III

Calendar No. 657

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 126

Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should support free

and fair elections and respect for democracy in Haiti.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 30, 2000

Mr. HELMS, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, reported the following

original concurrent resolution; which was placed on the calendar

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should

support free and fair elections and respect for democracy

in Haiti.

Whereas the legacy of fiat and abuse of the Duvalier dictatorship led the framers of the 1987 Haitian constitution to

provide for clear separation of powers;

Whereas the 1987 Haitian constitution permanently vests all

legislative authority in an independent National Assembly;

Whereas national and local elections were held in Haiti on

May 21, 2000, which were intended to restore the independent legislature which was dismissed by Haiti’s President, Rene Preval Garcia, in January 1999;
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•SCON 126 PCS

Whereas the Haitian people are to be congratulated for patiently and peacefully voting in large numbers on May

21, 2000, despite an unfavorable electoral environment;

Whereas the legitimacy of the May 21, 2000, elections has

been compromised by organizational flaws, political murders, the involvement of the Haitian National Police in

the arrest and intimidation of opposition figures, manipulation of the independent Provisional Electoral Council by

the Government of Haiti and the ruling Fanmi Lavalas

party, and the publication of fraudulent results;

Whereas the Provisional Electoral Council has been compromised by Fanmi Lavalas partisans operating within

the Council and inappropriate pressure and threats made

against members of the Council from the highest levels

of the Haitian government to induce the Council to issue

fraudulent results;

Whereas Leon Manus, President of the Provisional Electoral

Council, was forced to flee Haiti in fear for his life and

in a statement released June 21, 2000 noted that the opposition had made ‘‘legitimate’’ challenges to the credibility of the electoral process and that the Council ‘‘was

often plagued with traps and attacks’’ and fought ‘‘slanders and threats’’ that came ‘‘most often from state actors’’ and received ‘‘from the highest level of the government, unequivocal messages on the consequences that

would follow if [he] refused to publish supposed final results’’;

Whereas the Provisional Electoral Council is no longer viewed

as credible or independent by a broad spectrum of political parties and civil society groups in Haiti;
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•SCON 126 PCS

Whereas Haitian organizations, including the Chamber of

Commerce, political parties, the Association of Haitian

Industrialists, the Roman Catholic Bishops Conference,

and the Protestant Federation have strongly protested

the publication of election results that do not correspond

to the provisions of Haiti’s electoral law and generally accepted norms and which have also been contested by the

president of the Provisional Electoral Council;

Whereas the international community, including the United

States, Canada, France, the United Nations, and the Organization of American States, has condemned attempts

to manipulate the May 21, 2000, electoral process in

Haiti; and

Whereas the absence of free and fair elections and the resultant failure to constitute a duly elected legislative body in

Haiti constitutes a major setback for the Haitian people’s

aspirations for peace and democracy, could result in instability in Haiti, and directly jeopardizes United States

anti-narcotics objectives in Haiti and the region: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives

2 concurring), That Congress—

3 (1) condemns the electoral fraud being per4 petrated against the Haitian people and the con5 tinuing interruption of democratic institutions in

6 Haiti;

7 (2) calls on the Government of Haiti forthwith

8 to end its manipulation of the electoral process and

9 take immediate steps to reverse the fraudulent re-
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1 sults announced by the remaining members of the

2 Provisional Electoral Council;

3 (3) calls on the Government of Haiti to imme4 diately engage in a thorough and verifiable process

5 involving the National Observation Council (CNO),

6 all concerned Haitian political parties, as well as pri7 vate sector and other civil society organizations, to

8 review all reported irregularities and allegations of

9 fraud and authenticate the true results of the elec10 tion so that a legitimate, democratically-elected Na11 tional Assembly and local councils can be seated;

12 (4) urges the Organization of American States

13 (OAS) to consider joint actions by its members

14 states to bring about a return to democracy in Haiti;

15 and

16 (5) calls on the President of the United States

17 to—

18 (A) terminate United States assistance to

19 the discredited Provisional Electoral Council;

20 (B) review and modify as appropriate

21 United States political, economic, and law en22 forcement relations with Haiti, if Haitian au23 thorities persist in their current path; and
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1 (C) work with other democracies in the

2 Western Hemisphere and elsewhere toward a

3 restoration of democracy in Haiti.

4 SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit

5 a copy of this concurrent resolution to the President.
Calendar No. 657

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 126

CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should support free and fair elections and

respect for democracy in Haiti.

JUNE 30, 2000

Reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations and

placed on the calendar