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STORY: UN / HAITI
TRT: 3.30
SOURCE: UNTV / MINUSTAH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS
DATELINE: 9 SEPTEMBER 2009, NEW YORK CITY
FILE – UNTV – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
9 SEPTEMBER 2009, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Bill Clinton, United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti
“In spite of the devastation caused by last year’s hurricanes and storms, in spite of the absence of basic infrastructure and the inadequacies of health and education and other areas; in spite of deforestation and its consequences which are very severe, I am convinced that Haiti has a remarkable opportunity to escape the chains of its past.”
5. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Bill Clinton, United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti
“We need to be promoting at first the opportunities which exist and which have been made possible by the more secure environment that MINUSTAH has contributed so much to. In a few weeks I’ll lead a trade mission to explore investment opportunities.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Bill Clinton, United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti
“They are intelligent, creative, innovative, and successful. They have suffered from mismanagement, abuse, and neglect from within and from their neighbors and partners in the international community. We have a great set of leaders down there now. We can turn this around. And because we can, we must.”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Hédi Annabi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH):
“This progress is encouraging and should contribute to investor confidence. However at the same time, we must not lower our guard prematurely before these advances have been consolidated. Haiti continues to face threats, including a potential for resumed activity by gangs, criminals and other armed groups, corruption and violence associated with illegal trafficking, and the risk civil unrest. All of these threats may be manipulated to achieve personal or political objectives, including in the context of forthcoming electoral processes.”
7. Med shot, Bill Clinton listening
8. SOUNDBITE (French) Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti:
“Despite the tremors to which it is still subject, and to which it is still rendered vulnerable, the government resolutely committed itself to creating conditions which can give confidence to local investors and attract foreign investment, because today priority has to go to the creation of good and lasting jobs which can also respect the environment.”
FILE – MINUSTAH – 9 MARCH 2009, PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI
9. Wide shot, UN convoy arriving at the National Palace
10. Med shot, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Bill Clinton, and Haitian President René Préval walking on red carpet
11. Med shot, journalists
12. Med shot, Clinton, Préval, and Ban shaking hands
FILE – MINUSTAH – 10 MARCH 2009, PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI
13. Med shot, Ban and Clinton visiting a garment factory
14. Tracking shot, people clapping
15. Close up, Clinton shaking hands
Former US president Bill Clinton told the UN Security Council today (9 September) that the international community needed to help Haiti grasp a “remarkable opportunity” to rebuild and develop after last year’s hurricanes.
Speaking in his capacity as UN special envoy for Haiti, Clinton listed the challenges facing the impoverished Caribbean nation: devastation caused by last year’s storms, an absence of basic infrastructure, inadequacies in health, education and other areas, and the “very severe” environmental degradation resulting from deforestation. But he expressed optimism that Haiti could “escape the chains of its past.”
Clinton, who took up the one-dollar-a-year job of UN special envoy earlier this year to help support the Haitian government’s efforts in tackling the country’s many challenges, said it should be a priority to promote the business opportunities arising from a recently improved security environment in Haiti. He told delegates that he would lead a trade mission to the country next month to help stimulate investment.
The former US president said that Haiti now had “a great set of leaders down there”, and concluded that “we can turn this around” for the long-suffering people of Haiti.
Updating the Council on the work of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the mission’s head Hédi Annabi reported that the security situation had improved and said that the Haitian government was engaged in "constructive dialogue" with all political parties to bring democratic reform, develop the economy and rebuild the country.
But Annabi cautioned that “we must not lower our guard prematurely before these advances have been consolidated”, pointing to the potential for resumed activity by gangs, criminals and other armed groups, corruption and violence associated with illegal trafficking, and the risk civil unrest, in particular in connection with upcoming elections.
MINUSTAH, with about 10,000 military and civilian personnel, has been helping Port-au-Prince with security and to train a police force.
In his latest report on the mission’s work released last week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended a 12-month extension of the mission’s mandate, through 15 October 2010, with some adjustments to enable it to deploy rapidly and to monitor remote locations, such as border areas and the country’s coastline.
Haiti’s Prime Minister Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis also addressed the Council today, saying that the government was “resolutely committed” to creating conditions that will give confidence to local and foreign investors. She said “good and lasting jobs which can also respect the environment” were the biggest priority.
Earlier this year, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accompanied Bill Clinton on a trip to Haiti in order to draw international attention to the the country’s recovery and reconstruction needs following multiple natural disasters last year, while showcasing opportunities for foreign investment. During their trip, Ban and Clinton visited a garment factory employing 1,000 workers.
