C. Effectivenessofassistance ............................................28–29 6 D. Coordinationofassistance ............................................30–42 7 V. Supplementaryobservations................................................43–46 9 VI. Recommendations.........................................................47–59 10 A. Need for a long-term programme of support for Haiti.....................47–50 10 B. Need for national stability.............................................51–53 10 C. Needforasecuredomesticenvironment ................................ 54–57 11 D. Need for a synthesis report on United Nations activities in Haiti........... 58–59 11 E/1999/103 3 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 1999/4 of 7 May 1999, the Economic and Social Council decided to create an Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti to submit recommendations to the Council, at its substantive session of 1999, on how to ensure that the assistance of the international community in supporting the Government of Haiti to achieve sustainable development is adequate, coherent, well coordinated and effective. 2. In the same resolution, the Council decided that the Ad Hoc Advisory Group was to be composed of five Council members designated by the President of the Council on the basis of equitable geographical distribution and in consultation with regional groups and the Government of Haiti. Following those consultations, the Council approved the members of the Advisory Group as follows: Makarim Wibisono (Indonesia), Asian Group (Chairman of the Advisory Group) Janis Priedkalns (Latvia), Eastern European Group Anund Briyay Neewoor (Mauritius), African Group Gelson Fonseca Jr. (Brazil), Latin American and Caribbean Group Michel Dubal (Canada), Western European and other States Group At some of the meetings of the Advisory Group, Mr. Fonseca was represented by Enio Cordeiro, Minister Plenipotentiary, Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations. 3. Haitian authorities were consulted by the Advisory Group at all stages in the preparation of the present report. In accordance with Council resolution1999/4, operative paragraph 2, the Advisory Group sought to maintain a constant dialogue with the official representatives of Haiti and to involve them in all its activities. 4. The first meeting of the Advisory Group was convened on Thursday, 13 May 1999. The Chairman of the Advisory Group, Makarim Wibisono, convened and chaired a series of meetings and briefing sessions aimed at gathering information from various sources and for considering the most appropriate way for the Council to contribute to the ongoing efforts towards promoting sustainable development in Haiti. 5. On 28 May 1999, the Group held its first briefing with officials from the World Bank; the United Nations Development Programme; and the Department of Political Affairs, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. 6. A meeting was held on 7 June 1999 with the following representatives of the United Nations in Haiti: Julian Harston, representative of the Secretary-General in Haiti and head of the United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (MIPONUH), Colin Granderson, executive head of the International Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH), a joint Organization of American States (OAS)/United Nations mission, and Oscar Fernández-Taranco, United Nations resident coordinator in Haiti and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative as well as deputy representative of the Secretary-General. 7. On 15 July 1999, the Chairman of the Advisory Group convened a working lunch for its members, together with representatives of “Friends of Haiti” group of countries, namely Argentina, Canada, Chile, France, the United States of America and Venezuela. The discussions involved an exchange of views on the developments in Haiti and the future of the United Nations presence in that country. 8. Following an invitation of the World Bank, which is mandated to coordinate donor assistance to Haiti, the AdvisoryGroup went to Washington, D.C., on 18 June 1999 to take part in an informal Haiti donors meeting. The meeting, organized by the Bank, consisted of a series of presentations by the various stakeholders of development assistance, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB), the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). A UNDP representative also attended. 9. From 27 to 29 June 1999, the Advisory Group paid a visit to Haiti, organized by the office of the representative of the Secretary-General, with the help of the Haitian Government. The visit included: (a) A meeting with the President of Haiti, René Préval; a working session with the Prime Minister, Jacques Edouard Alexis, and Fred Joseph, Minister of the Economy and Finance; and working sessions with the Secretary of State for Public Security, Robert Manuel, as well as other authorities in Haiti; (b) Meetings with the Haitian political leaders and members of a broad spectrum of civil society; (c) Meetings with the “Friends of Haiti” group of countries; (d) Heads of the United Nations agencies involved in Haiti. 10. The Advisory Group wishes to express its deep gratitude to all the entities at the multilateral and bilateral levels involved in assisting Haiti in completing its task, in E/1999/103 4 particular the World Bank, the office of the representative of US$ 250 is significantly below the average of US$ 3,320 for the Secretary-General in Haiti, and the office of the resident Latin America and the Caribbean region. Based on its coordinator in Haiti. The latter, besides providing a continuos assessment in March1998 of poverty in Haiti, the World and multifaceted help, prepared a brief which constituted an Bank estimates that about 80 per cent of the approximately important input for the present report. The Advisory Group two thirds of the population that live in the rural areas are also wishes to thank the Department of Economic and Social poor, with about two thirds of those considered to be Affairs for its unstinting support. extremely poor. In addition to the low gross domestic product II. General economic and national context 11. As noted in the last report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council on the situation in Haiti (S/1999/579), the country has been slowly recovering from its most recent political crisis since April1997. In March 1999, a new Prime Minister was appointed, and in April 1999 a new transitional Government was formed. A new Provisional Electoral Council has also been created, and has started work on preparations for legislative and local elections, which are expected to take place by December1999, with a new Parliament scheduled to be in place by 11 January 2000. Legislative elections will be followed by Presidential elections, which are planned for November 2000. 12. The Secretary-General has characterized as encouraging the steps taken so far by the Haitian political leadership in its efforts to resolve the protracted political crisis through elections, and has called on all Haitian political leaders to participate constructively in the electoral process to ensure its success. In recognition of the fact that the forthcoming legislative and local elections are the only viable way to resolve the present crisis, the transition Government, in its recently issued plan of action, announced plans to work closely with the Provisional Electoral Council to ensure free, fair and transparent elections, and to seek to revive the interest in participation of the Haitian population in the democratization process. For their part, the donor community and the United Nations system have pledged to actively support the electoral process through direct financial, logistical and technical support, on the provision that the Government takes adequate measures to ensure security and transparency. This support is being provided in conjunction with the role of political facilitation being played by the “Friends of Haiti” Group of Ambassadors, the representative of the Secretary-General, and a number of personalities, including the former President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias. 13. Haiti continues to be a least developed country, the only one in the western hemisphere. Its indicators on situational development compare poorly at both regional and interregional levels. Haiti’s annual per capita income of (GDP) per capita, Haiti also has serious wealth distribution issues to address. It is estimated that about 4 per cent of the population own 66 per cent of the country’s entire resources, 16 per cent own 14 per cent, 70 per cent own barely 20 per cent, while 10 per cent of the population is considered to be entirely destitute. 14. Despite these negative social indicators, trends in overall economic performance since the return from exile of the constitutional Government in1994 show some positive achievements. The latest IMF economic performance review mission conducted in March1999 highlighted some of these achievements. 15. The current IMF-monitored economic programme put in place in November 1998 as a follow-up to the 1997/98 programme is designed to maintain macroeconomic stability and make further progress in the area of structural reform while the political situation settles, and while a possible new enhanced structural adjustment facility programme is being considered. The 1998/99 programme was formulated taking into consideration the negative effects of hurricane Georges. It aims to promote output growth, contain inflation and central government budget deficits, strengthen international reserves and continue support for structural reforms in the public enterprise sector. The programme also takes into account and endorsesdonor-supported sectoral policies to improve efficiency in the areas of education, health, justice, infrastructure rehabilitation and maintenance. 16. These relatively positive trends must however be viewed within the framework of enormous development challenges, particularly the need to combat extreme mass poverty while uniting the country around a shared, positive and long-term vision of its future. This challenge is compounded by the protracted political crisis that has further eroded the authority of the State and its already diminished capacity to deliver basic social services to the population. At another level, the challenge is that of managing the development process to ensure that immediate national and international actions to alleviate extreme and massive poverty do not lose sight of the need to build strong national governance institutions in the medium and long term. 17. Beyond the fundamental requirement to reinstate and significantly improve upon the basic functions of the State and E/1999/103 5 the institutions of government, the World Bank poverty 20. Unlike the bilateral and other multilateral institutions assessment report (1998) also recommended a number of represented in Haiti, the United Nations agencies have a measures that would need to be taken to ensure sustainable degree of flexibility that has enable d them to work closely economic and social development in Haiti. These include (a) with both the Government and NGOs in assisting the strengthening macroeconomic stability and reducing population at the grass-roots level, both during and after the distortions so as to encourage private sector investment; (b) embargo that followed the 1991 military coup. The areas of improving the quality of government spending in order to assistance include the following: invest in basic social services and raise the level of human capital; and (c) rationalizing the assistance provided by external donors. 18. The mandate of the newly formed transitional decentralization, participatory local governance and electoral Government, installed in April 1999, is limited to facilitating support; the organization of the upcoming general elections and identifying short- and medium-term priorities that a subsequent government could start to address on a more sustainable basis. Given the present situation in which the Government is called upon to operate, its actions at the time can only be of a short-term nature, with its first priority being given to organizing free and fair elections as soon as possible to help guarantee institutional stability. Its action in the above-mentioned sectors will thus consist of short-term projects and policy reflections to identify viable approaches for subsequent governments. III. Role of the United Nations system 19. The United Nations system in Haiti is made up of: (a) Two missions, MIPONUH, in charge of the civilian police, and MICIVIH, a human rights observation mission. These missions report through the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Political Affairs, respectively, to the Security Council and the General Assembly; (b) Seven agencies (UNDP, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization), who report through their respectivegoverning bodies and the Economic and Social Council to the General Assembly; (c) The Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank and IMF). In addition, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is permanently associated with all United Nations system activities in Haiti. (a) Good governance, including support to the democratization process, police mentoring, judicial system reform, human rights, state modernization and reforms, (b) Universal health care, including the fight against human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and population issues; (c) Disaster prevention, preparedness and management; (d) Promoting productive employment; (e) Basic education for all; (f) Protection and restoration of the environment; (g) Food security; (h) Cultural development and tourism; (i) Culture of peace and migration; (j) Support for coordination mechanisms of Governments, donors, and the United Nations system. 21. Excluding the World Bank and IMF, the United Nations system’s disbursements in Haiti in support of socio-economic development objectives stand at US$ 127.8 million since the return of the constitutional Government. During this period, UNDP has been the largest United Nations systemdonor, with US$ 54 million disbursed between1995 and 1998. Since 1998, however,UNDP disbursements have greatly diminished, due in part to an overall drop in UNDP resources at the central level. Other important United Nations system donors include WFP, WHO and UNICEF, with disbursements of more than US$ 10 million each between1995 and 1998. 22. At a meeting held in April 1999 chaired by the resident coordinator, who also acts as the UNDP resident representative and deputy representative of the Secretary- General, it was agreed that progress achieved in the field of inter-agency coordination be further consolidated through the preparation of a common country assessment by the end of 1999. This is a key stepunder the Secretary-General’s reform programme as it will lead to the formulation of a United Nations development assistance framework in 2000, as well as harmonized programming cycles by 2002. It should also E/1999/103 6 complement the World Bank’s country development 25. Although Haiti’s foreign assistance needs are enormous, framework. Thanks to the common country assessment, the it should be said that despite this significant drop, Haiti is still United Nations agencies will have the elements necessary to a major recipient of development assistance, with a per capita define a long-term United Nations development assistance aid of $74 in 1995, $57 in1996 and $47 in 1997, compared programme for Haiti, and to further harmonize and integrate to an average $12 per capita for the developing world at large. their operations. 23. In response to the more urgent requirements for disaster preparedness, regular meetings of the disaster management team have been held in order to prepare for the hurricane season. In 1999, such activities by the United Nations system in Haiti will benefit from a newly approved UNDP-financed technical assistance project, which in collaboration with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will reinforce the capacity of the Haitian authorities to prevent and manage disasters. IV. Adequacy, coherence, effectiveness and coordination of the international community’s assistance to Haiti A. Adequacy of assistance 24. The international community, including the United Nations system, responded to the return of the constitutional Government from exile at the end of 1994 with a resumption of official development assistance, beginning in 1995. The total volume of aid, however, has been dropping quite significantly. Ongoing programmes are currently limited to levels formulated and approved before the June 1997 electoral controversy and subsequent resignation of the Government. As shown in table 1, total bilateral and multilateral assistance to Haiti has dropped by about 35 per cent between 1995 and 1998. Far from signifying a deliberate decision by donors to reduce aid to Haiti, this drop is directly linked to absorptive capacity constraints and non-approval of available loans by the Haitian Parliament. As of December 1998, IDB and the World Bank alone has a combined total of over US$ 570 million worth of new programmes and projects awaiting approval by the Haitian Parliament or finalization by the formulation missions. As a result of the discords between the executive and legislative branches, these new programmes have still not been approved and will not be until a new parliament is in place. Many other partners are in a similar situation, which has had a very negative impact on the rate of resource flows to Haiti. It is hoped that the upcoming elections will provide the institutional framework required to ensure that aid flows to Haiti can again become adequate. B. Coherence of assistance 26. On the whole, it can be said that external assistance to Haiti since the return of the constitutional Government has sought to respond to national development needs identified by the Government and the international community. The framework within which most of these needs were identified at the time was the emergency recovery programme to which donors pledged funds. So far, the areas of concentration of foreign assistance have addressed the priority areas contained in this programme, as well as in other jointly formulated bilateral and multilateral programmes. However, the aid policies of some partners have required them to work directly at the grass-roots level, using international NGOs as executing agents. While this approach has helped achieve significant results at this level, it has not helped the Government’s efforts to improve upon its coordination role and enhance overall coherence of development assistance. 27. To harmonize its programming cycles starting, beginning in 2002, in line withongoing United Nations reform objectives, the United Nations system aims, through its resident coordinator mechanism, to support national efforts to ensure greater coherence of external assistance. As indicated above, the planned common country assessment will also constitute an important input to these efforts. C. Effectiveness of assistance 28. Although no formal evaluation has been made of the impact of aid to Haiti over the past five years, it is clear that substantial foreign assistance has made a significant contribution to the functioning of the Government. This was a period that followed three years of centralized authority from 1991 to 1994, during which official foreign aid disbursements were suspended and economic activity slowed down considerably. A major problem facing the delivery of foreign assistance is that of insufficient coordination by the Government and slow disbursements due to diminishing absorptive capacity. 29. Another factor affecting the effectiveness of aid to Haiti is the concentration of donor resources on humanitarian activities. There is now a need to shift it towards support for E/1999/103 7 sustainable development objectives, including capacity- been involved in monitoring the implementation of a variety building and institution-building. Given the present evolution of urban infrastructure projects. An implementation unit of Haiti’s development needs, it is important to focus more tracks the progress of these and otherdonor-supported efforts. on building capacities for measuring both the impact of aid on the country and the impact of specific national anddonor- sponsored programmes on the overall development situation. To this end, the United Nations system in Haiti, under the leadership of the resident coordinator, has launched a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening the country’s capacity to produce socio-economic statistics that are vital for monitoring its development progress. In addition to the internal harmonization of approaches referred to above, the United Nations system is also about to launch a 20/20 initiative for Haiti aimed at encouraging increased 1 government anddonor attention to the social sectors. By focusing aid and national resources on these sectors, it will be possible to target the most needy sections of the population. D. Coordination of assistance Coordination by the Government 30. Strengthening the leadership role of the Government in aid coordination is key to making Haiti’s cooperation with its international development partners more effective. Decades of institutional instability have adversely affected the coordination capacities of the Government accumulated in previous years. The situation steadily further worsened following the 1991 military coup, when the constitutional Government went into exile and the void in development was filled by internationaldonors and NGOs. Since the return of the constitutional Government in October1994, the institutions officially charged with aid coordination have found it increasingly difficult to effectively coordinate the activities of most external partners. This is partly due to donor-driven initiatives and the fact that many of these partners, including some non-governmental organizations, have not yet shed the isolated operational practices adopted during the embargo years. 31. Since the return of the constitutional Government, the implementation of donor-financed projects at the operational level has been the responsibility of two special government agencies, namely the Unité centrale de gestion and the Fonds d’assistance économique et sociale. These were set up to facilitate project implementation under emergency circumstances. Each of these entities has a Board of Directors, including representatives of the Ministry, other government agencies and NGOs. The Office of the President has also received and managed donor project support, and has 32. Starting from 1995, project/donor coordination units were set up in each sectoral ministry, with funding from the European Union and other partners. This reflected a policy, subsequentlyconfirmed by the Government in 1996, to give sectoral ministries responsibility for managing and coordinating donor contributions to their respective sectors. The purpose of these units was to ensure that project duplication was eliminated, and that procedural and reporting requirements were more easily and promptly met. In this way, the technical units of the ministries concerned were freed to address the technical aspects of the programmes involved. A World Bank consultative group-related assessment of these units in 1997 found their track record to be mixed. At least two ministries had instituted a donor coordination unit that was attempting to harmonize existing projects by bringing donors together, identifying programme gaps and seeking new project funding on the basis of anongoing strategic planning process. The major problems facing these units involved communication with donors, government administrative procedures, donor-imposed procedures at the project identification level, design and implementation stages, and the lack of adequate information regarding ongoing and planned projects. 33. The Government recognizes the importance of effective donor coordination, and has recently launched a number of initiatives to strengthen its leadership in this area. With the support of UNDP and other donors, a number of workshops on coordination and decentralized planning have been organized to help clarify its policies and expectations in this area. In the newly issued plan of action of the Government, the Office of the Prime Minister plans to formulate new policies in a number of areas, including international cooperation and human resource development, in order to help it accomplish its coordination functions. Emphasis will be placed on the creation of effective information flows, documentation systems, and the harmonization of management and coordination procedures through the elaboration of a procedures manual. Coordination within the donor community 34. The consultative group process facilitated by the World Bank remains the framework for inter-donor coordination and for donor-government consultations on development priorities and policies, as well as on issues of funding. The first formal consultative group meeting on Haiti took place in Paris in January1995, at which over US$ 1 billion were pledged by the donor community. A second meeting was held in April E/1999/103 8 1997, at which, among other things, consensus was reached excellent example of the way the different United Nations on the critical components of a comprehensive poverty organizations can work together efficiently. alleviation strategy. A message was also sent to the Haitian Parliament to advance legislative action required to ensure that the population benefit from the reform programme. The major sectors covered during these meetings included agriculture, education, the environment, health, justice reform, roads and transportation, water and sanitation, governance and poverty alleviation. 35. The political crisis has hampered formal follow-up of Nations activities; and (c) make recommendations for the sectoral issues raised during these consultative group improved coordination. An eighth working group was also meetings. Given this situation, donors have beenundertaking established for common services. The groups presented their informal consultations among themselves through monthly findings and recommendations during a second inter-agency meetings in Haiti. These meetings were attended by thedonor coordination workshop held in November1998. The main community and the United Nations system agencies. More recommendations were: (a) to proceed rapidly with the formal meetings were convened on an ad hoc basis by the formulation and implementation of concrete joint actions; (b) World Bank in Washington, D.C., and informal working to focus United Nations assistance on national priorities groups have been created in the areas of justice reform, identified by the working groups in consultation with the environmental protection, health, agriculture and rural Haitian Government and in areas where the United Nations development, education and support for the police. The system has clear comparative advantages; and (c) start purpose of these consultations has been to enable donors preparations toundertake a common country assessment that identify areas of complementarity and avoid duplication would pave the way for long-term programming of United among their programmes, as well as to maintain dialogue and Nations assistance to Haiti. to harmonize their views and approaches on aid policy issues. 36. Through these consultation mechanisms, the donor assessment working group are being finalized. The target date community and the United Nations have succeeded in for its finalization has been set for December1999, and it will maintaining development policy dialogue while efforts take into account the recently published action plan of the continue at the political level to resolve the crisis. it has also Government. Responsibilities have been assigned to agencies been possible to pursue donor-funded programmes approved concerning (a) the collection of necessary data and prior to the current crisis, thus enabling the population to information and for the completion of the common country continue to benefit from vital development support. The most assessment indicator framework (see table 1); and (b) the recent donor meeting, held in Washington, D.C., in March preparation of a status report on the major conventions, 1999, reviewed progress in all these sectors and resolved to declarations and international conferences (see table 2). A pursue and strengthen related consultations. Given its preliminary list of common country assessment themes has transitional nature, the newly installed Government has not been established, and their respective focal points and three sought a formal consultation group meeting. The implications, cross-cutting themes (gender equity, human rights and once again, are that all long-term policy dialogue between the poverty) have also been identified. The division of labour Haitian authorities and its major development partners will among the agencies with regard to data collection and have to wait till governmental institutions are renewed analyses in the different thematic areas is described in table 2. through the upcoming elections. Coordination within the United Nations system 37. While MIPONUH and MICIVIH are responsible for the police mentoring and human rights observation programmes respectively, the rest of the United Nations system, under the leadership of the resident coordinator, is actively engaged in socio-economic development activities in the relevant sectors of the different agencies. Since the beginning of 1998, very important progress has been made in the areas of United Nations coordination. In his last report (November 1998) on MIPONUH, the Secretary-General noted that Haiti offers an 38. Following a first coordination workshop held in May 1998, seven thematic working groups were established in mid-1998, addressing the issues of population and environment, gender equity, food security, local governance, health, education and productive employment. The mandate of these groups was to: (a) undertake situation analyses in each of the sectors identified; (b) assessongoing United 39. The terms of reference for the common country 40. As has already been noted, in compliance with General Assembly resolutions, the agencies of the United Nations development group in Haiti (UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA and WFP) have pursued their efforts towards the harmonization of their respective programme cycles by the year 2002. This will have been preceded, in2001, with the formulation of a United Nations development assistance framework for Haiti. United Nations representation in Haiti E/1999/103 9 41. In order to ensure the smooth integration of United building within those national institutions that have a mandate Nations development system activities with the United for aid coordination is being hampered by the political Nations political and peacekeeping role in Haiti, theUNDP stalemate, which has made it difficult to approve new resident representative, in addition to being resident technical cooperation projects, some of which would have coordinator of the United Nations development system, is also strengthened managerial and coordination capacity. The first deputy representative of the Secretary-General and deputy step towards reinstating institutional stability and ensuring head of MIPONUH. that the Government effectively plays its leadership role in 42. The unique combination has enabled: (a) Close complementarity between MIPONUH and UNDP, in particular with regard to: (i) Coordinated assistance provided to the Haitian National Police; (ii) Assistance with the electoral process, where both the representative of the Secretary-General and UNDP play a key coordination role, respectively, on the political and technical sides; (iii) Assistance in the resolution of the institutional crisis and facilitating the reconciliation process; (b) Direct continuous reporting to the United Nations, including through the quarterly reports of the representative of the Secretary-General to the Secretary-General, on the United Nations system development activities and progress made in terms of United Nations coordination and implementation of the Secretary-General’s reform programme. V. Supplementary observations 43. Much has yet to be done in order to ensure thatongoing and future international assistance in support of the Government of Haiti for achieving sustainable development continues to be adequate and coherent, and that the main problems related to the coordination and effectiveness of the assistance are addressed. As has been reported, capacity- building is of paramount importance and a critical objective for assisting Haiti in all sectors. This would enable both the Haitian Government and civil society to effectively coordinate and absorb international economic cooperation. 44. Given that about 86 per cent of development investments in Haiti are funded from external resources, it is vital that the flow of such resources to the country is not only maintained but is also increased over the next few years, as the country seeks to strengthen its institutions and to accelerate its economic and social development. At the same time, however, the Government will have to address the weakest link in the development aid chain, that of inadequate aid management and coordination. Unfortunately, capacity- formulating and implementing development policy is through holding the forthcoming elections to renew Parliament and local council assemblies and enable a newgovernment to be formed. 45. The consultative group led by the World Bank constitutes the formal aid coordination mechanism among the bilateral donor community, and between the donors and the Haitian Government. Despite the willingness of the donors to strengthen and support this process, a formal consultative group meeting to address long-term development objectives with Haiti’s partners will not be possible before a new Parliament is elected. In the meantime, the donor community and the United Nations system have instituted informal coordination and consultation mechanisms that have already succeeded in minimizing duplications and in developing synergies within their programmes. These include working groups and regular donor meetings within Haiti and in Washington, D.C. 46. It is recognized that there is a vital link between national stability and economic and social development, and that the provision of adequate and sufficient assistance to Haiti is largely subject to a return to political stability. It is therefore of the utmost importance that all political forces support the forthcoming elections and agree on appropriate modalities for the full participation of the people. VI. Recommendations A. Need for a long-term programme of support for Haiti 47. There is a recognized need to develop, in collaboration with the “Friends of Haiti” group of countries and other donors, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, a strategic framework and comprehensive approach for a long-term United Nations programme of support for Haiti to cover such areas as education, peace- building, poverty eradication, durable recovery and sustainable development. The Government of Haiti must take a leading role in defining the objectives and priorities of this long-term strategy and programme of support, inaccordance E/1999/103 10 with paragraph 17 of Economic and Social Council agreed development assistance programme for the country.UNDP conclusions 1998/1. should provide increased financial and technical resources 48. Concerted efforts have been deployed by the agencies of the United Nations system engaged in assisting Haiti (d) The long-term development programme of through the resident coordinator mechanism, as well as by the support for Haiti address the issues of capacity-building of other multilateral and bilateraldonors who have coordinatedgovernmental institutions, especially in such areas as their actions and contributions through the consultative groupgovernance, the promotion of human rights, the led by the World Bank, in consultation with the Haitian administration of justice, the electoral system, law authorities. enforcement, police training, and other areas of social and 49. However, there is a great need for capacity-building and strengthening the leadership role of the Government of Haiti in providing orientation and coordination for all development activities, including the coordination of aid at the recipient end, the development of absorptive capacity and the (e) The long-term strategy and programme of support promotion and creation of employment. Capacity-building has for Haiti also address the issue of capacity-building in civil proven to be a critical factor for enabling Governments and society institutions. civil society to manage their own affairs and effectively absorb international cooperation in post-crisis situations. 50. The Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti recommends that: (a) The Council request the Secretary-General to establish, in consultation with the Government of Haiti and making use of the existing United Nations presence in Haiti, the necessary mechanisms to develop a long-term strategy and programme of support for Haiti in such areas as education, peace-building, poverty eradication, durable recovery and sustainable development, aimed particularly at reinforcing capacity-building objectives both in governmental and civil society institutions; (b) The United Nations specialized agencies, funds and programmes, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, other multilateral institutions and regional organizations, bilateral donors, including within the consultative group meetings led by the World Bank, and non- governmental organizations continue to support and to work in very close collaboration with the Haitian Government and the rest of the donor community for the purpose of elaborating and supporting the long-term strategy and programme for Haiti, including prioritizing sustainable development and capacity-building objectives; (c) The coordination of the work of the agencies of the United Nations system in Haiti continue to function through the resident coordinator mechanism since it has proven to be a very adequate means for effective coordination. Such coordination should be further strengthened through the completion of the common country assessment and subsequent preparation of a United Nations development assistance framework for Haiti, which will provide the elements to define an effective long-term United Nations to this mechanism in order to further strengthen it; economic development, which are critical for enabling the Haitian Government to adequately and effectively coordinate, manage, absorb and utilize international assistance and development aid; B. Need for national stability 51. The Group emphasized that there is a vital link between national stability and economic and social development. In addition, in the case of Haiti, certain multilateral and bilateral aid flows have been put on hold until the new parliamentary and governmental authorities are constituted through the forthcoming elections. 52. The Government of Haiti has requested international electoral assistance for its plans to organize and hold these legislative, local and presidential elections. 53. The Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti recommends that: (a) The Council urge the United Nations system to continue to support the preparations for legislative, local and presidential elections in Haiti, including contributing funds to the ongoing efforts of the Haitian Government to organize these elections; (b) The Council invite the General Assembly to renew the mandate of the International Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH), taking into account the need to review the mandate to reflect the challenges of the next two years; (c) The Council request the Secretary-General to coordinate with the Government of Haiti other modalities under which reinforced support from the international community can be ensured for the electoral processes. C. Need for a secure domestic environment E/1999/103 11 54. Recognition has been made of the importance of a completed, the United Nations development assistance peaceful, secure and stable environment as a precondition for framework for Haiti; free and fair elections and of its link with sustainable development efforts. 55. Similarly, recognition has been made of the importance programmes of assistance to Haiti with a view to enhancing of a professional, self-sustaining, fully functioning national their overall effectiveness. police for the consolidation of democracy and the revitalization of Haiti’s system of justice, and for the maintenance of a secure and stable environment necessary for the conduct of development and democratic activities. 56. The United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (MIPONUH) has been active in the area of police training programmes and MICIVIH has been active in promoting human rights. 57. The Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti recommends that: (a) The Council urge the United Nations system to continue to work in the areas of consolidation of democracy, training and professionalization of the national police force of Haiti, and to that end invite the General Assembly to consider devising a United Nations special training and technical assistance programme for the Haitian National Police; (b) The Council invite the General Assembly to request the Secretary-General to continue his good offices in Haiti through his representative and to maintain the existence of the political office there headed by him, which would also have the responsibility of managing any new civilian mission mandated by the United Nations. D. Need for a synthesis report on United Nations activities in Haiti 58. A periodic synthesis report on United Nations system activities in Haiti is needed so as to enable the members of the Council to closely follow developments in Haiti. 59. The Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti recommends that: (a) The Council request the Secretary-General to submit an integrated annual synthesis report on the elaboration and implementation of the long-term programme of support for Haiti, including observations and recommendations on the work of the relevant United Nations bodies in their respective areas of competence; (b) In preparing that report, due account be taken of the Haitian Government’s development plans and programmes for the country, as well as of the United Nations system common country assessment for Haiti and, when (c) Similarly, in preparing that report, due attention be paid to a systematic evaluation of the impact of the various Notes The 20/20 initiative, launched at the World Summit for 1 Social Development, suggests that interested developed and developing countries partners agree on mutual commitments to allocate, on average, 20 per cent of official development assistance and 20 per cent of the national budget respectively to basic social programmes. E/1999/103 12 Table 1 Volume and main sources of aid, 1995–1998 (Thousands of United States dollars) Sources 1995 % 1996 % 1997 % 1998 % United States 100 179 18.7 48 780 11.5 85 625 24.4 94 564 26.8 Canada 44 263 8.3 28 621 6.8 32 535 9.3 30 241 8.6 France 52 859 9.9 23 815 5.6 25 146 7.2 17 762 5.1 Japan 31 548 5.9 15 798 3.7 5 979 1.7 8 336 2.4 Taiwan Province of China 31 260 5.9 8 642 2.0 12 000 3.4 4 400 1.2 Other bilateral aid 4 447 0.8 19 860 4.8 12 223 3.4 15 356 4.3 Total bilateral 264 556 49.5 145 516 34.4 173 508 49.4 170 659 48.4 Multilateral sources IDB 87 855 16.4 49 777 11.8 57 362 16.3 68 565 19.4 World Bank 67 451 12.6 66 219 15.6 39 366 11.2 28 752 8.1 IMF 25 774 4.8 22 486 5.3 551 0.2 828 0.2 European Union 55 344 10.4 92 384 21.8 39 197 11.2 55 439 15.7 Other multilateral 923 0.2 77 0.0 1 953 0.5 990 0.3 UNDP 12 858 2.4 16 855 4.0 16 948 4.8 8 153 2.3 Other United Nations system 16 816 3.1 21 611 5.1 14 523 4.2 19 966 5.6 Total multilateral aid 267 021 49.9 269 409 63.6 169 900 48.4 182 693 51.6 Assistance from NGOs 2 868 0.5 8 449 2.0 7 830 2.2 NA Total external aid 534 445 100.0 423 374 100.0 351 238 100.0 353 352 100.0 Source: UNDP, 1997Development Cooperation Reportand preliminary data for 1998. Sectoral concentration: Balance of payment disbursements made up the largest share (29.8 per cent) of total disbursements for the 1995–1997 period, followed bygovernance (13.7 per cent), humanitarian assistance (8.5 per cent), transport (7.08 per cent), health (6.5 per cent), water and urban infrastructure (6.2 per cent) and agriculture (5.3 per cent). Together, health and education account for only 14.65 per cent of total disbursements and the environment for 1.1 percent; 70 percent of these disbursements were grants while 30 per cent were loans. External aid financed approximately 86 percent of all public investment in Haiti during this period. Preliminary disbursement figures for 1998 show a different configuration of sectoral priorities, with education and health accounting for 18 percent, at the same level as humanitarian assistance, transport receiving 12 percent, and agriculture, social development and governance each accounting for 8 per cent of total disbursements for the year. These variations are indicative of the shifting priorities and trends in Haiti’s development needs. E/1999/103 13 Table 2 Thematic areas: responsible agencies Thematic area Responsible agency Economic context World Bank/IMF/UNDP Governance (including the democratization process/ UNDP/World Bank consolidation of the rule of law) Human rights MICIVIH/UNICEF Employment UNDP/ILO Population UNFPA Rural development/food security FAO/WFP Education UNESCO Health WHO/PAHO HIV/AIDS UNAIDS/UNFPA Environment UNDP Culture/culture of peace UNESCO Migration IOM