President Clinton Visits Haiti and Outlines His Goals as UN Special Envoy
2009-07-10
Office Of The Special Envoy For Haiti
This past Monday President Clinton made his first trip to Haiti as UN Special Envoy to determine how to best support the efforts of Haiti’s Government and people to advance economic development, create new jobs, strengthen essential social services, and prepare for natural disasters.
During this two day trip he met with President Preval, Prime Minister Pierre-Louis and other government officials, parliamentarians, international donors, NGO leaders, women’s groups, leaders of the private sector, and UN officials. He and President Preval traveled to Gonaives to visit survivors of last year’s hurricanes and view the impressive work being done to reduce the damage of future storms. In Port au Prince he visited a mango exporting business and a community led recycling operation which produces briquettes made of waste paper and sawdust. They are a remarkable substitute for charcoal used in cooking. They cost less and their production employs a large number of people to collect and sort the waste, produce and sell the product. This project cleans up the neighborhood and reduces the need to cut down trees.
In his role as UN Special Envoy for Haiti, President Clinton will:
Work with the Haitian Government and people as they implement their view for recovery and plans for the future to maximize job creation and sustainability;
Encourage international donors to honor their pledges as quickly as possible and align their assistance with Haitian priorities;
Promote more international private investment in Haiti by increasing awareness of the economic opportunities there, and working with Haitian officials to improve the economic climate;
Urge philanthropists and non-governmental organizations, to provide additional resources and to better coordinate their work with each other and with the Haitian Government; and
Seek more support for Haiti from diaspora communities in the US, Canada and France.
President Clinton said: “In more than 30 years of visiting Haiti, both as a private citizen and as a public servant, I have been moved time and again by its proud history, unique culture and the spirit of its hard-working people. At last Haiti has a real opportunity to embark on a path of sustained progress with an able and committed government, a large number of international donors, the HOPE II legislation in the US, job opportunities in disaster recovery and mitigation, and creative hard working NGOs, businesses and citizens.”