(2022) Rapò Gwoup Konsiltatif Ad Hoc sou Ayiti a (E/2022/52)

United Nations E/2022/52 Economic and Social Council Distr.: General 18 April 2022 Original: English 22-05695 (E) 040522 *2205695* 2022 session 20 June 2022 Agenda item 12 (e) Coordination, programme and other questions: long-term programme of support for Haiti Report of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti Summary The present report is submitted pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 2021/18, by which the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti was requested to submit a report on its work, with recommendations, as appropriate, to the Council for its consideration at its 2022 session. The report covers the activities carried out by the Group from July 2021 to March 2022, including meetings with national authorities, representatives of international financial institutions and civil society, as well as representatives of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti and the United Nations country team. Some of the recommendations emerging from the discussions are reflected in the present report. The Group acknowledges that the period under review has been particularly challenging for Haiti on the political, security, socioeconomic, human rights and humanitarian fronts and with regard to the continued spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The assassination of the President, Jovenel Moïse, on 7 July 2021, followed by the devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake in the southern peninsula on 14 August 2021, added to the complex multidimensional challenges facing the country, placing additional obstacles on its path to sustainable development. The Group recommends that the political crisis and mounting insecurity be addressed with urgency to help Haiti to move towards stability and sustainable development. To that end, an inclusive national dialogue is needed to create the conditions for organizing free, fair, transparent and credible legislative and presidential elections. A holistic approach is also needed to re-establish security, encompassing measures to strengthen the Haitian National Police and initiatives to successfully address the socioeconomic drivers of violence. The Group underscores the need to accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Haiti to help to reduce risks and vulnerabilities, address humanitarian needs, promote a more equal and just society and consolidate the foundations of sustainable development. The Group also calls on the international community to show solidarity by helping Haiti to meet its rising humanitarian needs, including by adequately funding the 2022 Haiti Humanitarian Response Plan, while E/2022/52 22-05695 2/17 addressing the country’s long-term socioeconomic development needs, which would involve, inter alia, significant investment in its agriculture and education sectors. The Group stresses that the post-earthquake and reconstruction phase offers a window of opportunity to strengthen the institutional capacity of Haiti and improve the lives of Haitians with a view to building back better. The Group calls on the international community to enhance the coordination of its efforts, working closely with national authorities and actors to maximize its impact and help Haiti to break out of the cycle of crises that it has been experiencing. E/2022/52 3/17 22-05695 I. Introduction A. Mandate and composition of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti 1. The Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti was initially created in 1999 by the Economic and Social Council through resolution 1999/4 and was reactivated five years later through Council decision 2004/322. It is chaired by Canada and composed of the Permanent Representatives of Argentina, the Bahamas, Belize, Benin, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Haiti, Mexico, Peru, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States of America and Uruguay to the United Nations. Two new members – the Permanent Representatives of the Dominican Republic and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the United Nations – joined the Group on 9 June 2021 (Council decision 2021/238) and 16 February 2022 (Council decision 2022/314). 2. In its resolution 2021/18, the Economic and Social Council extended the mandate of the Group until the conclusion of the 2022 session, with the aim of following closely and providing advice on the long-term development strategy of Haiti to promote socioeconomic recovery, reconstruction and stability, with particular attention to the need to ensure coherence and sustainability in international support for the country. The Council requested that the Group submit a report on its activities for the Council’s consideration at its 2022 session. 3. The present report is the eighteenth submitted to the Economic and Social Council by the Group since its reactivation in 2004. It highlights the main findings of the Group following its meetings with the Haitian authorities and various stakeholders. Given the continuing travel restrictions related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during the reporting period, the Group did not carry out visits to Haiti and Washington, D.C., but it consulted a wide range of stakeholders through virtual meetings, the findings of which are reflected in the present report. B. Activities of the Group during the reporting period 4. The Group continued to closely follow the situation in Haiti which, during the reporting period, was marked by two critical events: the assassination of the President and an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale in the country’s southern peninsula, which resulted in 2,246 deaths, 12,763 injured and significant damage to public buildings, homes, and critical infrastructure and roads. These events occurred in a context of increasing political instability and insecurity, growing humanitarian needs, the continued spread of COVID-19 and a challenging socioeconomic situation hampering the country’s efforts to achieve sustainable development. 5. Following the assassination of the President, the Chair of the Group and Ambassador of Canada to the United Nations, Bob Rae, was able to visit Haiti and attend the funeral service, as well as engage in direct meetings with the Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, and other political representatives, members of the United Nations and international observers. 6. On the occasions of the President’s assassination and the earthquake, the Group adopted two press statements. In the first, on 7 July, the Group called for a thorough investigation into the assassination and reiterated the need for all sectors of the population to hold a genuine dialogue and work constructively to address the political crisis. The Group called on all actors of Haitian society to remain calm in order to avoid an escalation of violence. In the second, on 20 August, the Group expressed solidarity with the people and Government of Haiti following the earthquake and called upon the United Nations, Member States, donors, international financial E/2022/52 22-05695 4/17 institutions and all stakeholders to act together and with determination to deliver a swift, sustained response, working closely with the Government and civil society of Haiti. 7. On 8 October, the Group held a virtual meeting with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator) for Haiti, the President of the Economic and Social Council, the Minister for Planning and External Cooperation of Haiti and a representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to discuss the humanitarian and reconstruction efforts carried out in response to the earthquake and how to tackle the structural impediments to sustainable development and enhance aid effectiveness. Following the meeting, on 13 October, the Group adopted a press statement in which it stressed that the international community should continue to support the Haitian people in the country’s transition to long-term stability and sustainable development and called on the Security Council to extend the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), as its expiration would send an untimely message to the people of Haiti. 8. On 15 October, the Chair of the Group participated in the Security Council virtual Arria-formula meeting on the theme “Beyond the inconvenient truths about underdevelopment in Haiti: seeking pan-African solutions/pathways and supporting national dialogue and reconciliation”, at which the Council discussed ways to encourage genuine dialogue on how Haiti could regain stability and focus on socioeconomic development between Haitians and actors with experience in nation- building and national dialogue processes, as well as other partners and friends of Haiti, including from the African Union and the Caribbean Community and Common Market. 9. On 20 January 2022, the Group held a meeting with the Minister for Planning and External Cooperation, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary- General (Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator) for Haiti and the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Haiti to review preparations for the International Conference for the Financing of the Reconstruction of the Southern Peninsula of Haiti, to be held on 16 February in an effort to mobilize international support for post-earthquake reconstruction and recovery efforts. 10. On 21 January, the Chair of the Group participated in a ministerial meeting organized by the Government of Canada, which included the participation of the Prime Minister of Haiti, representatives of 19 partner countries – including several Group members – and representatives of the United Nations and other international and regional organizations. Participants discussed the situation in Haiti and how to strengthen international support and the coordination of international assistance to ensure effective and structured efforts over the long term. 11. On 15 February, the Group issued a statement in which it advocated the participation of the United Nations, Member States, donors, international financial institutions and all stakeholders in the Conference, which would be organized by the Government of Haiti with the support of the United Nations. 12. On 16 February, the Chair of the Group, attending virtually, delivered remarks at the Conference, calling on the international community to meet the financial requirements of the post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction plan and the 2022 Haiti Humanitarian Response Plan. 13. On 2 March, the Group met with representatives of the IMF, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank to learn about the activities carried out by the international financial institutions to support the country’s sustainable development. E/2022/52 5/17 22-05695 14. On 24 March, the Group held a meeting with the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator) for Haiti a.i. and civil society and private sector representatives to discuss their perspectives on the economic and social situation in Haiti, including from the National Network for the Defence of Human Rights, the Haitian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Policitë and the Inter-Organization Liaison Framework, a non-governmental organization (NGO) network. 15. The Group expresses its appreciation to the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator) for Haiti and the other members of BINUH and the United Nations country team for their continuous support for the work of the Group. II. Overview of the current situation in Haiti A. Political uncertainty and mounting insecurity 16. The reporting period was marked by the tragic assassination of the President, which heightened uncertainty about the country’s stability and worsened its institutional crisis. Owing to the repeated postponements of legislative elections, 20 out of 30 senate seats are vacant which, coupled with the death of the President of the Supreme Court due to COVID-19 in June 2021, means that the three branches of power in Haiti are dysfunctional. 17. Despite attempts by the Prime Minister to address the political crisis, including by signing, on 11 September, a political agreement with more than 150 political parties and civil society organizations aimed at leading the country towards elections by the end of 2022, a national consensus on the way forward remains elusive. 18. The country remains divided between those national stakeholders willing to move forward with elections and those continuing to express a preference for a provisional president and a prime minister who would lead the government during a longer political transition to allow for extensive governance and security reforms before the holding of elections. For instance, on 12 December, supporters of the Commission for a Haitian Solution to the Crisis (known as the Montana Group) launched a national transitional council to designate a new president and a new prime minister who would lead a 24-month political transition. A month later, the Montana Group signed a new agreement with the signatories of the national memorandum of understanding which provides for a dual executive comprising a five-member joint presidency and a prime minister to be designated by the national transitional council. 19. The political crisis and institutional vacuum are cause for concern, especially given their negative repercussions for the country’s security. Taking advantage of weakened State institutions, armed groups have grown in power and now control large parts of the country. The Advisory Group learned that there are more than 200 armed gangs in Haiti, 70 per cent of which are located in the Ouest department. Gangs have easy access to weapons and ammunition flowing illegally from abroad. They exercise de facto control over a significant part of the country, terrorizing entire communities, looting, and killing, raping and kidnapping civilians. According to the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, from 27 September 2021 to 15 February 2022, at least 655 kidnappings for ransom were reported to the Haitian National Police, compared with a total of 234 for the previous year (S/2022/117). The reported connection between armed gangs and some politicians, police and members of the private sector is particularly concerning. The Group remained alarmed at how gang violence had continued to paralyse an already E/2022/52 22-05695 6/17 fragile economy, preventing the reopening of schools, the distribution of aid and the fight against COVID-19. 20. The Group stressed the need for Haitians to find a viable long-term solution to the current political impasse through an inclusive dialogue involving all stakeholders in Haitian society that would ensure a stronger participation of women in all aspects of public life. Without such a political agreement, it would be challenging to re-establish the security that Haitians so desperately needed and to proceed with free, fair, transparent and credible elections. The Group urged the international community to assist the country’s efforts to tackle its political and security challenges, on the basis of solutions developed by and for Haitians, noting that countries with experience in national dialogue processes could also be instrumental in helping Haiti to regain stability. 21. Haiti also remains characterized by corruption and impunity. The country ranks 164th out of 180 countries in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2021. The Group underscored the need for the Government of Haiti to develop and adopt effective measures to combat corruption, including a new national anti-corruption strategy. B. Devastating earthquake: exposure and vulnerability to natural disasters and climatic events 22. While the country was still grappling with the assassination of its President, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck its southern peninsula, approximately 125 kilometres west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, followed by Tropical Storm Grace three days later. The result was 2,246 deaths, 12,763 injured, 40,000 displaced and some 650,000 in need of humanitarian assistance. Approximately 137,585 homes, 1,250 schools and 97 hospital and health facilities were either damaged or destroyed. More than 300,000 students were unable to return to school, while 754,000 people were considered food insecure. The regions levelled by the earthquake were still recovering from Hurricane Matthew in 2016. 23. The Government of Haiti and its partners swiftly mobilized rapid response teams to save lives and address the immediate needs of the affected population. Some 15 countries sent immediate support, including search and rescue teams, military assets and relief supplies. Just two days after the earthquake, the Government mobilized the tripartite partnership of the World Bank, the United Nations and the European Union – joined by IDB – to support a post-disaster needs assessment, which the Prime Minister launched on 30 August. 24. The assessment covers five major sectors: infrastructure; social sectors; the productive sector; macroeconomic impact; and human impact. It also took into account critical cross-cutting issues, including gender, governance, employment and livelihoods, and environment and disaster risk reduction. The cost of the recovery is estimated at $1.978 billion, taking into account the physical reconstruction and increased resilience needed to improve the living conditions of the population. Some 76 per cent of the needed recovery funds are for social sectors, including $1 billion for housing and $400 million for education, which are the two largest line items; 10 per cent are for the productive sectors; 9 per cent are for infrastructure; and 5 per cent are for cross-cutting sectors. 25. The results of the assessment provided the basis for the development of the Southern Peninsula Integrated Recovery Plan and its Action Plan for the period from October 2021 to September 2025 to address the systemic causes of the country’s vulnerability to the effects of the earthquake and the management of disaster risks E/2022/52 7/17 22-05695 through four strategic areas: (a) recovery governance; (b) economic recovery; (c) resilient infrastructure; (d) land-use planning and livelihood improvement; and (e) inclusion and social protection. The plan was launched at the International Conference for the Financing of the Reconstruction of the Southern Peninsula of Haiti, where $600 million was pledged to help to implement the Integrated Recovery Plan. 26. The Government also decided to set up a United Nations multi-partner trust fund for those development partners willing to pool their resources to support Government- approved priority recovery and reconstruction projects, within the scope and time frame of the Integrated Recovery Plan. The fund will also facilitate the Government’s coordination of international assistance and enable transparency in the administration of funds and the implementation of projects. 27. The Group was concerned that Haiti remained vulnerable to natural disasters and that, without significant climate adaptation and mitigation measures, climate- related events would continue to have a devastating impact on the country. The Group called for the international community to help the Government of Haiti to address both the short-term emergency response to the earthquake and the long-term development of the country. 28. The Group stressed the importance of national leadership in ensuring a successful response to the earthquake. It welcomed the Southern Peninsula Integrated Recovery Plan and its Action Plan, underscoring that the recovery and reconstruction phase was a critical opportunity to build back better and ensure its sustainable impact, including by integrating disaster risk reduction into development measures in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. C. Increasingly dire humanitarian situation 29. The earthquake was a stark a reminder of the natural hazards to which Haiti is regularly exposed, including storms, floods, landslides and drought. According to the Index for Risk Management, among the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, Haiti is the most vulnerable to disasters and the eighteenth most vulnerable country in the world. The earthquake further aggravated the already dire humanitarian situation. In 2022, some 4.9 million people are estimated to need humanitarian assistance – half a million more than the previous year – which corresponds to 43 per cent of the total population. 30. Food insecurity continues to drive up humanitarian needs. In 2021, Haiti ranked 109th out of 116 countries in the Global Hunger Index. According to the World Food Programme, some 4.4 million people face acute food insecurity, including 1.2 million who suffer from severe hunger. Drivers of food insecurity include the poor performance of the agricultural sector and high dependence on food imports, which account for more than half of the total food and more than 80 per cent of the rice consumed by Haitians. 31. Insecurity and violence in Port-au-Prince have increased the risk of gender- based violence, led to the internal displacement of 19,000 people and affected an additional 1.5 million. The increase in kidnapping has added to a sense of insecurity among the general population and aid workers. Moreover, armed groups have repeatedly blocked gas distribution terminals and major transportation routes, preventing goods from moving freely and severely impacting the functioning of health-care services, public transportation and humanitarian and emergency relief operations. From October to mid-November 2021, because of limited humanitarian access, an estimated two thirds of humanitarian organizations were forced to trim their operations, impacting the delivery of aid to approximately 700,000 people E/2022/52 22-05695 8/17 (S/2022/117). The Group was particularly concerned about the increasing humanitarian needs in the country and the armed groups’ repeated denial of access to humanitarian actors who were attempting to reach people in great need of assistance. 32. The Group was also concerned that the 2021 flash appeal for approximately $187.3 million to aid the earthquake-affected areas was only 43 per cent funded, 1 and that the humanitarian response plan remained drastically underfunded. In 2021, the plan had received only 28 per cent of its $235.6 million required funding, and it had yet to receive contributions to meet its current required funding of $373.5 million. The Group called upon donors to provide the needed financial support to meet the increasing humanitarian needs in Haiti. 33. The Group welcomed the good news that no confirmed cases of cholera had been reported in Haiti for the previous three years. To mark that significant achievement, on 17 February 2022, the Government of Haiti had held a scientific conference to discuss progress and lessons learned in controlling the 2010–2019 cholera outbreak and to determine the next steps for sustained cholera elimination. 34. The Group also stressed that, to maximize the impact of interventions, it was crucial that humanitarian, development and peacebuilding actors operating in Haiti continued to work in stronger coordination to address humanitarian needs, prevent violence, reduce risks and vulnerabilities and facilitate the country’s progress towards sustainable development and peace. Involving local NGOs in the work being carried out at the humanitarian-development-peace nexus would also be crucial to success, given their expertise and knowledge of the local context. D. Deteriorating socioeconomic conditions 35. In the context of changes in the global economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the multiple political and security crises and the earthquake, the economy of Haiti reeled in the reporting period, resulting in the loss of close to 11 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP). The national economy remained in recession in 2021. Gross domestic product has contracted over three consecutive years: by 1.7 per cent in 2019, by 3.3 per cent in 2020 and by 1.8 per cent in 2021. 36. The country’s per capita income, which decreased by 16 per cent between 1990 and 2020, is expected to have further declined in 2021. After the October 2020 currency correction, the gourde experienced further depreciation against the dollar, with the exchange rate rising from 71:1 in December 2020 to 101:1 in January 2022. International reserves declined by 36 per cent, from $713 million to $458 million, between 2020 and 2021. Inflation remains high, with significant consequences for poor households. 37. The Government’s ability to collect taxes continues to pose a challenge. The most recently reported internal revenue collections reached 12.6 per cent of GDP in 2018. The fiscal deficit is estimated at 2.7 per cent of GDP in 2021, which indicates limited fiscal space for spending in growth-enhancing sectors. To help to address the State’s weak fiscal position, in December 2021, the Government of Haiti enacted reforms to the fuel subsidy, which are expected to generate savings of 1.3 per cent of GDP. The Group’s interlocutors welcomed the reform efforts aimed at achieving macroeconomic stability, noting that energy subsidies had averaged 2.5 per cent of GDP over the past decade, while public investment in education, health and social protection combined had averaged 1.5 per cent of GDP. The interlocutors also __________________ 1 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Haiti Flash Appeal 2021”, Financial Tracking Service database. Available at https://fts.unocha.org/appeals/1056/summary (accessed on 15 April 2022). E/2022/52 9/17 22-05695 underscored that 93 per cent of the fuel subsidies went to the richest 20 per cent of Haitians. The Group stressed that the reforms needed to be accompanied by measures to mitigate their negative socioeconomic impact; such measures should include new social safety nets, in particular for the most vulnerable sectors of the population. 38. Haiti remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with significant structural weaknesses; it was ranked 170th out of 189 countries in the 2020 human development index. In 2017, approximately 57 per cent of the population was poor and 24 per cent was extremely poor. 39. Haiti has experienced five waves of COVID-19, the latest of which peaked in January 2022. Currently, reported cases and hospitalizations are at a low ebb. For two years, COVID-19 has posed acute challenges to health-care services, given the pre-existing fragility of the system; the health-care challenges, in turn, have exacerbated sociopolitical instability and aggravated economic hardship. As of 31 March 2022, 30,545 confirmed cases and 833 deaths have been reported. Haiti currently has access to three COVID-19 vaccines through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility. Nevertheless, coverage remains low; with only 1.5 per cent of its eligible population fully vaccinated, largely owing to operational challenges and high levels of vaccine hesitancy, Haiti is one of the least vaccinated countries in the world. 40. Notwithstanding the resilience of the Haitian people, the worsening economic prospects are expected to result in a decline in key social indicators, such as life expectancy and mean years of schooling. According to World Bank data, life expectancy in 2020 was estimated at 64.31 years: 62.13 years for men and 66.50 years for women. 2 41. The lack of universal access to essential health services remains a significant obstacle to achieving good health outcomes. The use of these services has decreased rapidly, from 31 per cent for the period from 2015 to 2017, to 21.4 per cent in 2019 (see A/HRC/WG.6/40/HTI/2). The decline most often affects people living in rural areas who tend to turn to more-affordable traditional medicine. Low government expenditures on health – at 4.1 per cent of the national budget for the period from 2020 to 2021 – compound the problem, with people being impoverished by high out- of-pocket expenditures as a result. Some additional challenges are weak governance and coordination, shortages of essential medicines and difficulty attracting or retaining qualified health professionals. 42. Educational achievement remains low in Haiti. The enrolment rate for primary schools is 57 per cent, whereas secondary schools enrol just 20 per cent of all eligible- age students. Recent events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, rising insecurity and the latest earthquake, have further restricted children’s access to education. The lack of access to broadband Internet, laptops and tablets has made remote learning almost impossible. Since 80 per cent of primary schools in Haiti are private, the worsening economic conditions prevent many households from paying the necessary fees to enrol their children in school. Public schools, on the other hand, suffer from inadequate infrastructure, overcrowding, lack of teaching staff and limited remote learning possibilities. Meanwhile, Haitian graduates continue to migrate in great numbers – approximately 84 per cent – generating a serious intellectual deficit for the country. 43. The Group stressed the need to provide accessible, affordable and quality education to young people, which would be instrumental in breaking the cycle of poverty and helping the country to advance on the path to sustainable development. In parallel, measures should be taken to improve job prospects for young people. The __________________ 2 World Bank, “Life expectancy at birth, female (years): Haiti”, World Bank Open Data. Available at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.FE.IN?locations=HT (accessed on 15 April 2022). E/2022/52 22-05695 10/17 Group’s interlocutors stressed the need for establishing a public-private partnership to help young graduates to enter the world of work, including by providing tailored professional training to young women and men and offering financial incentives to companies employing them. The Group welcomed the support of the World Bank for job creation and education, including remote learning solutions. 44. The Group also stressed the need for the international community to show solidarity towards Haiti with regard to its efforts to combat the pandemic and its socioeconomic effects. It was necessary to increase efforts to promote vaccination in the country, including by scaling up efforts to enhance awareness and understanding of the COVID-19 virus and the vaccine. In that regard, the Group welcomed the efforts of the World Bank to help the Government of Haiti to address vaccine hesitancy with a view to limiting the spread of COVID-19. The Group highlighted the importance of mitigating the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19, including by providing social protection, protecting jobs and livelihoods and investing in community-led resilience and response systems, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable groups, including youth and women. E. Human rights, rule of law and administration of justice remain concerning 45. Many human rights violations were perpetrated during the reporting period (S/2022/117). For the period from 27 September 2021 to 15 February 2022, 1,615 homicides were reported, which represents a 17 per cent increase compared with the total for the same period in 2020. Sexual violence, including rape and sexual slavery, was reportedly used by armed groups. While Haitian authorities and international stakeholders remain mobilized to support the efforts of the national police to combat gangs and address insecurity, in particular in Port-au-Prince, the security situation has nevertheless continued to deteriorate steadily. The deteriorating situation is compounded by the chronic underfunding of the national police and the lack of adequate operational capacities to counter gang violence. At the same time, the General Inspectorate of the Haitian National Police registered complaints regarding 36 police officers involved in human rights violations, including alleged killings. Human rights violations committed by the national police contribute to the erosion of trust between Haitians and the institutions meant to protect them. 46. The Group highlighted the importance of strengthening the national police, including through capacity-building measures and proper vetting, to ensure that police officers complied with international standards regarding human rights and professional conduct. The Group underscored the need for a holistic approach to security, in which measures to strengthen the police would go hand in hand with those aimed at addressing the root causes of violence, including socioeconomic measures, job creation and the implementation of comprehensive programmes for community violence reduction. 47. Impunity, pervasive corruption and lack of good governance are major drivers of instability in Haiti, preventing the fulfilment of human rights and the achievement of sustainable development in the country. The judiciary’s lack of independence, impartiality, capacity and integrity undermines the rule of law, promotes corruption and impunity and creates major impediments to good governance. The justice system suffers from fundamental structural weaknesses, which have been illustrated by the lack of progress in the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes, including the emblematic cases of massacres that took place in Grand Ravine (2017), La Saline (2018) and Bel-Air (2019), as well as the assassination of the President. Following the assassination, there have been threats to journalists who were perceived as critical E/2022/52 11/17 22-05695 of the President and public officials involved in the assassination investigation (see A/HRC/WG.6/40/HTI/2). Human rights defenders also continue to be subjected to threats and intimidation. 48. The absence of adequate security arrangements for justice personnel, victims and witnesses, the limited judicial independence and the inadequate funding for the functioning of the courts and legal assistance programmes are concerning. The Group stressed that the rule of law, administration of justice and efforts to combat human rights violations and corruption were critical in building resilience and promoting sustainable development and should therefore be pursued vigorously. 49. The situation in prisons is also of serious concern (ibid.); 82 per cent of the 11,003 individuals detained as of 19 January 2022 were being held in pretrial detention. Prisons are largely overcrowded, with an occupancy rate of 278 per cent, in addition to being underfunded, and are struggling to provide for the most basic needs of inmates, including regular meals and minimal medical services. The situation has been exacerbated by the pandemic, which further demonstrates the limited institutional capacities of Haitian authorities to provide basic medical services in prison settings. Efforts are under way to address detention conditions, including the development of a custodial management data centre to accelerate the processing of pretrial detainees and the rehabilitation of the Petit-Goâve, Anse-à-Veau and Jérémie prisons, aimed at relieving prison overcrowding. 50. The reporting period was also characterized by the repatriation of large numbers of Haitian migrants from South and Central American countries and the United States. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that some 24,147 Haitians (57 per cent adult males, 25 per cent adult females, 9 per cent boys and 9 per cent girls) were repatriated by air and sea in 2021, 79.5 per cent of whom from the United States, and 24,819 Haitians were repatriated by land from the Dominican Republic, including hundreds of pregnant and nursing women. In 2021, IOM conducted a survey of returning migrants to understand their profile, needs and reasons for departure. Respondents identified financial assistance, housing and employment as their three priority needs upon their return home. Lack of employment opportunities as well as violence and insecurity in Haiti were some of the most-cited reasons for wishing to migrate permanently to another country. 51. It is concerning that Haitian migrants very frequently suffer abuse and mistreatment in transit or destination countries. For example, according to IOM, many Haitian migrants deported at official border points report that they have been robbed of their money and personal belongings and deprived of means of communication and access to hygiene services. It is also concerning that, in order to escape difficult conditions, Haitians are taking enormous risks to migrate irregularly to other countries, increasingly turning to irregular migration routes. 52. The Group appreciated the efforts of IOM and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to support the National Migration Office of Haiti to advocate respect for the rights of migrants regardless of their gender, age or immigration status. The Group underscored the need to ensure that the return of migrants to Haiti would proceed in a dignified manner despite the challenges facing the country, in particular with regard to humanitarian and protection issues. Vulnerable migrants, regardless of their status, must be able to receive the protection and assistance they needed. The Group called upon the international community to support those valuable efforts. 53. The Group continued to encourage the Government of Haiti to adopt the national action plan on human rights for the period from 2019 to 2021, which had been pending since 2019 and was still awaiting approval by the executive branch. It also encouraged the Government to support the establishment of a stand-alone office of the United E/2022/52 22-05695 12/17 Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Haiti to safeguard the collaboration between the United Nations and State authorities on human rights issues. III. Coordinated and coherent international support for Haiti A. United Nations coordinated support for Haiti to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 54. The United Nations system in Haiti has an important role to play in helping the country to address its long-standing challenges and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Since the United Nations presence in Haiti transitioned from a peacekeeping to political and development-oriented configuration in 2019 with the establishment of BINUH, the Group has advocated close and sustained collaboration among BINUH, the United Nations country team and other United Nations entities, as well as local and international partners, in consultation with the Government of Haiti, to deliver as one in Haiti. The repositioning of the United Nations development system mandated by the General Assembly in its resolution 72/279, meanwhile, has been taking shape, allowing for more coherent and coordinated collaboration among United Nations entities present in the country, supported by an integrated office of the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator) for Haiti. The new United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for the period from 2023 to 2027 that the Government and the United Nations are developing outlines an integrated approach to support the Government in accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 55. The Peacebuilding Fund also continues to play an important role in helping the country to move towards stability and sustainable development. For instance, during the reporting period, the Fund supported several initiatives to address community violence, including a project to establish community-level platforms in the La Saline and Martissant neighbourhoods, and local mediation cells, which promoted ceasefires between armed gangs. In its current strategic plan, the Fund approved a total of $7.5 million for Haiti: $3 million through its Immediate Response Facility and $4.5 million through its Peacebuilding Recovery Facility (see A/76/687). 56. The Group underscored that an integrated whole-of-system United Nations response, working across the peace, development, humanitarian and human rights pillars, was necessary to maximize impact. Learning from the successful experience of the United Nations system-wide response to COVID-19 in programme countries, the Group stressed that the same type of cooperative approach would help Haiti to make progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The Group called upon the international community to support the United Nations in that regard. 57. The Group’s interlocutors had strongly advocated enhanced security throughout the country to allow the United Nations and other development partners to successfully implement their programmes. They had also stressed that BINUH remained crucial in helping the country to achieve long-term stability and sustainable development. The Group shared these views and would closely follow the results of the assessment of the mandate of BINUH, which the Security Council requested in its resolution 2600 (2021). B. Promoting aid effectiveness 58. Donors continue to support the Government’s development efforts, including through the United Nations. In 2020, Haiti received $204 million in such support E/2022/52 13/17 22-05695 ($110 million for development-related activities and $94 million for humanitarian activities), up from $163 million ($99 million for development-related activities and $64 million for humanitarian activities) in 2019. That figure represents 0.5 per cent of the $40.2 billion in global expenditures for operational activities for development. Haiti is the thirty-eighth largest United Nations programme country. 59. During its meeting with the international financial institutions, the Group was informed that the IDB continued its work in Haiti within the framework of its special intervention strategy adopted in 2019. This work is based mainly on five pillars: (a) prioritizing investment in health, food security and basic needs; (b) working closely with strategic partners in project implementation; (c) relying on community- level interventions, including through direct involvement of beneficiaries in their design; (d) increasing private sector involvement; and (e) creating opportunities for employment retention. In 2021, IDB disbursed $165 million, which was 54 per cent more than had been disbursed in 2020. A total of $245 million was approved in 2021 for interventions focused on expanding social safety nets and education, expanding the Caracol industrial park to create employment and enhancing food security through increased agricultural productivity of small rural producers. In parallel, IDB redirected $80 million in financing from its grant facility’s regular operations to post- earthquake reconstruction. The strategy has been yielding results across multiple sectors. For instance, IDB reached more than half a million people experiencing food insecurity, while 115,000 children benefited from IDB-supported school feeding programmes. 60. The World Bank remains committed to Haiti, as demonstrated by the $194 million pledged at the International Conference for the Financing of the Reconstruction of the Southern Peninsula of Haiti, which is one third of the total pledges made. The World Bank’s programme has grown over the years, reaching $1.3 billion in 2021 for projects related to, inter alia, restoring the macroeconomic framework, preserving basic services, enhancing education, creating jobs and strengthening resilience, working closely with development partners, including the United Nations. The World Bank intends to establish a new country strategy in 2023 based on these priorities. 61. The Caribbean Development Bank has provided Haiti with a grant of $45 million for the period from 2022 to 2026 and continues to focus its work on core areas that directly impact Haitians, such as education and training, community-driven development and agriculture, disaster management and sustainable energies. 62. The IMF has made available approximately $360 million to Haiti without conditionalities in the past two years. This includes $111.6 million in emergency financing under the IMF Rapid Credit Facility for essential health-related expenditures and income support to ease the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the population, $23 million in debt relief under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, and a special drawing rights general allocation of $224 million, made in August 2021. 63. The Group welcomed the support provided by the international community to promote development in Haiti. For development initiatives to be implemented in an effective manner, political stability and the security situation in Haiti needed to improve. Considering the potential for overlap in the policy areas and activities of development partners, the Group stressed the need for partners to strengthen coordination and collaboration. It also urged the Government of Haiti to take full ownership of economic policy reform. E/2022/52 22-05695 14/17 IV. Conclusions and recommendations 64. Despite continuing travel restrictions related to COVID-19 which prevented the Group from undertaking missions to Washington, D.C., and to Haiti, the Group has nevertheless carried out its mandate through virtual meetings, even though the number of interlocutors that the Group could interact with was limited. The Group’s previous recommendations remain valid. 65. The reporting period has been particularly turbulent for Haiti with the assassination of the President and the devastating earthquake that hit the southern peninsula a month later adding to the long-standing political, socioeconomic, humanitarian, human rights, rule of law and justice challenges facing the country; this, in a context of mounting insecurity due to increasing gang activity, corruption and impunity, and amidst a COVID-19 crisis of which the health and socioeconomic impact remains significant. 66. Political tensions and insecurity are preventing the country’s long-term development, while weak governance, a lack of accountability, persistent poverty, limited economic opportunities and job prospects, inadequate education, inefficient delivery of social services for the population and the persistence of inequalities continue to perpetuate violence and political uncertainty. 67. In that context, the Group reiterates the need for a comprehensive approach to address the multidimensional challenges in Haiti. The Group highlights the need for Haitian authorities to pursue an inclusive national political dialogue, given that political stability and social inclusion are indispensable for the sustainable development of Haiti and the achievement of peace. 68. The Group also stresses the urgency of restoring security throughout the country, which would go a long way towards improving the lives of Haitians, strengthening investor confidence in the country and helping humanitarian organizations and development partners to successfully deliver much-needed assistance. The Group welcomes the measures to enhance the capacity of the national police. These measures should be complemented by a comprehensive and sustainable long-term strategy to address the drivers of violence, including in the socioeconomic sphere. 69. It is critical that efforts be stepped up to promote good governance and the rule of law, strengthen public institutions, reform the justice sector, address corruption, reinforce national capacity for conflict prevention, promote and protect human rights, eradicate poverty and tackle socioeconomic inequalities. 70. It is concerning that, despite the scale of humanitarian needs in the country, the humanitarian response plan for Haiti is one of the world’s least funded. The Group underscores the need to meet the humanitarian needs of the population while increasing its resilience to future shocks through climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures. At the same time, it is encouraging that the international community has pledged $600 million to implement the Southern Peninsula Integrated Recovery Plan. The Group underscores that the Plan’s effective implementation offers a good opportunity for the country to build back better from the earthquake and enhance the resilience of the population. 71. The United Nations system has a crucial role to play in supporting Haiti in its efforts to pursue stability and sustainable development. Support should be delivered through a whole-of-system approach to maximize its impact so that activities to promote political stability, security, the rule of law, good governance E/2022/52 15/17 22-05695 and human rights are complemented by interventions to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. The Group will closely follow the results of the assessment of BINUH, as it has implications for the effectiveness of the One United Nations initiative in Haiti. 72. The active engagement of the international community, including through South-South and triangular cooperation, is indispensable in helping the country to make progress on its path to sustainable development. The Government of Haiti and its development partners need to work closely together so that the support of development partners is delivered in a well-coordinated, coherent and sustainable manner and is thus more impactful. 73. The Group is of the view that the there is scope for a more comprehensive and coordinated approach by all intergovernmental bodies, including the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights Council, in providing integrated and targeted policy advice to Haiti and its partners. Such comprehensive coordination would contribute to a more integrated approach across the peace, development, humanitarian and human right pillars of the United Nations. 74. The recommendations below are set out for consideration by the Economic and Social Council. 75. The Group encourages the Government of Haiti: (a) To intensify efforts to participate in an inclusive national dialogue that engages all population groups equally, including women, to successfully address the political crises and work constructively towards the successful holding of credible, free, fair and transparent legislative and presidential elections; (b) To ensure the effective implementation of the Southern Peninsula Integrated Recovery Plan, working in close coordination with development partners; (c) To step up its efforts to respond to the COVID-19 crisis by addressing, simultaneously, its health, humanitarian, socioeconomic and development dimensions; (d) To enhance efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda during the remainder of the decade of action and accelerate implementation of national development plans in line with the 2030 Agenda; (e) To strengthen collaboration with countries in the region on areas of common interest, including migration; (f) To increase attention to justice sector reform, focusing on guaranteeing the rule of law and implementing anti -impunity and anti-corruption measures, including by developing and adopting a new anti-corruption strategy, and undertaking thorough independent investigations of the assassination of the President and of massacres; (g) To strengthen efforts to promote full respect for human rights, including by addressing sexual and gender-based violence. In that regard, the Group calls for the swift endorsement by the Council of Ministers of the national action plan on human rights and its effective implementation. It also encourages the Government to support the establishment of a stand-alone office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Haiti to safeguard the collaboration between the United Nations and State authorities on human rights issues; E/2022/52 22-05695 16/17 (h) To provide the required resources and attention to preparedness, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation to reduce the disruptive impact of natural disasters on communities; (i) To consider exploring ways to work more closely with the Peacebuilding Fund. 76. The Group recommends that the international community and other development actors: (a) Remain collectively engaged to support Haitian-led solutions to the country’s challenges and to work closely with the Government of Haiti to provide well-coordinated and coherent support for building back better from COVID-19 and to promote sustainable development; (b) Support the post-earthquake reconstruction through the full funding of the $1.978 billion needed to successfully implement the Southern Peninsula Integrated Recovery Plan and its Action Plan for the period from October 2021 to September 2025; (c) Increase financial contributions to the Humanitarian Response Plan to address the dire humanitarian needs in the country; (d) Prioritize investment in the country’s agricultural sector with the goal of ensuring food security, thus reducing the prospect of recurrent humanitarian crises in the country and promoting sustainable development; (e) Work with the Government of Haiti towards modernization of the country’s educational sector with regard to school infrastructure, attendance and curriculum development to help it to adapt to current global challenges and the country’s development needs; (f) Provide the United Nations country team with the necessary financial resources to be able to support in an effective manner the progress of the Government of Haiti towards implementing the 2030 Agenda and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals; (g) Support a comprehensive regional approach to ensuring the protection of Haitian men, women, girls and boys moving throughout the region; (h) Enhance cohesiveness and coordination in development cooperation, working closely with the Haitian authorities and through consultations with various Haitian stakeholders, to ensure more impactful long-term development interventions; (i) Provide adequate, predictable and flexible multi-year funding towards disaster risk reduction, recovery and peacebuilding programming to foster a joined-up approach across humanitarian-development-peace actions; (j) Work with the Government of Haiti to build State capacity in a range of areas, including public sector management, judicial and rule of law reform and disaster risk management; (k) Support the Government of Haiti in its efforts to combat the illicit smuggling of weapons and ammunition which is fuelling armed violence, including gang violence. 77. The Group recommends that the United Nations system: (a) Continue to support the Government of Haiti in its post-earthquake reconstruction efforts; E/2022/52 17/17 22-05695 (b) Continue to support the COVID-19 response of the Government of Haiti and to implement activities within the framework of the development priorities defined by the Haitian authorities in line with the 2030 Agenda; (c) Work in close partnership with international financial institutions to promote the country’s long-term development; (d) Work closely with international financial institutions to prepare a report on the impact of security on the implementation of development programmes to enhance the awareness of the international community; (e) Continue to focus on a whole-of-system approach, including greater cross-pillar cooperation to help to address the root causes of the country’s vulnerability and promote long-term development and peace; (f) Ensure that the United Nations country team maintains close collaboration, cooperation and coordination with BINUH, including through the development of a new United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for the period from 2023 to 2027 that integrates the contributions of BINUH, to maximize the impact of their actions and ensure a successful transition in the country.