IV

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 382

Urging the President to end any embargo against Haiti and to no longer

require, as a condition of providing humanitarian and development assistance to Haiti, the resolution of the political impasse in Haiti, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 18, 2002

Ms. LEE (for herself, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

of Texas, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr.

CONYERS, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. OWENS, Ms.

JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr.

HILLIARD, Mr. CLAY, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr.

DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. WATSON of California, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. RUSH, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. KILPATRICK,

Mr. FATTAH, Ms. WATERS, Mr. FORD, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. WYNN, Mr.

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. RANGEL, Ms.

MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LEWIS of

Georgia, and Mr. WATT of North Carolina) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Financial

Services, and in addition to the Committee on International Relations, for

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Urging the President to end any embargo against Haiti

and to no longer require, as a condition of providing

humanitarian and development assistance to Haiti, the

resolution of the political impasse in Haiti, and for other

purposes.
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•HCON 382 IH

Whereas Haiti is one of the most impoverished nations in the

Western Hemisphere;

Whereas the quality of life in Haiti is increasingly desperate

as HIV and AIDS infections are rapidly increasing to

epidemic proportions, such that over 300,000 infected

people have been identified and deaths resulting in such

infections have led to an orphan population of more than

163,000;

Whereas the infant mortality rate in Haiti continues to rise,

and only 1 in every 10,000 Haitians has access to a physician;

Whereas only 40 percent of all Haitians have access to potable water;

Whereas a dispute over the results of the parliamentary elections of May 2000 has led to a political impasse that is

stifling the country and the Organization of American

States has attempted to negotiate a settlement to the political impasse for nearly 18 months without success;

Whereas these negotiations have been marred by political violence, including several attempts to undermine the elected

government in Haiti, and the economic status of Haiti

continues to spiral downward;

Whereas the Government of Haiti has achieved significant

progress in resolving the impasse, including securing the

resignation of the declared winners of the disputed senate

seats and reducing the terms of office of all parliamentary officials elected on May 21, 2000;

Whereas a resolution adopted by the Organization of American States on June 5, 2001, provides that the Secretary

General has the authority to normalize relations between

international financial institutions and the Government of
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•HCON 382 IH

Haiti based upon progress to resolve the political impasse;

Whereas the United States has enjoyed nearly 200 years of

bilateral relations with Haiti and its successive governments;

Whereas the United States has recently levied an embargo of

all multilateral development assistance, including loans

approved by the Inter-American Development Bank and

ratified by the Haitian Parliament, pending a resolution

to the political impasse;

Whereas the Inter-American Development Bank acknowledges that a major factor causing economic stagnation in

Haiti is the withholding of foreign grants and loans due

to the political impasse;

Whereas the United States sponsored a resolution on January 15, 2002, in the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, which calls for an expanded mission to Haiti;

Whereas the international community is funneling some bilateral assistance to non-governmental organizations acting

in Haiti and has purposely bypassed any development activity with the current Government of Haiti; and

Whereas a recent report from a special mission to Haiti from

the Caribbean Community recognized the need for a large

infusion of multilateral assistance and the need to work

through the Government of Haiti as an appropriate and

necessary process to achieve basic development and humanitarian goals in Haiti: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—
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•HCON 382 IH

1 (1) urges the President to end any embargo

2 against Haiti and to no longer require, as a condi3 tion of providing humanitarian and development as4 sistance to Haiti, the resolution of the political im5 passe in Haiti resulting from the legislative elections

6 of May 2000;

7 (2) urges the President to direct the Secretary

8 of State to intervene directly on the behalf of the

9 United States and the people of Haiti to mediate the

10 political impasse, to provide constructive guarantees

11 to any resolution to the crisis, and to recruit positive

12 support from the Organization of American States,

13 the European Union, the Caribbean Community,

14 and other international bodies to sustain any nego15 tiated settlement;

16 (3) urges the President to direct the Secretary

17 of State to conduct an immediate review of United

18 States policy toward Haiti, including adequate and

19 appropriate consultations with the relevant commit20 tees of Congress;

21 (4) calls on the United States Agency for Inter22 national Development, the World Bank, the Inter23 national Monetary Fund, and the Inter-American

24 Development Bank to convene a meeting of all do25 nors and potential donors to Haiti, with the objec-
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•HCON 382 IH

1 tive of launching a new and sustainable humani2 tarian initiative, including a lending program that

3 will help bolster the economic base of Haiti; and

4 (5) supports the expansion of the mission of the

5 Organization of American States to Haiti and calls

6 on the President to urge that this mission work con7 structively with the Government and people of Haiti

8 to advance their goals and aspirations and not the

9 objectives of other governments or international or10 ganizations.

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