WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donor nations on Tuesday looked set to raise $1 billion to help Haiti's new government, and a U.N. envoy said the international community would have to remain engaged to help the country recover from years of political and economic crisis.
Speaking at a Haiti donor conference hosted by the World Bank, Juan Gabriel Valdes, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special representative to Haiti, said the international community should address the root causes of Haiti's political and economic turmoil and "not merely paper over the problems."
"No one should underestimate how fragile Haiti remains. The people of Haiti will be sorely tested in the difficult period ahead," said Valdes, who was appointed on July 12.
"If Haiti's transition is to be successful, the international community must put its full weight behind the Haitian leadership and stay engaged in the months and years to come," he added.
More than 20 donor countries gathered at the Washington conference to try to raise funds for Haiti as it recovered from an armed rebellion in February that killed about 200 people and ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, now living in South Africa.
Pressure from the United States and France forced Aristide into exile to end the armed revolt. The United Nations has authorized a deployment of 6,700 troops and up to 1,622 civilian police to keep the peace and help disarm gangs of former soldiers before an election.
So far only about 2,200 have arrived.
International donors, who had abandoned Aristide's government after a contested vote in 2000, have said they are ready to return to Haiti to help its interim government.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said the donor meeting was proof the international community was committed to help reconstruct one of the world's poorest nations.
"Our task here today is to examine what we can do over the longer term to help the people of Haiti build secure foundations for democracy and development," Powell said.
Powell said the Bush administration had pledged about $230 million to Haiti's reconstruction needs.
Enrique Iglesias, president of the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank, said his organization would approve about $260 million to Haiti between 2004 and 2006.
"This demonstration of goodwill by donors needs to be sustained in order to improve Haiti's chances of consolidating the development gains from its transitional agenda," he said.
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
Speaking at a Haiti donor conference hosted by the World Bank, Juan Gabriel Valdes, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special representative to Haiti, said the international community should address the root causes of Haiti's political and economic turmoil and "not merely paper over the problems."
"No one should underestimate how fragile Haiti remains. The people of Haiti will be sorely tested in the difficult period ahead," said Valdes, who was appointed on July 12.
"If Haiti's transition is to be successful, the international community must put its full weight behind the Haitian leadership and stay engaged in the months and years to come," he added.
More than 20 donor countries gathered at the Washington conference to try to raise funds for Haiti as it recovered from an armed rebellion in February that killed about 200 people and ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, now living in South Africa.
Pressure from the United States and France forced Aristide into exile to end the armed revolt. The United Nations has authorized a deployment of 6,700 troops and up to 1,622 civilian police to keep the peace and help disarm gangs of former soldiers before an election.
So far only about 2,200 have arrived.
International donors, who had abandoned Aristide's government after a contested vote in 2000, have said they are ready to return to Haiti to help its interim government.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said the donor meeting was proof the international community was committed to help reconstruct one of the world's poorest nations.
"Our task here today is to examine what we can do over the longer term to help the people of Haiti build secure foundations for democracy and development," Powell said.
Powell said the Bush administration had pledged about $230 million to Haiti's reconstruction needs.
Enrique Iglesias, president of the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank, said his organization would approve about $260 million to Haiti between 2004 and 2006.
"This demonstration of goodwill by donors needs to be sustained in order to improve Haiti's chances of consolidating the development gains from its transitional agenda," he said.
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
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