OAS Member States Hail Inter-American Mission To Haiti As A Major Success

WASHINGTON, DC – The OAS Permanent Council on Wednesday 16 September 2009, expressed satisfaction with the inter-American mission to Haiti which took place September 3-6, and praised the leadership of the Chairman of the Haiti Task Force and the Haiti group of Friends, Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin; they also welcomed the collaborative efforts among the participating Inter-American institutions and expressed the hope that this cooperation will strengthen in the coming months.

As leader of the mission, Assistant Secretary General Ramdin presented a comprehensive report to the Permanent Council where he praised the government and people of Haiti for the country’s “stable political environment and for the efforts of the government to focus greater attention on social and economic development.” He added that “it is of critical importance to maintain this relative stable political and security environment and to use this momentum to attract capital investment, increase productivity and create jobs.”

In his report to the Member States of the OAS Permanent Council, Ambassador Ramdin spoke about the continued inter-American engagement in Haiti, and highlighted the success of projects supported, financed and executed by the inter-American institutions in Haiti. He also expressed the hope that “the visit of this mission and productive meetings held with Haitian government officials will serve to stimulate greater coordination among those institutions and Haiti to better respond to the needs and priorities defined by Haitian authorities.”

OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, acknowledged that “obstacles still remain in Haiti, especially at the constitutional level, but it is necessary to continue to reinforce security.”

Dr. Mirta Roses, Director of the Pan American Health organization (PAHO), who also took part in the mission, addressed the Permanent Council meeting and reported that one of the many achievements in Haiti was in the area of health. Dr. Roses said that “although Haiti holds the highest level of maternal mortality, today there is a 66% increase in the number of women seeking prenatal and postnatal care, indicating that 200% more births are now being assisted by the health professionals.”

Ambassador Duly Brutus, Permanent Representative of Haiti to the OAS thanked the hemispheric community for their efforts in Haiti and expressed the hope that the solidarity, financial and technical assistance with Haiti will continue, as the current Government is making efforts to develop the economy.

This first Inter-American Mission to Haiti was comprised of 25 representatives from inter-American institutions, member states and the media.